*Photograph: Robert Fairfield / Buffalo Studios Ireland
PLANS TO pipe water from Clare and Tipperary to Dublin provided plenty of inspiration for floats in the Killaloe/Ballina St Patrick’s Day parade.
Indeed the messaging in relation to Uisce Éireann’s plans to abstract 300m litres of water daily from the River Shannon to cater for the leaking water network in Dublin saw Birdhill Tidy Towns win the best overall float.
Last October’s move to the pedestrianise The Old Bridge in Killaloe also fell into the controversial category but the bridge was reopened to allow the parade to cross before it finished in the green, allowing the usual route from Ballina to Killaloe to be maintained.
Best club and organisation went to Ború Blazers Basketball Club and Derg Credit Union won best business, they depicted Brian Ború in their float.
Along with Birdhill Tidy Towns, McKeogh’s Hardware and Ballina Killaloe Angling Club also entered floats demonstrating the local opposition to the plans to pipe water all the way to the capital.
The angling club noted, “Dublin knows how to waste water” while ‘Pipe down Dublin’ was the message from another float.
Gallery of photographs by Robert Fairfield / Buffalo Studios Ireland.
