Thousands of people are visiting Dublin City for the famous annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. The parade started at Parnell Square North at 12 noon and the organizers said they expected 1 million people to show up.

The Cathedral High School Marching Band marched through the streets of Dublin, as around 600,000 people watched the parade.

200 Cathedral people, including 98 band members, which are considered the pride of the Irish, arrived in Dublin on Saturday. Sunday afternoon, the band played at St. Patrick’s day Fringe Music Festival at the Guinness Storehouse.

All these celebrations may seem an opportunity for enjoyment and relaxation, but they often end in serious trouble.

Ireland’s leaders are worried about the large consumption of alcohol on St. Patrick’s Day, so they urged the nation on Monday to avoid excessive drinking.

Police vowed to be much more sever this year in cases of street fights or drunken driving, which always follow the end of celebrations in Dublin and in the small cities around it.

"There's no reason (why) people can't enjoy themselves and be part of the celebrations without going over the top," Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said, according to the International Herald Tribune.

Ireland’s national police force, the Garda Siochana, declared it would set up breath-testing checkpoints all across the nation for the first time on St. Patrick’s Day, while 800 officers would be in Dublin, watching out for any problematic behavior on the city’s streets. Police patrols assured they would confiscate all alcoholic drinks from people drinking on the streets or on sidewalks.