UP to 20,000 people lined the route of the parade. The theme was peace, and a number of the 45 entries, the last of them the Galway Peace Group, adopted this message.
At the conclusion of the parade, Joe and Steve Wall, formerly of the band The Stunning, performed a specially composed song of peace to the air of the John Lennon song Give Peace a Chance.
The Mayor, Councillor Micheal O hUiginn, released six white doves from the reviewing stand at Eyre Square and in his address urged the people of Galway to demonstrate their support for the peace process by wearing white ribbons. Thousands of ribbons were distributed by schoolchildren, who had made them up during the week.
"There is no doubt that the people of this island have a commitment to peace, and I would ask and hope that those charged with the responsibility for bringing this peace commitment to a lasting stage will do so by accommodating values held by all sides," he added.
Mr O hUiginn also referred to the commemoration of the Famine, saying that Galway, more than most towns, had suffered greatly from its effects and the massive emigration which resulted from it.