It might have been all of 1,500 years since the man himself walked on Irish soil, but the spirit of Saint Patrick was alive and kicking as the annual parade drew up to 500,000 people to the streets of Dublin.
Over 3,000 performers crammed onto the parade route, led by Grand Marshal and Miss World, Rosanna Davison, to celebrate this year's 'Glorious' parade theme.
A diverse array of characters turned out to toast the first great Irishman - with Freddie Mercury walking side by side with Cu Chulainn, Alice (of Wonderland fame) being chased down Westmoreland Street by a particularly Mad Hatter, and a 40 foot Puca battling a 30-foot Lion for the prize of the scariest beast on parade.
Spectators had turned out since early morning, lining the 2.8km parade between St Stephen's Green and Parnell Square in an attempt to get that elusive perfect viewing spot.
With the occasional showers threatened by the weathermen failing to materialise, locals and visitors alike were treated to their St Patrick's Day fare in brilliant spring sunshine.
At times the man himself was all but eclipsed by the historical 'heavyweights' on show.
Cu Chulainn and Setanta supervised a stirring game of hurling, while the four elements Earth, Wind, Fire and Water manifested themselves in a multicoloured brigade of fish, birds, dragons and beasts.
|
Miss World, Ms Rosanna Davison |
Meanwhile, a cheeky Slovenian group put a new spin on the old 'coals to Newcastle' tale, dressing as Irish sheep and gamboling gaily down the route ahead of the main parade.
At the opposite end of the size scale the 40-foot high Puca (a magical dragon breathing coloured smoke, for those not in the know) terrorised young and old alike, while those lucky enough to escape its attentions were treated to friendly waves from a 30-foot high French lion.
The sunshine was warm enough to facilitate some scantily clad Brazilian samba dancing, but a towering glacier and a coterie of ice-elves reminded us that Irish weather is still a little closer to Reykjavik than Rio.
The warmest welcome of the day was reserved for Lume de Biqueira, the bagpipe band from Madrid, who elected to travel and perform at the parade despite the bombings in their home city a week ago.
Accompanied by Dublin's Lord Mayor Mr. Royston Brady, the band wore white ribbons in memories of the victims of the bombings, and received sustained applause along the length of the route.
|
|
"This is the best way to show that we are stronger that those who carried out the bombings," bandleader Mr Alvaro de Miguel Sastre said.
The Galician ensemble were one of nine marching bands taking part in this year's parade, the majority of whom came from the Unites States, although Ireland's soon to be new EU neighbours Hungary also featured.
As the parade drew to a close with a display of vintage cars and motorbikes attention switched to Earlsfort Terrace, where the popular Gaelgoir Hector O hEochagain hosts the Ceili Mor,
The Ceili event, which is expected to attract thousands of fleet-footed riverdancers, will wrap up the seven day St Patrick's Festival.
In her St Patrick's Day message, President Mary McAleese said this year's celebrations were particularly special as they took place during Ireland's presidency of the EU.
Mrs McAleese said that Ireland welcomed the new member states and looked forward to a future of friendship and fellowship with them and their peoples.
She said that St Patrick was a great European whose vision was not bounded by narrow horizons.