Dublin marathon 2012 (part 2)

Finally some more photos from the 2012 Dublin Marathon, following my previous post some months ago.

These pictures are pretty much self-explanatory so I will simply let you enjoy the atmosphere. As always, clicking on any image will get you to a larger version. If you have any question, the comment section is just below.

 

 

(I have very little time to write anything, and I have plenty of photos waiting to be shared here, so I will probably switch to this style of letting the photos do the talking. Any objections?)

Dublin Marathon 2012 (part 1)

I did not run the Dublin Marathon yesterday (more on that in a later post I suppose), but I was there to cheer on everyone and take some photos. Here is a first one. More to come in the future.

(You will note that I did not commit to any date for the other photos. I know I have been bad at sticking to a schedule lately. I will do my best to bring you more photos soon, though.)

DCU in the snow

As you may already know, I work at Dublin City University. The campus is just North of the city, and has a nice park just besides, which provides a nice location, e.g. for lunch breaks.

It was very cold this morning (-8°C), with some fog overnight, so trees were covered in ice.

 

We then had to endure yet another snow shower, that did not last too long but was fairly intense.

 

It looked like it could be a long day, but the sun quickly came back, and stayed with us the whole afternoon.

  

More snow is expected over the week-end, so stay tuned! :)

The big freeze in Dublin!

I believe everyone in the world is aware that Europe is currently experiencing a period of very cold weather, with heavy snow falls in places.

While the situation is not as bad in Ireland as it may be in the UK, it remains very cold, with a persistent layer of snow, so I decided to take a few pictures. It is not every day (or even every year!) that you can see Dublin in the snow.
As usual, you can access larger versions of these pictures if you click on them.

Back on Tuesday (Jan. 5th), while the overall situation seemed under control, (main roads were clear), some secondary ones remained covered with snow and ice, and sidewalks were very slippery.

It all got worse yesterday with repeated showers of snow, then sleet, and then snow again.

  

No further snow falls today, but it was only -6°C this morning so, far from melting, it got even more slippery.

  

Cold weather is forecast to last for quite some time, with further snow falls, so I will probably post a new series of photos later on.

On my way to work...

... I walked past a couple of ducks and saw some nice cherry blossoms!

 

For those familiar with Dublin, the ducks were on Griffith Avenue, and there are a few very nice cherry trees on the Rise (a shortcut from Griffith Avenue to Ballymum Road when I walk to the university).

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? :)

Paddy's final preview!

Tomorrow is Saint Patrick's Day, and here is a final preview of things one could expect to see during the parade in Dublin!

For this post, I am using pictures from the 2006 parade. Pictures from 2006 can be seen in another recent post.

Taking pictures at crowded events like this parade can be quite frustrating. Let's take, for instance, the one below. It could have a good shot, had that guy not sticked his head in the frame at the very last second!

I tried several times, from different angles, but there was always something going wrong. It was the common feature of the day, but did not prevent me from having a good time.
Who wouldn't enjoy a parade involving pipe bands and Dracula in the same event!

 

A distinctive feature of Dublin's parade, as opposed to what one would expect from the large parades taking place in the US, is the nice blend between "professional" paraders and some others who definitely look more amateurs. Some of the latter would not be missed (e.g. the Brazil/football theme in 2006), but it makes a very enjoyable atmosphere overall. There is a real emphasis on multiculturalism as well, which can only be appreciated (see e.g. the martial art demonstration by the Sikh parader below).

 

Every year, paraders from other countries are invited, which is always colourful and enjoyable, and a big success with the local crowd! In 2007, it included a Maracatu nação demonstration from Brazil (Pernambuco state) and pipers from Asturias (in Northern Spain).

  

With this final preview, I am only left with one thing: wishing you a very good Saint Patrick's Day tomorrow, wherever you are.
Please visit again soon, for this year's harvest!

Let's get it started!

It is this time of the year again, when everybody wears green, drinks too much and sings loudly on the streets: Saint Patrick's Day!

To get things started, some pictures from the 2006 parade in Dublin. This is not the biggest parade you will ever see, but this can still be quite enjoyable. If you arrive early enough to have a good spot, that is.

Several schools are involved in the parade each year, but you also get a chance to see the army, police and fire-fighter units, and their bands.

As you can see, mid-March is not exactly the best time of the year in Ireland, weather-wise. Proper sunshine was missed in 2006, true, but if I had one single request for this year's parade, it would be that no one tries adding a Brazilian touch to it again, please!

It looked quite weird, did not do any justice to Brazil and, given the weather, it must have been a real torture for the dancers!