No better place to be on New Year’s Eve

YOU couldn’t think of a better place to welcome the New Year than West Kerry, says TG4’s Caitlín Nic Aoidh and thousands agreed with her.

Caitlín was in Páidí Ó Sé’s pub, broadcasting a New Year programme with Pádraig Ó Sé. There was a full house of course and the best of entertainment from the likes of Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Nicole Ní Dhushláine, Liam Ó Maonlaoi and others. But not thousands of people.

Over in Annascaul the village was full as well and locals and visitors enjoyed the now traditional torchlight parade behind their regular pipe band, made up of four American police and a Scotsman. It was as big a New Year gathering as anybody has seen in the village, but it didn’t number in the thousands.

Instead the thousands were in Dingle where the fireworks and Fife & Drum band parade were greatly admired – and the streets were so thronged with visitors that the locals couldn’t find each other to shake hands and welcome the year ahead.

It took most of the local Gardaí, a dozen volunteer stewards, and six doormen drafted in from the Hillgrove to guide the Fife & Drum through the crowds massed on Main Street. As the band played Auld Lang Syne on The Bridge there weren’t many local faces to be seen at the crowd control barriers. Maybe they’d gone to Páidí’s, Annascaul, Ballyferriter or Ballydavid. Or maybe Dingle is just becoming too much for the locals.

The mass of people on Main Street who came from far and near to celebrate the new year in Dingle and (right) Tommy and Eileen Murphy were among the few locals on the bridge.

Eoin Moriarty playing with the Dingle Fife & Drum in O’Flaherty’s bar before heading out on his first New Year’s Eve parade as big drummer with the band.

Caroline and Alan Toomey, Deirdre O’Sullivan, Cody Evenhus and Aoife Maguire among the throng on the small bridge at the dawning of the new year.