SPECTATOR'S VIEW:Two cornerstones of Irish life were well represented: the GAA and 'The Simpsons', writes FRANK MCNALLY.
THE GAA got the grand marshals and its own float, but much of the excitement at the Dublin parade stemmed from another great institution celebrating a major milestone as part of Irish life.
Even before they were filled, the six seats in the GPO grandstand marked “the Simpsons” attracted the sort of interest elsewhere reserved for royal families. When the guests arrived, there was a brief hiatus as youthful fans weighed up their parents’ assurance that the middle-aged woman really was the voice of Bart. But from then on, Nancy Cartwright had to deal with a continuous stream of autograph hunters, ’til she had to ask organisers to intervene.
The Simpsons delegation was in town for the premiere of In the Name of the Grandfather, an Irish-themed episode in which Grampa consummates his love of the old country by buying a pub.
Cartwright revealed that she herself has Irish roots: as a Sullivan on her mother’s side. Unlike Homer and his father, however, she had managed to visit a pub here – Doheny Nesbitt’s – without ending up the owner.
Now in its 20th season, The Simpsons' hold on Irish audiences was demonstrated when parade MC Joe Taylor tested the crowd with a mini-quiz on the series.
No question was too obscure to provoke a chorus of correct answers. Maybe when the series comes of age next year, the parade organisers should bring Bart and the rest back as grand marshals, and acknowledge their services to Irish tourism.
That other dysfunctional but entertaining family – Cork GAA – was amply represented among this year’s marshals, albeit entirely by women, who had no part in the recent dispute.
The captains of the county’s All-Ireland-winning women’s football and camogie teams – Angela Walsh and Cathriona Foley respectively – provided half the quartet, alongside Tyrone’s Brian Dooher and Kilkenny’s Henry Shefflin.
Fresh back from Abu Dhabi, where he helped Leinster win the inter-provincial hurling title, Shefflin joked that there were talks afoot with the consortium that bought Manchester City. At least, Kilkenny’s rivals will hope this is a joke. Otherwise, expect the county to table a €100 million bid for Joe Canning before this year’s championship.
Amid a GAA-themed exhibit featuring giant hurleys, footballs, and Cúchulain with a wolfhound, a famous voice kept a running commentary. It was Míchéal Ó Muircheartaigh this time, not Bart Simpson. As he whizzed by on his float, free from autograph hunters, Nancy Cartwright might have been envious.
The organisers tempted fate with their recession-defying theme, “The Sky’s the Limit” – especially since Luas cables on the route have imposed a height restriction on floats. Despite this, the weather gods smiled on the event, which took place in an almost balmy 14 degrees. Thus that traditional feature of parades – goose-bumps on American majorettes’ legs – was absent. Not that there are many majorettes in the modern parade anyway.
But with everything from Bulgarian mummers to bird-costumed Caribbean dancers and medieval-style Italian percussionists, the modern parade is a much more exotic affair than it used to be. As joint MC Caitríona Ní Mhurchú said of the last-mentioned group: “Italian men in tights playing drums. What more could a girl want?”