The Parade

It started with the Lord-Mayor of Dublin, Oisin Quinn!

Side note:  Prior to the parade starting, there were two people entertaining all of us in the Grand Stands.  They had microphones and would ask questions of us while we sat waiting for the parade.  There were a lot of Americans as there were several bands from the US in the parade.  The woman asked if someone could  "name the president" and this big doofus says, "Barack Obama - but he's your president, not mine" - How stupid can you be?!  Obviously, Barack Obama isn't  HER president because she was TALKING ABOUT IRELAND!  The president is Michael Higgins.  A little six year old girl answered the question properly and had the dignity NOT to try to bad-mouth her president at the parade.

Most important man in the parade!  (poop-scooper...)

It is Himself!  St. Patrick pointing right at me!

Side note:  He seemed extremely jovial, as though the pints MAY have been going down well just prior to the parade!

Irish Wolfhound - my next pooch!  I want a dog that can give me a lift! (Can't say give me a ride in Ireland - and you know why...)

Men in skirts!

More dogs because, I love them...

Grand Marshall Stephen Roche - Irish cyclist who won the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia, and the World Championship all in one season - 1987.  The Triple Crown of Cycling!  He is only the second cyclist in the world to have done this!

Owasso High School band from Oklahoma

There were several creative entries on the theme of Let's Make History.  This was The Battle of Clontarf which took place in 1014 - so it was the 1000 year anniversary.  They wore red for Munster and the others wore blue for Leinster and it was very creative and well-done!  You will notice that throughout the parade, they did not use big trucks pulling floats.  Here, most of the movement was  with people pushing things on wheels.  Very few motorized vehicles in the Dublin Parade.

This guy came into our stands and taunted those who did not have red on! 

Side Note:  March 29th is the Leinster-Munster Rugby match and we have tickets to see it at Aviva Stadium!  We will be supporting Leinster as that is where we live - though Hogans would be from Munster...

I think this was the Clondalkin Youth Band of Ireland.

This was The Merman's Tail by the Inishowen Carnival Group.

This was a high school band from Massachusettes

They had a disabled band member with someone to push him which we thought was really cool.

This one was part of The History of Love by Macnas.

This was What The Ostrich Sees by Brighter Futures.  There is also a person dressed as the Irish playwright, Samuel Beckett.

This was part of Let's Make History Colorful by Artastic

High school band  from Richmond Virginia!

This was The Celtic Tiger by Dowtcha.  (The Tiger is an enchanter and he is captured and you see him in the vehicle behind - he is banished to the sea.)

The LSU Marching band!  We were surrounded by Tiger fans! (See the lady with the Tiger ears?  She also had a tail!)

The Fort Madison, Iowa high school Marching Bloodhounds!  They stayed at our hotel!

I think this was part of The Wheels of Time by City Fusion.

This one was Ex-Creatures Great and Small by Bui Bolg.  Laurie decided she wants to wear that skeleton for Halloween!

Butterflies...

Butterfly Catchers!

I THINK these are caught and pinned butterflies!  Oh the humanity!

Jelly fish!

Coral...

And the Marching Illini!  They have apparently been here for 8 years now!  They were AWESOME!  They did this cool turn thing in front of the grand stands and their capes were flying and it was really fun to see!

The parade finale  was people on bicycles.  They went from very futuristic, to modern, to echoes of the past.

It was a lovely parade and SO CREATIVE.  (Remarkably, there were no dance groups, no Irish Step Dancing kids walking in the parade and stopping to dance, nothing...which did surprise me!)