Rocking start to Galway's festival fortnight

There's no undermining the spirit of the damp, tipsy breed of Irish people who made up the audience at Galway's Big Day Out. A trio of musicians playing Viva Espana in the pouring rain only added to their resilience and basic sense of irony.

At the Castlegar Grounds, everything is smaller - the venue, the audience numbers - than one would have imagined, except the queues for the beer vouchers, the beer tent, and, wouldn't you know it, the portaloos. Colette Lynch (17), from Derry, had never been to an open-air rock event before. To mark the special occasion, she and her friend, Nicola Fleming (18), also from Derry, got their noses pierced.

People like Colette and Nicola clearly aren't bothered about standing in a wet field. Nearby, a man with a mohican hairstyle is attempting the arcane art of breakdancing. A woman throws up copious amounts of recently-swilled alcohol while a couple directly in front of her play what looks suspiciously like a competitive game of tonsil hockey. An inflated condom floats boldly by in the breeze.

"There are so many cool people around us", remarks Colette. "Older people might say it's pointless, but we don't care about the weather, we're here to see the bands and to enjoy ourselves. To keep the vibes going. The weather? We've got hats on our heads, haven't we?"

Fergal McGrath, manager of Galway Arts Festival, sees The Big Day Out as being the unofficial opener of the two-week event, which celebrates its 21st anniversary this year. He was unperturbed about the inclement weather, even though it clearly reduced the attendance at the rock event.

"Galway kids are used to mist and the damp", he says. "Macnas pray to the Rain Gods for the weather on the day of the parade to stay dry. Perhaps we should have called on Macnas to try to get a special dispensation for The Big Day Out, but we didn't want to use up our luck. Let's save the good weather for the parade on July 19th."

Up to 70 gardai were on duty for the event, which proved to be relatively quiet and friendly, with no serious crime. "It's a success", commented Supt Tony Tony Finnerty, officer in charge of the Galway area and officer with overall responsibility for the policing of The Big Day Out. "We've had no incidents as such. A small number of people have been arrested for possession of soft drugs, of which there were reasonable quantities. There were also people arrested for possession of hard drugs, but the quantities in these cases were quite small. Overall, there was a great spirit here, which is typical of Galway."

"I could just live here", says Colette Lynch, obviously impressed. "There are so many people around who don't get what we're into, and everyone here just gets it. It's a big celebration of being alive. I love it."