Green top hats, Tricolours and painted shamrocks lined Manhattan's Fifth Avenue with Irish-American pageantry yesterday as tens of thousands came out to celebrate the St Patrick's Day parade and cope with one unexpected ingredient: snow.
A sudden drop in temperature covered the parade in light flurries, but the chilly weather did little to dampen the crowd's enthusiasm. An estimated 1.5 million turned out to watch more than 150,000 marchers, pipers and drummers file along the two-mile route.
But with Mrs Hillary Clinton campaigning for a seat in the US Senate against New York City's mayor, Mr Rudy Giuliani, this year's parade took on a distinctly political flavour.
As both candidates marched in the parade, Fifth Avenue became the latest forum to score points in their campaigns. Mayor Giuliani marched with the New York State governor, Mr George Pataki, and Mrs Clinton followed with a clutch of local Democrats.
Along the route, supporters of each candidate engaged in good-natured jeering as they competed for attention from the bank of television cameras trailing Mrs Clinton.
"We think she just doesn't represent New Yorkers and we want a change," said Ms Kathleen McCreary, who came to boo the First Lady with a sign which read, "We've had our fill of Hil and Bill".
Ms Emer Casey couldn't disagree more. A Democrat, she said she supported Mrs Clinton's social programmes and would vote to stop the mayor moving to the senate. "I can't stand Giuliani. I'll be glad to see the back of him, I think he's a nut," she said.
The parade had become a thorny issue for Mrs Clinton. Initially, she was criticised for planning to march in a parade that has banned gay and lesbian groups for the last decade. Two weeks ago she participated in a parade in the Queens district of New York that included several Irish gay groups.
But the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organisation believes Mrs Clinton should have stayed away from the Manhattan parade. Just before the parade started several hundred gay and lesbian protesters held their annual protest on Fifth Avenue to demonstrate against exclusion.
"It's ridiculous that they can't march in a city like New York," said Ms Cathy Maguire, who had come to support her sister and other ILGO members. Chanting "We're Irish, we're queer and we have the right to be here," about 70 protesters were arrested after they tried to hold an unofficial march.