For the second straight year, Ireland is staring at a socially-distanced, locked down St Patrick's Day.
It was this time 12 months ago when the coronavirus started to take hold of the country - and officials are keen for the situation not to repeat itself in 2021.
To that extent, we've had a number of warnings from the Government and public health experts about what we can and can't do on our national holiday
Here's what you should avoid doing this Paddy's Day.
Travel to meet friends or family
The Taoiseach Micheál Martin has led the charge in urging people to stay at home with those in your own household.
Mr Martin stressed that it was 'very important' for the public to continue sticking to the guidelines.
Speaking earlier this week, he said: “Saint Patrick’s Day is a special occasion for every Irish person around the world.
“It is a day when we celebrate our nation, our heritage and our people.
“This year, the day carries an added poignancy as we reflect on a year that has been dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the loss of more than 6,500 family, friends and neighbours across the island who have died with the virus.
“We normally spend this day with our extended family and friends going to parades or to sporting events.
“Unfortunately, we cannot do this tomorrow. It is very important that people do not congregate or meet up for social gatherings in their homes or anywhere else.
“To do so would be to undermine all of the sacrifices we have made to date.
This was backed up by Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris.
‘’My message, the Government’s message, the chief medical officer’s message, is: Let’s not do anything tomorrow that risks the possibility of lifting restrictions on April 5.
He added that he was “really confident” that if the public followed the public health advice there would be a “slow, steady and gradual” reopening of the country in the coming weeks.
“Don’t set our country back for the sake of a day, for the sake of a special occasion,” he added.
Attend ‘thuggish’ protests
At the same event, Mr Harris also took a swipe at those who attended the 'anti-lockdown' protest on Grafton Street earlier this year, which saw a Garda taken to hospital after being hit with a firework.
He said: “On the broader issue of the more disturbing scenes we saw in our Capital city, which I don’t believe was a protest, what we saw a number of weeks ago, with people taking a firework device and aiming it directly at gardaí, was not a protest, it was an attack.
“It was an attack on the men and women of our Garda Síochána.''
Mr Harris also told those planning to attend today's planned protest in Dublin to think twice.
“It’s an attack on democracy and it’s an attack on who we are as a people.
“So, there’s people who wish to protest about things, and then there’s people who got out to engage in thuggery and it’s very important that we differentiate between the two.”
Get a big bag of cans or takeaway pints
The Government and NPHET have pleaded with the public not to gather with friends today and have repeatedly spoken out against takeaway pints.
Dr Ronan Glynn was the latest to speak about the issue, telling the media on Monday: “We simply have too much disease in the country, we do not want people to be congregating over pints. We don't want people to be meeting up indoors.
"We don’t want people to be buying cans and meeting up and drinking them on St Patrick’s Day. None of those messages again are what people want to hear, but unfortunately, our message has to be consistent."
