Festivals in a hurry to curry favour
More than 40,000 people lined the streets in Limerick for the 44th annual international band parade.
The spectators were treated to theme music from hit movies such as Superman, James Bond, and Jaws.
The first prize went to the debut entrants the Orchestra of the Estonian Defence Forces.
But the best reception was saved for Limerick City Brass and Reed Band, led by 80-year-old Sammy Benson, who was presented with a special certificate from Mayor Kathleen Leddin.
Peter O’Grady, Dharmatma Das, Sanaka Rsi, and Keelin Tobin cooking for the Feed the City event in Cork.
The well-known pensioner established the band in 1974 and was honoured for 40 years of voluntary service in his native city.
Like the traditional Limerick band competition, festivals in other cities got under way as precursors to today’s main event.
In Cork 2,000 litres of curry were cooked so that there would be enough for 5,000 people who came for the Feed the City event on Saturday, with the Irish Examiner as media partner..
The vegetable curry was prepared by students of CIT to show the value of vegetables supermarkets do not think are suitable for their shelves.
There were queues for the food as crowds arrived for a quirky start to the weekend of entertainment around the city.
In Dublin, there was street performances and theatre at a colourful Big Day Out on Merrion Square and a 5km road race through the city.
Other towns, such as Thurles, also got ahead of the game with their St Patrick’s day parade.
