A suggestion that the St Patrick's Day Parade is no longer about St Patrick has been challenged by the chief executive of the festival in Dublin, Ms Maria Moynihan.
She was reacting to an article in a Catholic weekly which quotes her speaking about the parade.
The article in the Irish Catholic said: "When asked about the lack of participation of religious communities and parish groups in the St Patrick's Day parade, Ms Moynihan said that 'it celebrates Irishness, Ireland, our national heritage. It is not a celebration of St Patrick'."
The article had gone on to say that "when pressed that the Catholic religion was a major part of Irish cultural identity, she replied that 'we don't manifest some aspects of our identity within the parade.' "
Ms Moynihan, speaking to The Irish Times, said: "The article showed a lack of understanding about what the St Patrick's Festival is. It was written from the point of reference of a parade, whereas the whole format of the parade was changed in 1995 with the new emphasis on showcasing Irish talent, creativity and our artistic culture."
Ms Moynihan said that eight years ago it was decided the old parade-style did not showcase Ireland and the format was changed, implementing very firm policy decisions made at that time.
The Irish parade was now probably the only such parade in the world with its own artistic director.
It was no longer to be run on the lines of the New York parade, with different groups manifesting their individual causes.
She said: "The parade is no longer for representative groups marching behind a banner. There is no entertainment value in that. It is no longer that kind of parade. It is an artistic festival showcasing Ireland. It is not about different groups simply manifesting who they are and what they are about."
Ms Moynihan said that local groups could still participate. The Fatima Mansions groups came to the organisers this year with a wish to stage an entry on the theme of regeneration within their locality. The festival committee worked with them to establish an entertainment value to their entry.
"If local groups want to enter they are welcome, but it will not be on the basis of marching behind a banner. We have a pool of professional artists to put at their disposal. We can source finance for them. We can turn the entry around and give it an artistic feel. If it comes up to a certain standard, they are welcome in the festival. 'No' is not in our vocabulary," said Ms Moynihan.
In reply to a comment by Ms Theresa Devenney, national co-ordinator of Youth 2000, that "failing to allow people to express and celebrate their Christian faith defeats the purpose of St Patrick's Day", Ms Moynihan replied that in regard to religious group entries, "we weren't asked".
"If a religious group wanted an entry based on the life of St Patrick, we wouldn't have it in the style of a Corpus Christi parade, for instance. It wouldn't suit the artistic style of the festival. But we could work in partnership with the group to stage such an entry," said Ms Moynihan.
The festival costs about €1.7 million to stage in terms of cash, about €800,000 of which comes from the Government. If all benefits in kind were taken into account, such as transport etc, the running cost would be about €2.5 million, according to Ms Moynihan.
There is a standard ceremonial representation in the festival which consists of the Army, the Lord Mayor and the Garda Band. The festival always includes a figure of St Patrick. It is organised by the Chamber of Commerce, the City Council, Bord Fáilte, Dublin Tourism and the Arts Council.