‘The Guinness is great’ Thousands pack into Dublin city for St Patrick’s Day parade

over 3 years in The Irish Times

Thousands of people packed into Dublin city centre for the first St Patrick’s Day parade in two years, the crowd a throng of green, tri-colours, shamrocks and leprechaun costumes.
The parade opened with a show of solidarity with the people of Ukraine, with a group of Irish and Ukrainians carrying symbols of both countries – shamrocks of Ireland and sunflowers of Ukraine.
The group walked down O’Connell Street holding the flags of Ireland and Ukraine. Racheal Diyaolu, a medical student from Carlow who was forced to flee Ukraine following the Russian invasion, was among the group, carrying the blue and yellow flag of Ukraine.
The parade started from Parnell Square shortly before 1pm, with the route coming down O’Connell Street, moving around College Green and Dame Street, looping down Lord Edward Street, past St Patrick’s Cathedral, to finish on Kevin Street at around 3pm
Tom Yingling (53) from Vancouver, Canada, was among the crowd, having made a “bucket list” trip to Ireland for the first time.
Decked out in a green sequined shamrock suit, he said he had wanted to visit Ireland his “ whole life,” making the trip with his son Jack and a colleague.
“Yesterday morning we got in about 8am, and we hit the town last night, went to Temple Bar, went and did the Guinness factory tour,” he said.
“People are friendly, and the Guinness is great,” he said.



Tom Yingling (right), with his son Jack Yingling and colleague Hugh Oswald, visiting from Canada. Photograph: Jack Power


Dressed as a leprechaun, Mathias Machek (42), from Vienna, Austria, was another of the many tourists in the crowd who had travelled to Dublin for St Patrick’s Day. “Last year we said we wanted to come but corona, this year we said we’d come, and make some party,” he said.
After the parade he said he would be heading to Temple Bar, and a planned tour of the city would have to wait until tomorrow.



Actor John C Reilly, international guest of honour, takes part in the St Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin, Ireland. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images


Parade
Festival organisers said as many as 400,000 people could be in Dublin city for the celebrations.
Olympic and Paralympic sporting heroes Kellie Harrington and Ellen Keane are the grand marshals of the parade, with Irish American actor John C Reilly, who starred in the film Step Brothers, the international guest of honour.
The Tokyo gold medal-winning boxer described the opportunity to parade through her local streets as “fantastic”.
“For myself and Ellen to be grand marshals, two female athletes, it’s amazing and it shows the strength in female sport, it’s always been there,” she said.
“To be chosen to walk through our city as grand marshals is fantastic. It’s great to show younger kids coming up that if they work hard they can achieve anything.”



St Patricks Day Parade in Dublin City Centre. Photograph: Alan Betson


Dublin city centre off-licences have been asked not to sell alcohol until 4pm, to prevent crowds drinking alcohol on the streets, particularly while families are in Dublin city for the parade. Restaurants and pubs have also been asked to ensure any alcohol sold was consumed on the premises.
There will be more than 650 gardaí working in Dublin city centre on Thursday, with gardaí warning there will be a “zero tolerance” approach to on-street drinking. Stewarts and gardaí are to manage the flow of people into Temple Bar, in order to control the crowds in the popular tourist spot.
Nationwide
There will also be parades in Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and many other towns and villages across the country.
In Belfast, the first parade since 2019 will leave City Hall at 1pm. Organisers said the theme will be “We are all Patrick, we are all Belfast”.
The parade will travel along Donegall Place, into High Street, Bridge Street and Waring Street and finish in Donegall Street close to Writers Square.
Throughout the north west, Ukrainian families , frontline healthcare workers and GAA stars were among those honoured at St Patrick’s Day parades.
Recent arrivals from Ukraine to Leitrim were chosen to lead the St Patrick’s Day parade in Carrick on Shannon , while healthcare workers were honoured at the festivities in Boyle Co Roscommon.
Colm McGrath , president of Carrick chamber of commerce which organized the celebration in the town, said they had invited recently arrived Ukrainian refugees to be grand marshalls “to show that the people of Carrick and of Leitrim stand beside them at this time”.
Mr McGrath who has welcomed three generations of one Ukrainian family into his home said there had been an outpouring of support in the county for people whose lives have been turned upside down, and the parade was an opportunity to show solidarity.
He found himself driving to Shannon one night recently when an email arrived to the chamber pleading for help finding accommodation urgently for a grandmother , her daughter and four-year-old-grandson.
Meanwhile in nearby Cootehall, the organizers of Ardcarne parish parade chose their parish priest Fr Brendan McDonagh to be St Patrick for the day, but it was Roscommon GAA stalwarts, brothers Donie and Enda Smith who were invited to lead the parade through the village as grand marshalls.
There was a festive atmosphere in Cootehall with much of the action located in the vicinity of the John McGahern Barracks Museum, once home to the writer and his siblings, and where their father Frank served as sergeant.
The museum threw open its doors yesterday with no admission charge for the day, while the adjoining barracks garden was the venue for a dog show judged by local resident Tom Inglis , author of “To Love a Dog” a memoir of 18 years shared with his pet , Pepe.
Healthcare Staff
The organisers of the St Patrick’s Day parade in Boyle, Co Roscommon used the opportunity to pay tribute to healthcare staff for their contribution during the pandemic. The grand marshalls in Boyle who were chosen from two local nursing homes were nurse, Shini Joy from the Plunkett nursing care unit and Cathy Weston director of care at Drumderrig House .
“It’s just a way to say thank you to all health care workers who have been through a lot for the last two years,” said Lorcan Egan one of the parade organisers.
In Sligo, mayor of the town, Councillor Arthur Gibbons, urged the crowd to try and forget their cares for the day. “This is a day for the Irish all over the world,” he said. “We have had a horrible two years of lockdown which brought the country nearly to its knees”.
The Sinn Fein councillor acknowledged the pain caused by the war in Ukraine and said it was important to send a message “of love and luck” from Irish people.
“I would say to people leave your worries to tomorrow and have this day to remember,” he added.

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