Galway: A rapid dash to big screens to watch the All-Ireland club finals marked yesterday's St Patrick's parade in the capital of the west.
In fact, the significance of this year's theme - Queen Medhb's famous cattle raid on the Cooley mountains - was not lost on some of the estimated 15,000 Galway city spectators who opted for a TV viewing of Connacht (Salthill-Knocknacarra) challenging mighty Ulster (St Gall's) at Croke Park.
While the proud queen was routed back west and her prowess in bed mocked by the brown bull's head, there were high hopes of more positive results for the two teams of western warriors.
In Galway city, ugly fighters grimaced, stilt-walkers duelled, feathers flew in pillow fights and pigs squealed at the shivering crowds. One US visitor noted that the shamrock was more likely to die of hypothermia than drowning. Several of her Irish companions and a number of parade performers sported black shamrock badges which had been distributed by the Galway Alliance Against War as a mark of protest over the use of Shannon airport by US troops.
Gardaí had visited publicans and off-licence businesses over the past week. A spokesman for Mill Street station said it was hoped the unfortunate scenes of the past two years, fuelled by illegal sales of drink to teenagers,would be avoided. Last year, he said, there were up to 60 arrests on St Patrick's Day in the city.
This year, "significant" numbers of plainclothes gardaí had been deployed on street duty.
In Tuam, earwigs, ladybirds and bugs streamed through the streets, someone sighted a giant snake and pupils of Claregalway's new multidenominational Educate Together national school participated in the parade on the "think green" theme.
Gort's large Brazilian community was out in strength for their event, and the Macnas street theatre group opted for a "moment in time" in Loughrea. The national holiday was also marked in Athenry, Clifden, Oughterard, Oranmore/Maree, Ballinasloe and Clarenbridge.
On the Aran islands this weekend, Gaelic psalm singers, Welsh tenors and Irish primary school sopranos are taking part in an inter-denominational choral festival on Inis Oir and in a multidenominational concert at St Nicholas's Collegiate church,Galway city, tomorrow at 3pm.
