Martin defends congress attendance

The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, is defending the attendance at the opening ceremony of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress.

Archbishop Martin, who is the host of the eight day gathering, is insisting the congress got off to a good start yesterday.

Around 12,500 pilgrims turned out for the event in the RDS in Dublin, but a crowd of up to 20,000 people had been expected.

However Martin says the opening ceremony was an impressive occasion: "One of the the difficulties is that there are people who buy a seven-day ticket. Over 20,000 have done that and may not be there every day.

"People will pick and choose, some days are higher.

"I thought yesterday we got off to a good start on the first day and it was a ceremony which I think impressed everybody that was there."