The Ballina salmon festival took on a cosmopolitan dimension with a mardi gras style parade in the Co Mayo town on Saturday night watched by an estimated 30,000 people.
The festival chairman, Mr Padraic Moore, described the 10 day festival which ended yesterday as a resounding success which was worth £2.5 million to the local economy. A Durrow, Co Laois couple, Michael and Esther Lacumbre, won the national jiving contest.
