BEFORE CAME the deluge and afterwards came the tailbacks but, in between, for 25 incandescent minutes on Saturday night, such annoyances were far from the thoughts of the thousands who lined Wexford’s quays and streets.
The occasion was this year’s National Lottery Skyfest, a pyrotechnic spectacular which prompted an estimated 50,000 people to ignore the rain and cold and turn their heads towards the cloudy sky as it was illuminated by 1.6 tonnes of fireworks.
Originally held in Dublin each year, the Skyfest has been taken around the State on a number of occasions more recently and Saturday was the fourth time it took place outside the capital.
This followed recent successful stagings in Cashel, Waterford and Limerick.
Street entertainment, busking, open-air stalls selling food and other merchandise were all features of the day in Wexford as crowds poured into the town for the evening’s main event, one of the highlights of the festival.
As the countdown took place to the fireworks themselves and the hordes waited and the rain became steadily worse, entertainment was provided on Wexford’s quays by the Buí Bolg street theatre group, with a riverside pageant on the themes of fire and water.
Many grew impatient as they waited for the fireworks to start, with children becoming restless and wet while their parents questioned the wisdom of their presence in the great outdoors in such inclement conditions.
About the only thing keeping the public in good cheer was news from the Aviva Stadium where the Irish rugby team were providing pyrotechnics of their own.
“Will the fireworks even work in that rain?” one woman wondered. However, all gloom was forgotten once the sky was lit up for the first time.
Weary sighs were replaced by thousands of “oohs” and “aahs” along with the crackling of the multicoloured fireworks, accompanied by 6,000 pyrotechnic effects.
The “wave of colour” promised by organisers proved far more welcome than the wave of rain that preceded it, with some of the loudest gasps sparked by a “pyrotechnic waterfall” that lit up Wexford Bridge with a 300-metre wide curtain of fire.
The musical soundtrack was boosted by singer Lynda Lee, who blasted out her offerings from a boat on the Slaney.
As the fireworks themselves ended, the National Lottery held its Saturday night Lotto draw on a stage on the Wexford quays (the €12 million-plus jackpot was not won) while the crowds dispersed in the rain. “Trad trails” of traditional music kept revellers entertained into the late hours.
Motorists leaving Wexford experienced delays of up to an hour getting out of the town.
Gardaí estimated the crowd in attendance stood at 50,000 and said there were no reported incidents of trouble at the event.