IT was largely a case of "Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose" at the £500,000 Dublin parade with the traditional fare of marching bands and shivering majorettes dominating the proceedings.
Feargal Quinn gave out sausages, as usual; there were long delays between some of the floats, as usual; and it rained, as usual.
But the sun broke through the clouds for one glorious moment as the Irish/Caribbean Steel Band rounded the corner at College
Green, giving the crowd a tantalising glimpse of the Rio to come if the greenhouse effect really works out.
And the dozens of passing snakes, dragons and other assorted beasties enthralled many of the children, giving it a pass in the eight-year-old quality control test.
Paul McGrath gave a nonchalant thumbs-up to the chants of ooh-ah" as he headed the parade but the heat generated by his passage evaporated during the long wait that followed.
An explosion of pink smoke finally heralded the arrival of Macnas with a rather anaemic looking snakemobile, followed by drummers with painted faces and snakepeople on stilts. They hissed at the crowd as they were driven towards exile by a St Patrick who looked like a cross between a punk and a Buddhist.
A member of the Dublin Cycling Campaign hammered fiercely on an old car to make the point that the city also belongs to them; a band played the Irish Rover at the back of a traditional-style Bewley's float and the Ohio State University Alumni Band stepped along smartly in their red uniforms.
Charlie Redmond and the Sam Maguire got a big cheer as they drove by but they were overtaken by racing driver Eddie Jordan when their car broke down. They were followed by a huge revolving elephant made of Sellotape and limbo dancers from Africa.
A solitary lambeg drummer pounded out a "we're on this island too" message as part of" Teilifis na Gaeilge/Bord na Gaeilge's Oilean theme; Gaelic warriors from the Dal Cuinn clan roared out their Irishness and Hare Krisna devotees danced and banged their drums.
One of the biggest cheers of all went to the Ballygowan Flute Band from Co Down. Ballinteer Community School displayed Lasrach, the world's largest amateur rocket; Tae Kwon-do experts kicked wooden boards apart and the Irish Wheelchair Association's basketball team showed off their skills.