Saint Patrick's Day 2009

After recent posts on the 2006 and 2007 parades, it is time to have a look at what took place this week.
A nice change, compared to recent years, was the weather: it was lovely! And quite warm, which can only make things even better.

Of course, some things never change, and the crowd was as dense as ever, and the atmosphere as lively.

The Dublin Fire Brigade pipe band was, as usual, one of the first ones to walk down the streets, and remains highly popular. Given the service fire-fighters provide all year long, this level of popularity is of course not a surprise (and can for instance also be observed every July 14th in France).

The theme for this year was "The sky is the limit", which provided the perfect opportunity for some ambitious designs!

 

I would be curious to know who decides what fits within the parade's theme and what does not, though. The designs below are very nice of course, but really sky-inspired, are they? :)