The mayor of Galway may have been absent in protest, but gardaí estimated that up to 100,000 people attended yesterday's 13th annual Salthill air show.
However, the show was marked by several unscheduled events - the surprise arrival of two US Air Force F-15 aircraft, similar to those deployed in Iraq, and a major security operation before the display began.
The security operation - witnessed by Galway's Green mayor, Cllr Niall Ó Brolcháin, and bemused parents and children attending an alternative peace event in the Claddagh - involved uniformed gardaí destroying 97 red helium balloons with weapons resembling hatpins.
The action was taken in spite of an offer by the organisers of the peace event to ensure that some 99 balloons which they intended to distribute were not released. Named after an anti-war pop song, the "99 balloon event" was planned in protest at the military dimension to the air show.
The mayor and his deputy, Cllr Billy Cameron (Lab), made it clear last week that they would be supporting the peace event only. Salthill air show organiser Brian McGrath condemned the mayor's decision as a "snub" to "the biggest outdoor event in the country". Also supporting the peace rally were Labour Party president Michael D Higgins and former Labour mayor, Cllr Catherine Connolly.
Cllr Ó Brolcháin described the Garda action as "heavy-handed" when a compromise had been offered. He said he had received a number of calls after confirming that he would be at the alternative venue.
Insp Tony O'Donnell of Mill Street Garda station said it was "part of an ongoing security operation to ensure the safety of all participants". Ironically, people walking in aid of cancer research were permitted to carry pink balloons in the Salthill area yesterday, but Insp O'Donnell said the organisers of this event had "co-operated" with them.
In Salthill, early cloud cleared for the Air Corps, Irish Coast Guard Sikorsky helicopter, Army parachutists and civilian aircraft. The Blades, led by former Red Arrow pilot Andy Offer, were billed as a key attraction. But it was the Red Arrows which provided a gasping grand finale, with their inimitable champagne split, red arrowhead and mock collisions at 600km/h - without a balloon in sight.
