And it wouldn't be Ireland if we weren't experiencing gale force winds, near freezing temperatures and rain!
But who cares?! It's almost spring and the days are going from mid-winter's 7 hours of daylight to a rollicking 12 hours worth! (Well, not counting clouds and rain.) Whoo-hoo!!
So, I took some photos today. And I’ll bet those of you who haven’t been to Ireland in the past decade expect Dublin’s St Paddy’s Day parade to look something like this:
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| Or maybe this: |
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| Or even this: |
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All photos I took today. But did you ever expect something like this?
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| And yes, that is a drag queen on the float in the background! |
| Or this? |
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| And this: |
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Ireland has changed so dramatically from the poverty-stricken, parochial, papal-dominated and totally white country it used to be, and the Dublin St Paddy’s Day parade really reflects this. But for the Georgian architecture, freezing weather and resultant lack of bare skin, a spectator might think she was watching Carnival! (Well, Carnival in a mostly white country.) Samba bands, wild and colorful masks, dancers on stilts, and irreverent religious iconography reign supreme. It’s so much fun!!
As usual, there were marching bands from US high schools and colleges. I noticed Texas, North Carolina, Illinois, Kansas, Colorado, Tennessee and Arizona. And I couldn’t help wondering what expectations those young Americans came to Ireland with, and what impressions they’d take back with them. Drinking age is 18 here, too, and the kids’ adult minders already looked more than a bit jet-lagged. Ha!
So, to America’s Ancient Order of Hibernians, who still won’t let openly LGBT folk march in New York’s St Paddy’s Day Parade, I dedicate this closing photo of blue-robed, samba-playing “nuns” from today's parade in Dublin!
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