400,000 turn out in chilly Dublin to enjoy parade

Up to 400,000 people turned out on the chilly Dublin streets to watch this year's St Patrick's Day parade in Dublin.

High winds closed four of the 16 grandstands along the route and ticket holders, who had paid €60 each to view the event in comfort, were accommodated in alternative stands or at a cordoned-off area outside the GPO.

A spokeswoman for the St Patrick's Festival said they were very pleased with the turnout considering the weather. The four grandstands had to be closed for health and safety reasons, she said.

"They were designed to operate in winds no faster than 20mph. The wind was already that speed in the morning and was forecast to get worse, so we had to close them. Anyone who did not get a seat in an alternative grandstand will be given their money back."

Good viewing spots were still at a premium, despite the lower turn out. Green, white and orange children perched on the window ledges of the GPO like birds, while street traders at their feet peddled coloured pom-poms and outsized leprechaun hats.

Led by grand marshal Ronnie Drew, some 3,000 participants in 23 separate lots braved intermittent sleet and icy winds to entertain the crowds.

A street seller was momentarily caught off balance by a sudden gust that threatened to lift him by his multicoloured balloons in to the path of the lord mayor's coach.

But Cllr Catherine Byrne and her family disembarked safely at the GPO grandstand to join fellow councillors, dignitaries and President Mary McAleese. The President had already been serenaded with Yes Sir, That's My Baby and Baby Face by the Blue Haven Barbershop Choir from Firhouse in Dublin.

The parade's theme of "Wishful Thinking" extended to more than just the participants as shivering onlookers longed for a glimpse of sunshine. But the only sun visible was the giant orange globe leading the Cosa Meata pageant. The Donegal arts group imagined what life might be like if their county was a tropical Gaeltacht. With samba drums, fiddlers and sheep in sunglasses, the group invited us to leave the cold of Dublin and visit the sunny northwest.

The Buí Bolg arts group from Wexford brought a bride-to-be's dream to life. However, the reality turned out to be not so perfect, with gloating, bloated wedding guests, evil altar servers and a drunken brawl.

Some 10 marching bands had the crowds bouncing, including the Denis Yarmouth High School Band from Massachusetts, the Clover Hill High School Band from Florida and the Clondalkin Youth Band.

The Lake Highlands Highlandettes Drill Team, from Dallas, Texas, in red cowboy hats and short skirts, drew whistles from the crowd. And though their legs were blue beneath tan tights, they did not win the prize for the parade's most frozen.

That honour went to the sequined, bikini-clad girls of the Dublin arts group MaSamba, who shivered along in high heels and Brazilian feathered head-dresses.

The most sinister pageant went to 600 students who depicted a murky underwater world of mermaids.