Giant dragon to breathe fire into Halloween parade

A fierce fire-breathing dragon is set to reawaken from its lair and prowl the ancient spine of Cork City tomorrow night as part of one of the country’s largest Halloween festivals.

The giant 36ft long Dragon of Shandon will be the centrepiece of the huge Dragon of Shandon Parade which celebrates the ancient tradition of Samhain.

Organised by Cork Community Art Link (CCAL), the parade will feature several huge floats including a giant hag, a spider, and pumpkin, accompanied by a horde of more than 300 ghouls, zombies, ghosts, and monsters.

The event, one of Ireland’s largest night-time parades, is the culmination of months of hard work by some 500 volunteers drawn from various arts and community groups, as well as several disability support organisations.

Fernando Tunon, the production manager for Dragon of Shandon, said the project is more than a one-night event.

“It is one of the biggest community projects in the city,” he said.

“We make the point that all of our workshops in the months before are free, to ensure they are inclusive.

“That helps to trigger creativity and make those who take part understand that they can be part of the creative team.

“More than 70% of the participants in this year’s parade are newcomers.

“The image of a skeleton is a good analogy — every person is like one of the bones.

It’s all the individual bones working together, all working towards the same goal. That’s how we create the movement.”

The dragon will set off from below Shandon steeple at 7pm, leading the parade down Shandon Street, crossing the river Lee to make its way up North Main Street, before turning onto Castle Street and Cornmarket Street for a spectacular fire show, and where the High Hopes Choir will perform at around 8.30pm.

There will be a series of rolling road closures in place for the duration of the event.

CCAL, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year, staged its first Dragon of Shandon parade 10 years ago but had to cancel the 2013 parade due to lack of funding.

But after the success of last year’s parade, which attracted almost 2,000 spectators, tomorrow’s event is expected to be its biggest yet. “This event has helped restore pride in the historic Shandon area,” Mr Tunon said.

“People used to lock their doors and stay off the streets on Halloween night. Now they are bringing their kids out to enjoy this event. We’ve created a nicer, family-friendly atmosphere, a real sense of community and people have responded.”