When I was a child, one of the most exciting parts of St Patrick’s Day was watching the news in the evening, to see the parade we had attended just a few hours beforehand in Cork come alive again on the telly. And there was the anticipation that you might just see yourself on the screen. Then of course, there was the ‘big parade’ in Dublin that we would record on those VHS tapes and we’d watch over and over again.

So when I got an invite to actually attend the ‘big parade’, that childhood excitement was re-ignited. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment,” my mother proclaimed when we got to our seats on Parnell Square, and she was right. Sitting there with my daughter and mother to see the biggest spectacle our country puts on was a special moment.

Some 4,200 people took part in the 2024 parade and I soaked every one of them in. Whether it was the lads from Curious State Waterford dressed in an eight-man Aran jumper as part of the 110% Irish skit; the excited athletes of Team Ireland celebrating 100 years at the Olympic games; or the kids from the north east inner city dressed in their vibrant costumes surrounded by majestic coloured floating birds, it was captivating.

The theme of this year’s festival and parade was ‘Spréach’, the Irish word for spark, representing the unique essence of Ireland and us Irish people, and it ignited the entire event.

Dynamic creations

Three things struck me throughout the parade. The first was the sheer size and creativity of the floats, one so large it had to be deflated and re-inflated during the parade in order to navigate the Luas lines. The fusion of imagination and technical innovation to bring these dynamic creations to life was inspiring.

I was mesmerised by the marching bands, especially the ones from America. Hundreds of musicians marching in unison, playing everything from trumpets to trombones, drums and clarinets. To perfect that precision must have taken hundreds of hours of practice, but the impact was loud, not just in terms of noise.

The evening news on St Patrick’s Day highlighted the story of 150 asylum seekers being moved from tents on Mount Street to tents in Crooksling in the Dublin mountains. Minister Roderic O’Gorman said the site became available in recent days. Many questioned how coincidental the timing of the move was in light of the St Patrick’s Day celebrations. After all, tents on streets isn’t exactly the image we want to portray

And then there was the multi-cultural element of the parade, the fusion of people of different nationalities that have made Ireland their home while still celebrating their own culture. Lithuania, Peru, Ukraine, France, Venezula, to name just a few celebrated. There were big smiles, lots of cheering and enthusiastic clapping.

The irony wasn’t lost on me however. Less than four months ago, within a few feet of where we were sitting, the city was on fire. Rioting and looting kept the city ablaze with race and immigration issues at the heart of the conflict. The evening news on St Patrick’s Day highlighted the story of 150 asylum seekers being moved from tents on Mount Street to tents in Crooksling in the Dublin mountains. Minister Roderic O’Gorman said the site became available in recent days. Many questioned how coincidental the timing of the move was in light of the St Patrick’s Day celebrations. After all, tents on streets isn’t exactly the image we want to portray.

The land of a hundred thousand welcomes isn’t always so welcoming.

Yet the parade told a different story, and one that is just as valid. The multi-cultural celebration serves as a reminder that we are a very different nation to what we were 20, 30 years ago. Many people of different nationalities have integrated and made Ireland their home, and this radiated far beyond the streets of the capital. Towns and villages celebrated their multi-cultural communities in local parades with smiling faces and much pride. We all can do better, our Government included – but certainly the spark of this year’s parade was the unity of people celebrating their own sense of Irishness.