The Swedish-Irish community turned out in force on Saturday, braving the rain to take part in another fantastic parade in the Swedish capital, with a similar march also taking place in the city of Malmö to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
The Stockholm event took place against a backdrop of real Irish weather as grey skies and light rain hung overhead, but the community was undeterred and they came to Kungsträdgården in their droves.
Ambassador Austin Gormley was on hand to lead the proceedings, as was St. Patrick himself, and the crowd was better prepared than ever before – the Swedish-Irish Society had organised face-painting and crafts for the younger members, and the bar run by Martin Hession of Wirström’s Pub did a brisk trade, the tens offering visitors some shelter from the rain.
The pop-up Gaeltacht run by Gaeilgeoirí sa tSualainn saw plenty of entrants for their competition, which entailed guessing the number of old Irish pennies in a purse and using the cúpla focail to provide the answer.
Karl Stein from Törst Beverages had has company caravan on site, offering a taste of his company’s Real Lemonade to all the children and teenagers wearing green, and Jack Ryan of Mutley & Jack’s coffee roastery had teamed up with Sponge Cookies to provide Irish-themed fika, with a virgin Irish coffee proving a big hit with the crowd.
On stage there was a huge array of talent on display, with songs and tunes floating on the breeze before the pipe bands struck up and the sea of green formed into their ranks to march the Stockholm streets.
The tradition of a parade in Stockholm stretches back over two decades, and this year’s event had to be delayed by 45 minutes at the request of the Stockholm police due to another event taking place along part of the route, but the Irish community are nothing if not adaptable and they finally headed off in good spirits just after 1400 local time.
All in all a tremendous success again, well-organised by the Swedish-Irish Society, with the Stockholm Gaels and Spuds & Sill providing volunteers to help out on the day, and many of the Irish companies in Sweden providing generous sponsorship to ensure that the event went ahead smoothly.
Tune in to Monday’s Irish In Sweden podcast to hear a host of voices from the day, with a clip also going up on YouTube later in the week.