The Swedish-Irish community on the west coast enjoyed an incredible first parade on Saturday as hundreds turned up to turn Gothenburg city centre green on an unforgettable afternoon.
The parade, which began and ended at the Contrast public house on Tredje Långgatan, was a tremendous success, with dancer Rosalie Wagenaar wowing participants and locals alike with a brilliant solo Irish dance display in the middle of the march through the city.
“I can’t even describe it – I literally can’t believe how many people turned up. From a tiny idea that we had of maybe 80 to 90 people here this year, I think we’ve had close to 300 maybe,” Ian Moloney, who was one of the local driving forces behind the event, told the Irish In Sweden podcast.
“It was so family-friendly, amazing. Shocked, to say the least,” he added.
The day began at 1100 at Contrast, with members of the Irish community there even earlier to deck the venue out in green for the occasion. Gothenburg’s Läs Is More bookshop was represented by owner Stephanie Coughlan, and the literary and family-friendly themes were also embodied by Sarah Wills Carlsson, whose ‘ittle Bear books proved to be a big hit with younger readers.
There can be no St. Patrick’s Day without music and DJ Geraldine Fahey had her decks set up on stage, and a slew of bands and performers hit the boards during the day to keep the guests entertained.
The parade itself was the high point as the Irish community burst out of hibernation in a glorious throng of noise and colour that took over the area for an hour or so. Families travelled from Borås, Varberg and even Jönköping to join in, and the crowd was dotted with familiar faces such as publican Ronan Morgan, former Dubliner manager and keen golfer Phil O’Keefe, and a number of new arrivals to the area.
“I’ve never experienced such enthusiasm, such vibrancy in the community – this is long in the making, a dream,” Barbara Jones, Ireland’s ambassador to Sweden, told the podcast.
“They’ve just pulled off the most amazing thing … we were hundreds! I was expecting maybe a hundred, but there was easily 350, 400 people here.”
St. Patrick himself was of course in attendance, and delighted with how the community came together.
“I love it, I love it. This is only going to strengthen the community,” the fabled snake-chaser said, adding that he wasn’t surprised at the huge turn-out.
“I think this is only a fraction of the people who could have been here, there’s probably people that can’t be here, and I think it’s only growing and growing. We’re stronger together, and I think there should be more factions in the Irish community that help one another,” he added.
Parades also took place in Stockholm and Malmö to mark Ireland’s national day, making the Swedish-irish community far more visible than it normally is.
The patron saint’s sense of solidarity was echoed by Ambassador Jones, who said that at a time of great uncertainty around the globe, Ireland would be steadfast in offering the hand of friendship to all in the international community.
“We’re going to stand with them, and stand with resilience and purpose and not be hostile, but keep the dialogue going. Energy is not enough, we need strategy and we need values and we need purpose, and the purpose here is togetherness and being proud of theis wonderful relationship between Sweden and Ireland, and Gothenburg is at the heart of it, the beating heart of the Swedish economy.”