Flatley hops to it as Grand Marshal of Cork parade

Flatley reigned and then it poured — or was it the other way around?

Truth be told, the king of Irish stepdancers didn’t really reign, but he was a grand Grand Marshal of the Cork parade.

Neither did it pour, although there was a sprinkling now and then as a misty rain fell softly on the dozens of hawkers, thousands of gawkers, and hundreds of marchers and performers as the two-hour parade sneaked its way from Grand Parade through St Patrick’s Street.

Flatley and Lord Mayor Catherine Clancy refused to fade, though, as they surveyed the motley of dancers, jugglers, stilt walkers, and trapeze artists that set fire to Cork’s normally sedate main street.

Convention and tradition collided with the exotic as Our Lady of Fatima group sang ‘Faith Of Our Fathers’ while cymbal drums heralded the arrival of a colourful tribute to the Indian community of Cork.

Sporting astonishing Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa lookalikes, they upped the ante in the entertainment stakes, with a combined display of martial arts, acrobatics, and cartwheeling, followed by what must be the first display of a game of cricket on St Patrick’s Street in the shadow of Cork’s patron saint. As one wag put it: “I don’t know how Fr Mathew sticks it.”

Then it was time for the locals to show their wares. “Is that the Barracka or the Buttera,” one elderly woman roared as a bunch of brass marchers upped the sound levels to somewhere approaching supersonic.

It was the Barrack Street Band, founded in 1837. By the sounds of it, they haven’t stopped playing since as they marched off to the strains of ‘Fainne Geal an Lae’.

Culture was on wheels as an oversized tricycle represented a particularly energetic performing arts group, carrying a trapeze artist who ducked and dived her way aloft.

Cork Art Project had one of the best floats — a giant gramophone that was even bigger than the tallest stiltwalker — while members of University College Cork’s School of Asian Studies performed a dance with a golden snake.

A tiny but vocal group from Nepal reminded us that Buddha was a local and if they go for a hike, they have Mount Everest on their doorstep. Representatives from the city’s Chinese community led spectators on a snake dance as convoluted as Bertie Ahern’s finances while a salute to Cork came in the shape of ‘Shawlies’ from the Coal Quay.

The parade ended with a display of canine agility from the A1-K9 animal charity, followed by a rigidly taut march by the tardy Cork Fire Brigade.

Flatley descended the podium and went straight to the Oliver Plunkett bar to join the Lee Sessions for a diddly-eye evening of Irish music.

“I wonder will he take out his rhino horn,” inquired a mischievous woman in the bar, referring to the recent theft from his Fermoy home.

She need not have worried. Flatley took out his concert flute and made merry with the best of the local musicians.

The whole affair overwhelmed some visitors, among them 30 members of the Massachusetts State Police, led by Colonel Alben. “Everyone has been fantastic and so hospitable to us,” said Peter Dziadosz, whose name belies his Irish origins.

“I’m a Murphy on my mother’s side,” he said, reassuringly, as he tuned in to Flatley & Co. “It is wonderful to be here.”