The first official, state-sponsored St Patrick's Day parade in Dublin took place in 1931. On three occasions, parades across the Republic of Ireland have been cancelled from taking place on St Patrick's Day, with all years involving health and safety reasons. In 2001, as a precaution to the foot-and-mouth outbreak, St Patrick's Day celebrations were postponed to May and in 2020 and 2021, as a consequence to the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, the St Patrick's Day Parade was cancelled outright. Organisers of the St Patrick's Day Festival 2021 will instead host virtual events around Ireland on their SPF TV online channel.