Story: Public holidays

Many New Zealanders, both Māori and Pākehā, have Irish ancestry. Roger Norman celebrates St Patrick's Day at O'Hagan's Irish pub in Auckland, on 17 March 2009. In the 19th century some strongly Irish settlements made St Patrick's Day an occasion for Irish nationalist parades, and, along with other patron saints' days, it was a public holiday. Interest in the convivial aspects of St Patrick's Day was revived in the late 20th century, but by then it was no longer a public holiday.