For years, the traditional St Patrick's Day parade was a washout – and not just because of the wet weather. Today, however, Ireland's cities and towns offer colourful, imaginative and entertaining events every March 17th. FIONOLA MEREDITH, BRIAN O'CONNELL, LORNA SIGGINSand MICHAEL PARSONSspoke to some of the people who will be taking part in parades today
SOME 30 years ago, on March 18th, 1980, the front page of The Irish Timescarried a report on that year's St Patrick's Day parade. Under the heading, "Slow moving parade lacks usual sparkle", reporter Frank McDonald noted that it was a "thoroughly ham-fisted affair, made even worse by the nasty cold weather which had the knees of the scantily clad majorettes knocking like nine-pins". Others who took part in what sounded like an altogether dreary occasion included the ITGWU, the Foxrock Youth Club, and the Emerald Shillelagh Chowder Marching Society. The parade itself was marked by long delays and poor organisation. Proceedings picked up temporarily with the introduction of "Fab Vinnie" and the RTÉ2 Roadshow. Yet, not even Fab Vinnie could save the day. One man remarked that it seemed anybody who was prepared to simply wash their truck could stick it in the parade.
The descriptions will be familiar to anyone who attended St Patrick’s Day parades in Ireland at that time. For many decades, the parade was something to be endured rather than enjoyed. It was a chance for the local boy scouts and amateur gymnasts to suffer near hypothermia in return for a skite down the centre of their hometown and the chance of free sweets. But over the last decade, things changed – parades got an overhaul – and St Patrick’s Day was dragged marching and drumming into the 21st century.
Dominic Campbell, who was director of Dublin’s St Patrick’s Festival between 1999 and 2004, recalls attending the St Patrick’s Day parade in his hometown of Sligo during the 1980s. “What the parades had in those days were a great sense of humour and local ownership. Basically, a few guys would get together a few weeks before and they’d create something on the back of a truck. Or, you might get troops walking in the parade or local scouts. The main thing is that it was about people walking down the main street and expressing pride, regardless of what costume they wore.”
Campbell makes the point that the St Patrick’s Day parade tradition began in Boston (in 1737) and that initially, at least, it was an expression of migrant experience. “It was all about saying, ‘we exist, we are not invisible’,” he says.
Many Irish people became leaders of marching bands in Boston or New York or in other areas of the globe. By the 1970s, these marching troupes had been imported into virtually every parade in Ireland. “The late 1960s and early 1970s saw the beginning of the overseas marching bands,” says Campbell. “It was started by Irish guys who would have had the run of the music side of marching bands in the States. They became one of the key elements of the parades here.” So much so, in fact, that by the 1980s and early 1990s, many parades in Ireland were becoming one-dimensional and wholly predictable and the event itself needed to be refreshed.
Lucy Medlycott, manager of Buí Bolg Street Theatre Company witnessed firsthand the changing nature of St Patrick’s Day parades in Ireland. Established in 1994, Buí Bolg now provides multi-disciplinary entertainment and participates in a range of parades across the country and abroad. “A key turning point was when the St Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin became the St Patrick’s Festival and adopted more of a carnival atmosphere,” she says. “From 1997 onwards, we were funded by [the festival] directly and so we had creative control and weren’t dictated to by a sponsor.”
Parades around the country quickly followed suit and more and more street performance, colourful and daring costumes, as well as puppetry and large scale floats became commonplace. “It’s our experience that county councils around the country want to make their parades more exciting and interesting. If they don’t, people will moan about it and write in to the local paper. Even today, on the eve of the parade, I got a lot of calls asking if I could get a float to a particular parade or if I could lend them a bunch of costumes. People now realise that they need put on events to draw people into their town, and one way to do that is through the participation of the arts and artistic organisations on March 17th.”
In the main cities too, there was a realisation that the eyes of the world were focused on Ireland, and that a few flimsy floats and a smattering of marching boy scouts fell short of expectations. “People realised that we had undervalued our own national day,” says Campbell. “You have Jerusalem at Christmas and Mecca during the Hajj and then there is Dublin on March 17th, when the city is the geographic centre of a global celebration. In terms of broadcasting aspects of Irish culture, it is huge – unique even. And the one thing we are learning in the recent past is that culture doesn’t let you down.”
– Brian O’Connell
BELFAST
A STREET poet from the gritty backstreets of South Central Los Angeles is one of the more unusual participants in this year’s St Patrick’s Day parade in Belfast. Andres Rivera is part of the Global XChange programme, which has brought 25 youth and community workers from Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, France and the US to spend three weeks in Northern Ireland.
Organised by Voluntary Services Overseas and the British Council, Global XChange runs residential exchanges all over the world, where young community activists can meet, share their experiences and explore cross-cultural best practices. It’s run on a fully reciprocal basis, involving young people from the developed and developing world in equal numbers.
Earlier this year, the Northern Ireland team spent three weeks visiting Durban, South Africa, working with street children, who eke out a wretched existence in the city’s alleyways. Katrina Newell, the Belfast co-ordinator, says it was an intense time. “The street kids have to contend with all kinds of violence and abuse. And now, ahead of the World Cup to be held later this year in Durban, the city’s police have started lifting the kids off the streets and dumping them miles away from town, all in the name of keeping the place tidy.”
Now the South African activists have joined their international counterparts in Belfast, taking part in workshops designed to share their own experiences with local cross-community groups. Undeterred by a bomb scare, which they encountered shortly after arriving in the city, all 25 will be taking to the streets on St Patrick's Day, providing an exotic mix of drumming and dancing. And Andres Rivera, better known by his nom de plume RHIPS ("restin' humbly in poetry song"), together with South African street poet Siya, will be treating Belfast revellers to their own "unique healing medicine". FM
CORK
This year NASC (a Cork-based immigration support service) and Mayfield Community Arts Group have joined forces for an entry under the heading Ships to Shore.
MARIE-PIA PALLOT
CO-ORDINATOR FOR NASC
“This year is our first big project. Basically in the last three years more immigrants have become involved in the St Patrick’s Day Parade. The theme is ‘ships to shore’, and is an effort to celebrate our maritime history. Our entry will represent migrants coming to Ireland through traditional ways. So basically we came with an idea of boats and sails. We spoke to the Mayfield group and they have two Colombian interns who are helping pull it together artistically.
“We’re working on it three times a week for five hours a time and there will be a mix of immigrants and Irish teenagers involved. It’s important to provide opportunities like this for immigrants. Even though coming here can be a hard experience for them, many of them really love being in Irish society, and we want to show that.”
FRANCIS KINOUANI
PARADE VOLUNTEER, ORIGINALLY FROM REPUBLIC OF CONGO
“I’ve been here since September 2003, almost seven years now. Since I’ve been in Ireland, it’s always been great to see the parade on St Patrick’s Day. I feel like I’m a Cork fella now. Taking part is great for me. There are very few from my country in Ireland, so we didn’t have the chance to participate in the parade until now. We are very glad to participate with NASC. My wife and daughter will also take part.
“I’m aware it’s a changing Ireland and you can see that 10 years ago there weren’t a lot of immigrants in Ireland. Now we are being accepted into Irish society. I feel I am at home here. I hope to have a chance to show the Irish thanks for all they are doing for the immigrants in this country. At the moment I am representing the flag of my country in the parade. In May, my country will celebrate 50 years of independence so it’s an extra special time for us.”
PATRICIA PENA MAZO
CHOREOGRAPHER FROM COLOMBIA
“There will be four different elements to the [parade] performance; a dance and theatre element and the other parts will represent the sea and boats. It’s not very difficult to get Irish people to engage with dance and movement. It is different in Colombia, as people are more open with their bodies and expressions.
"I have found though, in Ireland, there is an openness to try new things and it's not hard to teach. They have the right attitude and it just flows. We use dance and theatre in Colombia to promote the idea of integration. I'm really interested in this parade, because we have stories from Africa told by people living here for an Irish celebration. It is a chance for young people to be aware and meet with people they have never met before." BOC
GALWAY
ÁINE, mother of all gods and queen of the fairies, is preparing her Patrick’s Day wardrobe. Or rather, the Earwig Arts Group is preparing it for her, burning much midnight oil for the midsummer goddess in Tuam, Co Galway.
It will require some considerable amount of fabric to cover the long-legged woman, all 18 ft of her. She will have Indian eyes and a Roman mouth, explains artist Sharon Lynch. The goddess has multicultural appeal, and has been claimed as “mammy” by many clans.
And she is not a Galway girl at all, for she is closely associated with the Munster landscape, Midie Corcoran notes. “The Paps in Kerry, Cnoc Áine or Knockainy in Limerick, for instance,” he says. “She’s a symbol of love, compassion, divine light — the sort of woman we all need to have around us right now.”
Corcoran, a Tuam native and former leading light in Galway’s street theatre troupe, Macnas, is founder of Earwig. The arts company hosts the town’s arts festival each August and the Christmas pantomime, and has always “drawn on the deep well of mythology” for St Patrick’s Day celebrations hosted by the local chamber of commerce.
Working with Corcoran are fellow artists JoJo Hynes and Kerry-born Sharon Lynch, whose task it is to sculpt Áine. A sun effigy has already been shaped from cardboard.
“I suppose we are going back to the old order, our pagan roots,” Corcoran says. Last year, the group selected the quarrel of the two pig-keepers which contributed to the events of the Táin Bó Cuailgne. The bull, made from an old galvanised shed, may make another appearance this week.
However, the budget for recycled materials is even tighter this time around. Earwig had been granted funding for March 17th preparations under the Government’s Rapid programme, but the recent allocation has been cut right back.
"We've worked with four local schools for a good month before [the parade] over the past six years, thanks to Rapid," Corcoran explains. "We will still have the kids, and some transition year students, but on a much more limited basis." The timing of the cuts is unfortunate, as the mythical money-making "tiger" passed Tuam right by. The town that produced playwright Tom Murphy, The Saw Doctors, arts managers Fergal McGrath and Tomás Hardiman, among others, knows the meaning of broken promises. The chemistry concocted in Earwig's "art lab" on the Dublin road has helped it to rise above that at critical times. LS
KILKENNY
A COLLECTION of “eco-headdresses” is set to turn heads at Kilkenny’s parade this afternoon and provide a welcome antidote to the ubiquitous leprechaun hats. The fantasy millinery has been created by members of the “5 To 6 Women’s Art Project” who will wear their own designs.
The group “decided to do something special for St Patrick’s Day” following an appeal by Kilkenny’s Green Party mayor, Malcolm Noonan to “make the national holiday an environmentally-friendly community day”. He called on participants in the parade to “create floats made from recyclable materials and to focus on ‘green themes’ such as climate-change and biodiversity”.
Nicola O’Reilly (38) explains that “the [women’s art project] was founded four years ago and the idea was to give women – of all ages and backgrounds – a place to come together to create art in a communal project”. O’Reilly says the group “gets sponsorship from Kilkenny County Council and support from the Butler Art Gallery and the group has about 40 active members who get together once a week and have done drawing, painting, sculpture and photography”.
The women have made the spectacular headdresses using natural materials including willow, dogwood, bull rushes, fruit, flowers and feathers. O’Reilly will be wearing her own “Trailing Crown” which has “a willow base, ivy and poppy seed heads”.
Siobhán Hegarty (40) “wanted something organic that looked like it was growing out of my head” and designed the towering “Undergrowth” piece from willow. Clare Muldowney (57) has created a piece called “The Citrus Queen’s Crown” from willow, dried autumn leaves and dried orange peel.
At least 20 women from the group will participate in the parade wearing the headdresses and hessian-style tunics tied with sashes. They plan to hand out daffodils to children along the route.
Kilkenny City centre may not quite be the catwalk but the women's green couture will still need to impress a critical Gallic eye. Guest-of-honour on the reviewing stand will be Monsieur Patrick Septiers, mayor of Kilkenny's French twin, Moret-sur-Loing. MP
WATERFORD
This year Waterford arts group Spraoi will contribute an entry to the Waterford city parade entitled “Lang the Ludicrous”, which includes a 25 ft robot.
DERMOT QUINN
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
“Our entry to the parade this year is called ‘Lang the Ludicrous’. The inspiration is B-movie type stuff, and we wanted to turn the old Ming the Merciless idea on its head.
“We had done some B-movie stuff before about monsters attacking people and it works in terms of the parade route. You are playing for hours but the audience are only seeing you for about two minutes, so you have very little time to get the story across.
"'Lang the Ludicrous' is about an alien emperor that comes to earth in peace with a large bubble machine. At a certain point, the music changes and you realise the bubble machine is a weapon and things turn nasty. A giant red robot rises up about 25 ft into the air. It's a little like Mars Attacks. Just as the robot is about ready to unleash forces on the audience, his equipment breaks down. In constructing the entry, a lot of stuff we built from scratch and a certain percentage of it we recycled from other shows.
“St Patrick’s Day is very strange day for us. In our other shows, such as the summer show, we have full control over the event. With St Patrick’s Day, we are part of a larger event, and our real goal is to go out and entertain. People have been standing in the cold for two hours. We’ve got to give them a lift and hit them hard and fast.
“On any given day we have five full time workers working on building the entry.
“St Patrick’s Day is a workday for me every year. We’re on the go from eight in the morning until we finish at eight that night. Afterwards, we wind down. All our crews come back on the night from other parts of the country. We all meet up for one or two pints. You’d see people falling asleep in the bar. Gone are the days when we’d party through the night.”
MIRIAM DUNNE
SPRAOI PROGRAMME DIRECTOR
“We have a larger cast than normal this year, about 40 volunteers are taking part in our section. They have been rehearsing for the past two weeks. We’ve found in the last few months that there has been a surge of volunteers. I think this is down to the recession and the fact people have more time. Some people are looking to add value to their CVs and we also have a number of school leavers looking for practical experience.
“In funding terms, the past two years have been very hard for us. We’re down about €50,000 in that period and sponsorship is not as prevalent as it once was. So far, we haven’t had to leave any staff go. It’s a day-to-day effort at the moment. Once we get past March, we’re into the summer. We’re seeing a lot more benefit-in-kind sponsorship, which works great for us, especially from the likes of Irish Ferries, helping us transport props.
"This year, we are going all out with our entry. It's important that the people of Waterford hear some good news stories. I have been involved with the organisation for the past 14 years and we're definitely going through a rough patch at the moment." BOC
