Dublin's century ends with a whimper

On Friday afternoon, the winter sun made a valiant attempt to break through the thick white clouds over Merrion Square in Dublin. It never quite made it.

More than spectacular sunsets, this was the most apt eve-of-millennium image for Dublin where, compared to the fizz of the global party, the capital failed to shine.

Three days later the millennium-sized hangover has lifted to reveal the dome-sized imagination deficit of those who organised the celebrations in Dublin.

It was alright for some. If, for example, you were between 18 and 25, had a ticket to the Merrion Square concert and didn't mind a champagne-free New Year's Eve, then you were, like, sorted.

If, however, you wanted to congregate elsewhere in the capital to feel a part of what should have been the biggest hooley in Irish history, you were left to make your own fun.

Christ Church Cathedral continued as favourite congregation place, but there was disappointment for those who tried something new.

The good-natured crowds who gathered on O'Connell Bridge were offered nothing but inconsistently impressive fireworks as a too-distant backdrop, which paled in comparison to London and Paris.

Whatever the excuses offered by the Millennium Committee, there is no absolutely no reason the capital could not have conjured up a world-class extravaganza. In fact, that was exactly what we got on St Patrick's Day last year.

On that occasion, Australian pyrotechnician Syd Howard was brought over to create a quayside firework display set to music providing a spectacular and moving skyfest. Had we attempted to recreate such a spectacle, we could easily have given London a run for its millennium.

But as the clock struck 12, there was nothing to make the crowds feel part of this unique occasion. No carnival. No carnival atmosphere.

RTE in its post-millennium news coverage didn't even deem the fireworks worth showing, opting instead for the confetti-laden Times Square in New York and sun-soaked Western Samoa.

Meanwhile, the lighting of the bridges on the Liffey left Dubliners decidedly under-whelmed. For a start, they were lit five minutes earlier than expected and the promised "Mexican Wave" of light across the river never materialised. Instead of being lit in distinct colours, they were mainly covered in an homogenous green. "What's happened?" was the bemused reaction of many who milled around the new millennium footbridge without noticing that anything had changed. The biggest cheer of the event was for the rescue boats travelling up and down the Liffey. Even if you stayed at home there was no escaping what in Dublin at least turned out to be Amateur Night at the Millennium. Inevitably, RTE's coverage descended into sub-Jurys Hotel-style cabaret antics with a far-from-stellar line-up.

Perhaps the biggest indicator that a mess was made of the millennium was the global television coverage. While TV stations showed highlights from all over the world, Dublin offered nothing worth featuring and so it simply wasn't.

In his defence, Millennium Minister Seamus Brennan says it was a conscious decision not to focus merely on the midnight hour for the 2000 celebrations but to make it a wider, longer-lasting commemoration.

However, in avoiding the moment, the mood of the masses may have been misjudged and an unrepeatable opportunity missed.