At last the people in a body
To the Town Hall came flocking:
'Tis clear, cried they, our Mayor's a noddy;
And as for our Corporation - shocking
To think we buy gowns lined with ermine
For dolts that can't or won't determine
What's best to rid us of our vermin!
If Browning's Pied Piper of Hamelin was familiar to him, the Mayor of Galway, Councillor Declan McDonnell, wasn't taking it to heart. Macnas will certainly know if he was when the next tranche of local authority arts funding comes around . . .
Billed as a beautiful and gentle end to the millennium in Galway, the children's lantern procession from Eyre Square, which aimed to turn the fable on its head, was all enthusiastic kids and little in the way of adult support. Perhaps the street theatre company had channelled too much of its apparently endless energy elsewhere? In any event, the past millennium's last sunset over Galway bay was a fairly subdued affair.
It wasn't without a few memorable moments. Lined up on the platform to watch the mayor light the giant candle - at the official sunset time of 4.28 p.m. - some of the members of Galway Corporation looked a little uncomfortable as they tried to shelter their own little flames from the damp and windy weather. There were few enough of Mr Seamus Brennan's candles in the smallish crowd, which began to gather only towards the end of De Danann's free performance.
The mayor delivered a speech, which was largely lost due to poor acoustics, but which referred to 39 past generations and 39 more to come who would inherit the city. The Bishop of Galway, Dr James McLoughlin, delivered a homily, reminding those present what this event was all about, in the church's view. Then three of Galway's rising generation read out their wishes, and attracted some of the loudest cheers.
Danielle Burke (11) wished for no more pollution in the city and for peace in just about everywhere, including Kosovo, Chechyna and Bosnia. Anna Mullarkey (11) also expressed hopes for peace, said she personally wanted to be a doctor, and hoped that the poor would no longer be poor. And Aoife Smith (10) was greeted with whoops of delight when she wished for fewer apartments and more playing areas for animals and children. "Less apartments and less car-parks," was one wry response.
Ironically then, the final 15 minutes of the official event were spent in a car-park. Up to 10,000 people gathered in the parking area of the Black Box theatre on the Dyke Road to watch a spectacular fireworks display. Catherine wheels, rockets and all sorts of geometrical configurations lit up the western skies and set off every car and house alarm within a half-mile radius.
It was all over by 5.45 p.m., and an extra Garda presence ensured that the final six hours of the century passed off relatively peacefully.
