One of the largest St Patrick's Day parades in Europe brought thousands onto the streets of Moscow yesterday and spirits soared despite a cold snap that could not dampen the enthusiasm of the mainly Russian audience and parade that brought Arbat Street, one of the city's main thoroughfares, to a standstill.
The Irish are the only community who are permitted by the city to hold such an event, closing a major thoroughfare.
Organised by the Irish business community here, with the active support of the Embassy, it has become a tradition in Moscow's calendar and the scores of Russian media photographers, TV crews and radio correspondents who covered yesterday's parade will ensure it lives on.
Russian police and military bands, a school of Irish dance, the Irish wolfhounds club, and Gaelic societies vied with commercial sponsors from Guinness to Pepsi Cola to stage one of the biggest parades in the event's 14-year history in Moscow.
Attorney General Rory Brady flew in to represent the Government and with ambassador Justin Harman hosted ambassadors, representatives of the Moscow city government and VIPs in the reviewing stand.
Mr Brady told The Irish Times he attributed the special relationship between Ireland and Russia to the fact that in the early 1990s many Irish people set up businesses here and demonstrated a faith in the country while other people wavered.
He pointed out that Russia is Ireland's 36th largest market and growing. He also stressed that with a growing Russian community in Ireland this was a way to forge ever closer ties through cultural exchanges. One thing he has been anxious to promote on his fleeting visit is the potential market for Irish beef here.
While other parades are held in cities with a large Irish diaspora, the Moscow parade is only so successful because of the support of the Russians who turned out in force yesterday to celebrate the spirit of St Patrick, enjoy a glass of Guinness and dance in the street.
Meanwhile, in Sydney Minister for Finance Brian Cowen has given a cheque for Aus$65,000 (€39,000) to the Sydney-based Irish Australian Welfare Bureau.
Mr Cowen was in Sydney to meet with Irish businesses operating in Australia, Australian businesses with branches in Ireland and to be guest of honour at the city's St Patrick's Day parade.
Mr Cowen said the Government had doubled its funding to emigrant organisations abroad from €2 million to €4 million in the past year. Mr Cowen praised the work being done by the Irish Australian Welfare Bureau. "A lot of it is just basic contact and connection with Irish people," he said.