BUENOS AIRES:CROWDS OF almost 40,000 celebrated the feast day of Ireland's patron saint in its annual all-night city centre street party, the largest St Patrick's Day celebration in Latin America.
The social networking internet site Facebook had sites with open invitations to celebrate the day as Dia de la Cerveza (Beer Day), promising una noche loca (a crazy night).
In a press conference before the event, Buenos Aires’s chief of local government Horacio Rodriguez Larreta announced the strictest March 17th alcohol controls to date, with 22 alcohol checkpoints on the roads surrounding the party area. He said there would be spot checks on bags and vehicles in an attempt to curtail unofficial alcohol sales.
Mr Larreta also said that police would circulate bars, restaurants and supermarkets during the night to enforce alcohol sales curfews and prevent alcohol sales to minors.
Despite these extra controls, beer companies were confident that the day’s beer sales would be up from those in 2009, especially among imported brands which are 50 per cent more expensive than their local counterparts in the country.
For older members of the Irish-Argentine community, the day was a more sombre affair marked with a Mass, an hour-long parade through Buenos Aires and a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument to Admiral William Brown, known as “the Father of the Argentine Navy”, who was born in Foxford, Co Mayo.
For the first time, the Irish Embassy in Argentina invited the Argentine army to take part in celebrations this year with a special St Patrick’s Day tribute to local independence hero, General San Martin, in Buenos Aires.
These proceedings were led by Philomena Murnaghan, Ireland’s Ambassador to Argentina, in the absence of Irish ministerial representation at the city’s celebrations for the second year running.
Ms Murnaghan returned to Argentina this week from a short solidarity visit to its earthquake-stricken neighbour Chile.
Ms Murnaghan also gave the keynote speech at a reception for 400 Irish-Argentines at her Buenos Aires residence on March 16th in which she stressed the historical, cultural and economic ties between the two countries.