St Patrick’s Day: ‘New Irish’ shoulder to shoulder with the old

The excitement was reaching fever pitch yesterday ahead of the St Patrick’s Day parade in Ennis, Co Clare, as a group of ‘new Irish’ Nigerians raised their voices to sing ‘Ireland’s Call’.

Posing for friends’ photos in the car park of Clare County Council, where parade participants were gathering, the group, decked out in their traditional African garb, could not hide their exuberance any longer and spontaneously began to sing “Ireland! Ireland! Together standing tall…”

Breaking away from the sing-song, Taiwoo Matthew said: “Today means everything to me. I am very, very proud to be Irish.”