First Macau St Paddy’s Day parade a hit

A Saint Patrick’s Day parade was held yesterday outside the Taipa Houses-Museum in celebration of the Irish national day. The parade marked the first of its kind in Macau and increased local residents’ awareness of the festival, which was commemorated on Friday and over the weekend in the MSAR.
The festival was well-attended by Irish and Anglophone expatriates in the MSAR and saw around 20 groups participate, including Chinese cultural performers and more traditional Irish folk music and dance.
Among these were performers from the International School of Macau, the Macau Anglican College and Mad Cherry, a band formed by students from the University of Macau. Mad Cherry performed classic rock songs to an eager audience, including covers of Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”
In addition, there were performances by the Macau Lo Leong Sport General Association Lion Dance group, who delighted onlookers with a dragon dance and a lion dance; a group of Celtic bagpipe players known as the “Hong Kong Police Band Pipers”; and Portuguese folk dance groups wearing traditional costumes.
Irishwoman Sheila Goldsworthy, whose daughter was taking part in the TIS contribution to the parade, told the Times that there has been a “great atmosphere” throughout the St Patrick’s Day festive weekend.
“The weather is very Irish today, too,” Goldsworthy drolly observed, commenting on the light rain, grey clouds and strong winds in Taipa yesterday.
Asked whether local residents were aware of the festival, she replied, “No, I don’t think that the locals will know very much about the day – I suppose that’s partly because of the language barrier.”
Kelvin Tsui, another parent of a performer in the parade, was wearing a green hat traditionally associated with the festival and standing on the sidelines. “I hadn’t heard of the festival,” Tsui admitted, “and I’m not sure what it is about.”
Also in attendance yesterday was the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Críona Ní Dhálaigh, who had attended the St Patrick’s Day gala on Saturday night, which was organized by the Irish Chamber of Commerce.
“It’s unbelievable!” she said of the parade. “I was in Dublin where the St Patrick’s Day parade had [a turnout of] 500,000 people. What is amazing here [in Macau] is that the atmosphere is just as good!”
Asked about local awareness of the day, which is probably the most celebrated in the European nation’s calendar, Ní Dhálaigh replied: “Local people weren’t sure of the origins [of St Patrick’s Day]… but they know it is good fun.”
Today the Lord Mayor is in the HKSAR presenting the “Freedom of the City of Dublin” award to Hong Kong-based Irishman Joseph Mallin, who is the son of Michael Mallin, an Irish rebel and socialist who was considered a leader in the 1916 Easter Rising. The presentation of the award will coincide with the centennial anniversary of the armed insurrection against the British occupation.
Finally St Patrick himself arrived – or rather gaming executive Michael Clifford, who dressed as the saint – and told reporters about the history of the figure, including what he is perhaps most famous for: “Banishing the snakes from Ireland.”
Clifford believes that “more and more locals are becoming aware of the day.”
“There are some great shows [here today], a great spirit and great happiness,” he said.
As event organizers explained to the Times, a drumming group had turned up to the parade despite not being officially registered to perform as part of the festivities. The group, called DreamCast productions, had performed the previous night at the gala dinner, they told the Times, and had decided last minute yesterday to join in with  the celebrations.
A member of the band, Pedro Cuevas, said: “We wanted to be a part of this event, as it is the first time and it looked like fun.”
“We saw some of the groups and they are all great,” added Cuevas. “They will definitely do it again next year.” Daniel Beitler