This year's St Patrick’s Festival launch may have been controversial - but it's mostly just clever marketing.
The festival was launched on Monday, with some people pointing to a lack of green.
Eric Nelligan, an Aontú representative in Limerick, said there was a lot missing.
"When you and any of your listeners think of St Patrick's Day, what comes to your mind?," he said on The Hard Shoulder.
"St Patrick, traditional Irish heritage, dance [and] music.
"We have a monopoly on the colour green in the western world and it just struck me as very odd - whether by accident or design - the launches had no green [and] no St Patrick.
"Is traditional Irish culture, heritage, music, whatever - is it no longer cool to be into that stuff?"
Brian Merriman, founder of the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, told Newstalk Breakfast the festival and the day are separate things.
"I think they have a bit of a Handmaid's Tale impression of what the St Patrick's Day Festival should be about," he said.
"They need to distinguish between St Patrick's Day and a festival.
Anziety (centre) with Sophie Hogan and Milie Daniel Dempse at the National Museum Collins Barracks for the launch of the St Patrick's Day Festival. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie"I salute the St Patrick's Festival - their task is to get publicity for the event.
"They put up such an array of colour that a load of different professional, photographic editors around the country said, 'These pictures are amazing, I'm going to put them on the front page'.
"If anyone thinks that there's going to be an absence of green on St Patrick's Day - from green beer, to green lights, to green complexions on people who overdo it at the end of the day - there will be loads of green on St Patrick's Day.
"Aontú are a bit like the Henry Ford of festivals: you can have any colour you like, as long as it's black or green".
'St Patrick never wore that'
Asked if this was taking away from the distinctiveness of the event, Mr Merriman said: "One photograph of a riot of a colour all over, not just the country, but indeed all over the world is not a complete snapshot of what's going to go on.
"We will have St Patrick, who lived in the 4th or 5th century we believe, depicted in medieval clerical robes with a bishop's mitre and green cassock on him - which of course he never wore.
"We will have leprechauns that don't exist".
Dublin Lord Mayor Caroline Conroy and Minister for Culture Catherine Martin with artisits at the National Museum Collins Barracks for the launch of the St Patrick's Day Festival. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ieMr Merriman said it is really about clever marketing.
"St Patrick's Day as a festival... has evolved as a brilliant marketing trick," he said.
"The people who run the St Patrick's Day Festival, their job spec is, 'Make sure you market this'.
"I know there was weird beasts and horned headdresses in it - but sure Celtic myths and legends are full of that.
"We're not ditching anything, we're just including more," he added.
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