THE Minister for Tourism and Trade announced yesterday that the St Patrick's Day Parade which Dubliners have come to know, hate or evens ignore is a thing of the past.
A company has been formed with the aim of making St Patrick's Day one of the great national days, like Bastille Day in France or Independence Day in the US, Mr Kenny announced.
The company will trade as the St Patrick's Day Festival. Its executive director, Ms Marie Claire Sweeney, said yesterday they would completely transform the national and international perception of St Patrick's Day in Ireland.
The Galway street theatre group, Macnas, will provide a spectacular opening for the parade, Ms Sweeney said. Also participating will be the Spanish theatre group, Comediants, which created the closing ceremony at the Barcelona Olympics; Mr Alex Pascal, former chairman of the Notting Hill Carnival; and Theatre of Fire, another Irish street theatre group specialising in pyrotechnics.
Mr Pascal will create an Irish/Caribbean spectacular of music, dance and costume which will be performed by children and traditional steel bands.
The theme of the 1996 parade is green. "We want everyone coming in to the festival to dress up in green," Mr Rupert Murray, the festival director said.
The company's members include Dublin Chamber of Commerce, Dublin Corporation, Bord Failte, Dublin Tourism and the Arts Council. The chairman is Mr Michael Colgan, director of the Gate Theatre.
The official starting point of the parade will be St Patrick's Cathedral.