A colourful St Patrick’s Day in Londonderry

David McDonagh who gave the crowd a tune during the annual St. Patrick's Day Spring Carnival in Derry~Londonderry which was part of Derry City Council's three days of celebrations in honour of the Patron Saint. Picture Martin McKeown. Inpresspics.com. 17.03.14

Despite the threat of rain, there was a peaceful, colourful parade in Londonderry that delighted the thousands of people who poured into the city for a flavour of what was on offer at the carnival and the Festival of Food.

As the attached slideshow shows, it was indeed a colourful event, with participants young and old staging a parade that would not have been out of place in New york - traditionally the largest St Patrick’s Day parade anywhere in the World.

The spectacle of colour followed a family friendly route around the Queen’s Quay and 600 young people got into the swing of things with bright costumes and make-up, and there was even a huge inflatable dragon to add to the WOW factor.