Motorists could be forgiven for thinking pigs could fly when traffic was brought to a standstill in Limerick yesterday by a spectacular piece of street theatre.
The city's main shopping thoroughfare was the setting for Squeal Amach, a novel piece of street theatre conceived by local playwright Mike Finn and well-known Irish composer Micheál Ó Suilleabháin.
The performance featured more than 100 actors who dressed up as pigs and butchers for a parade through the heart of the city. The hapless pigs were herded into the old O'Mara's Bacon Factory - now a multi-storey car park - where they were addressed by Rí na Buistéirí in a limerick written by Mike Finn.
Squeal Amach celebrates and commemorates Limerick's once great reputation as a pork-processing centre.
According to its creators, the bilingual title Squeal Amach reflects the celebratory nature of the project and is a play on the Irish expression scaoil amach, meaning "to release".
The pigs who were about to be sent to the slaughter replied in song with a beautiful piece of music called The Squeal of Destiny, composed by Ó Suilleabháin, which was intended to melt the hearts of the butchers. The actor and comedian Jon Kenny played the part of Johnny Sausage while musicians Mel Mercier and Tommy Hayes lead a talented band of dancers and musicians.
"We have certainly brought a bit of brightness to Limerick at a time when it has been getting a lot of bad press. There is a carnival atmosphere here today and there is a fantastic mix of people of all ages," said Micheál Ó Suilleabháin.