Organised chaos as Tani leads mission

CONSIDERING ‘Cosmic Chaos’ was the theme, the St Patrick’s Day parade couldn’t have gone off more smoothly in Cork.

It was also the biggest the city had seen in many years.

The sun shone — unusually — dispelling recessionary blues as more than 2,000 participants from dozens of countries proudly marched through the city’s streets watched by an estimated 40,000 spectators.

On the Liffey the Dubs were proclaiming ‘The Sky’s The Limit,’ but they couldn’t outdo the true capital for high altitude achievement.

Cork’s grand marshal was a real-life Nasa astronaut Dan Tani, whose wife comes from Kinsale.

There may not have been as many floats as previous years, but the quality was good. A spectacular 140ft-long, 45ft-high dragon made by Puca Puppets thrilled the children, as did a 25ft-high alien robot carrying ‘Lang the Ludicrous,’ an inept alien villain trying to take over Cork.

There was plenty of defence on hand, though. Five-year-old Michael McCarthy from Douglas was impressed with the marching of the army, navy and ex-servicemen. The 49-strong crew of the French minesweeper Persee also got in on the act, providing a marching band.

There were also military reenactment groups representing soldiers from the American Civil War, Irish War of Independence and Roman Infantry.

Persee crewmen Baptiste Le Gall and Raphael Aulnette said they thought the parade was very colourful, and added they’re hoping Ireland will win the grand slam clash in Cardiff next Saturday.

There mightn’t have been too many Welsh around to counter that — unless you count the dragon — but just about every other nationality took part in the parade.

Mercy University Hospital nurses Beena Philip and Lizzy Thomas enjoyed their first parade alongside their Indian compatriots. A large Filipino contingent also took part, sporting striking tribal costumes.

Groups from Bangladesh, Cameroon, Angola, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, South Africa and Serbia also took part.

Liz Meaney, who helped organise the parade, said she was thrilled with the turnout.

She was also delighted with the reaction to the 40-stall market which was set up in the Grand Parade.

Lord Major of Cork, Cllr Brian Bermingham, said: “I’m very impressed with the way it went. The whole colour out there was tremendous.”