It Didn't Rain on Paddys Day!!!

18th Mar 2003

It Didn't Rain On Paddy's Day
Danny Elbow

What a difference the sun makes. Last year the atmosphere at the parade was quite simply miserable. Although this gave many ample moaning fodder that Irish so dearly love for the following week it did not appease the more physical senses on the day in question as the rain poured down inside the collars of smallies and their parents who decided to give the weather two fingers and endure the parade. We stress endure.

The Corpo were obviously embarressed by the disgraceful parade that was allowed to go ahead last year - virtually a procession of dirty articulated lorries. Each excited smallie who turned out to see St. Patrick and maybe grab a few free sweets was instead subjected to roaring engines wafting diesel fumes into the nauseated crowd who were peering from under hoods, hats and umbrellas trying to battle torrential rain and driving winds. The Joke Float of the day award went to a filthy white transit van with an English reg with a scrawled sign sellotaped to the side doors advertising a car boot sale in Castletownroche. This, believe it or not, counted as an entire entry. How do you think the judges on the Reviewing Stand approached marking this one?

Anyway far from the pissing wet hurricane conditions of 2002, this year we are glad to report was the hottest day of the year so far and the new route of Grand Parade, Patrick St, Bridge St. and Mac Curtain St was enough to bring the masses out on to the streets for a sconce. Estimates of the crowd size vary from 2,500 (Larry Looney's estimate from inside Le Chateau Bar) to 100 million (his kid's estimate from outside Le Chateau Bar) however the official figure is in the region of 50,000. (Some scrap on pana if that ever got going).

And the floats ?
Thankfully for 2003 there were only half a dozen or so trucks in a parade that took over 70 minutes to pass so that was a good start. Barry's Tea, UCC Medieval Society and The Anti-War brigade made very colourful efforts as well as the usual fire engines, ambulances and civil defence engines. The drivers gave out unexpected bursts of blaring siren which brought one of two reactions from all the kids resulting in momentary chaos within 100 metres:

1. Wide eyed gasps and roaring "maaaaaad!!!" and making instant decisions on their future careers or
2. being taken completely by surprise and involuntarily projecting a flake and 99 into the air to plop on the ground resulting in a flood of tears.


Of course as the parade went on people anticipated what some were billing as Rumble In The Jungle of the Cork parade, the City Vs. United, Tompkins Vs O S'