March 2022 has seen many changes in Ireland, there are now no public health measures in place in order to mitigate against COVID-19.

This has allowed people to attend large sporting events, music concerts and to travel through Ireland with no forms to fill in - the useless Passenger Locator Form is gone, unfortunately the mask-mandate has gone too meaning that it is up to the individual as to wear a mask or not in indoor settings.

And to complicate things further PCR tests are now virtually impossible to get unless you pay a private provider meaning that positive case numbers are largely underreported. Combining the over-the-counter lateral flow or rapid antigen tests with PCR tests, reported positive tests are three times more now than at the start of the month.

Austria is about to reintroduce mask-wearing requirements as positive numbers increase rapidly there, the Scottish Government have kept their requirements in place until at least April 4th and other European countries such as Italy (until May1st) still require FFP2 masks in public indoor and transport settings.

In Ireland, unfortunately, the Irish Government have decided to leave the decision to the individual, which means virtually no-one wearing a mask in public settings.

This increase in cases, of people not taking basic precautions has led to the rather embarrassing spectacle of the Taoiseach being quarantined on Saint Patrick's Day in Washington DC, indeed he will be stuck there until the end of March.

As of yet, Ireland has not seen increases in intensive care hospitalisations but those do tend to lag.

Ireland is still a safe place to visit and with plenty of open spaces in the countryside there is an easy escape from the crowds.

Join me, Panoramic Ireland, to photograph in Ireland.

After photographing a concert in Dublin this week, I headed out through the city centre to photograph some more before making my way home.

It was a cold evening and dark by the time I was along the River Liffey, in the distance I could see the Convention Centre and Samuel Beckett bridge lit up in green for Saint Patrick's Day, closer by, I could see Dublin's famous Custom House, a late-18th century Georgian building fronting the river.

Of course, I didn't have the usual tools of the landscape and long-exposure photographer, in this case a tripod. The tripod is obviously not useful for concert photography and not permitted anyhow in the pit area.

So it was natural that I stop to photograph the well-known building, one that I have photographed over many years.

Here, after recent refurbishments to its façade, blue and yellow - the colours of Ukraine replaced the usual green that is projected during the Saint Patrick's Festival week.

It was later and darker than I would have preferred to photograph in the city, I had photographed it from a different angle a few weeks ago but still it was a pleasant evening and a fine use of time.

Join me to photograph in Dublin or the rest of Ireland - landscape photography, architecture photography, people and street photography, food and travel photography and more.

2022 sees the return of Saint Patrick's Day celebrations and festivities here in Ireland with 2020 and 2021 having seen cancellations due to COVID-19.

Usually March 17th is the holiday but for 2022 the government has created a new public holiday which this year falls on March 18th to make a double holiday.

From 2023 onwards that new holiday will fall on Saint Brigid's Day, the 1st of February, and Saint Patrick's Day will return to the traditional one day.

Also, for 2022 when many buildings around the world would usually have green lighting to celebrate the world's most famous patron saint, this year many of those buildings will be getting the blue and yellow of Ukraine's national flag.

It's a fitting gesture, especially since blue and yellow combine to make green.

Who knows what the weather will bring for this week's celebrations - it is often raining on Saint Patrick's Day in Ireland but it can be warm.

The record high for March in Ireland is 23.6C and the lowest temperature on record is -17.2C so it is likely to be somewhere in between those.

Join Panoramic Ireland to see the best of the Irish countryside.

Snow has finally arrived, the 9th of March 2022 and a decent amount too but it is unlikely to last for long.

Ireland has been under a weather warning for wind, rain and snow over the past two days.

When this snow melts, expect flooding.

For now, the landscape is quiet and the colour of the countryside is temporarily changed from green to white.

Saint Patrick's Day is close, March 17th, and we will expect to see a lot more green in Ireland over the next few weeks.

So, to answer one of the most common questions about Irish weather - does it snow in Ireland? - well yes, it does but it's hard to say when it will happen.

Count yourself lucky to experience it unless you have to get somewhere, because the back roads can be treacherously slippy.