More than half a million revellers enjoyed Dublin's biggest parade to date, writes Róisín Ingle
Samantha Mumba wore a sparkling shamrock and 100-watt smile when she kicked off the biggest St Patrick's Day parade ever held in Dublin yesterday. As Grand Marshall, the 19-year-old Dubliner waved and grinned and stuck out her tongue, perched on the back of an open-topped car. She was followed over the next two hours by puppets, pageants, vintage cars, jugglers, motorbikes, bands, stilt walkers and baton twirlers. Gardaí estimate that more than half a million people congregated in the city for the event.
Children scrambled up on window ledges to get a good view of the spectacle while everything from statues to postboxes were used as viewing points. "We've got better seats than Bertie," read the banner across the roof garden of the apartments on Patrick Street where a group of friends had gathered.
The Taoiseach, ensconced on a grandstand near the Spire in O'Connell Street with the Minister for Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, might not have agreed. Singer Brian Kennedy, broadcaster Pat Kenny and Fianna Fáil TD Mr Eoin Ryan were others who got the VIP treatment.
Those lucky enough to have secured a grandstand seat on Patrick Street were treated to a eulogy on parade sponsor Lyons by the commentator, which seemed to go on for hours (the history! the minstrels! the teabags!) while marching band Trachtenkapelle were described by him as "an extrordinary group of Germans in velvet pants".
Onlookers were soon creating their own commentary with applause and cheers for entries such as the South Florida Superstars, a group of majorettes. They had expected traditional Irish weather and wore black trousers with white fur jackets but the sun was shining on them and the extremely grateful High School Tiger Marching Band from Delaware who wore sequinned leotards for the occasion.
The parade was made up of almost 4,000 musicians, artists and community groups. Local participants such as Bui Bolg from Co Wexford were a firm favourite of children with their Lilliputian adventure, giant ants and funky African jazz band. Other popular pageants included the Fatima community who were dressed as flowers, the Emmet 200 Pike Group and the Dream Train Steam Train driven by Waterford Spraoi.
Mr Wonderbike, who hasn't missed a parade in 30 years, drew a huge cheer as he cycled along in his Indian headdress. But the 700 transition students and their Cycle of Life pageant stole the show at the end, as the teenagers from all over Dublin played babies, toddlers, adolescents, married couples and eventually elderly folk with Zimmer frames. At College Green, some tourists were outraged to discover a steel screen blocking their view of part of the parade. It was reminiscent of the barricade at the bottom of the Garvaghy Road erected each July toprotect Catholic residents from being offended by the passing Orange parade. A spokeswoman for the Patrick's Festival said the screen was designed to keep traffic flowing.
When it was all over, the city streets were covered with rubbish and a lone Dublin City Council worker with a brush and cart said it was the same every year. "The council never get extra bins out, even though they know what it's going to be like," he said. A retailer off Grafton Street was brushing the streets outside his shop and described the scene as disgusting. "It's not their fault there are no extra bins," said a garda, adding that she wouldn't be handing out any summonses for littering.
And so to the strains of traditional Irish music from the Céilí Mór, the crowds moved up Grafton Street picking their way carefully through the remains of another successful St Patrick's Day.