St Patrick's Day shenanigans have already begun in Dublin – with this hilarious picture of a punter found taped to a stop sign. He was having a beer with his friends in Dublin's Temple Bar when they decided to play a prank and tape him to the sign outside the Auld Dubliner pub.

The reveller did not seem too fussed about being humiliated and was enjoying the attention, according to reports.

Janet Newenham, who posted the picture on Twitter, said: "As bad as it looks, he was loving the attention! He was being fed beers and was happy out haha." She said he was made a public spectacle for less than an hour and kept asking for a straw for his drink.

Around half a million people are expected to descend on Dublin to celebrate St Patrick's Day on 17 March. It is an official Christian feast day that started in the early 17<sup>th century and is still observed by the Catholic and Anglican communities.

The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. Celebrations involve public parades and festivals and the wearing of green clothing or shamrocks – the three-leaved plant, whose origin was used to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish.