Connacht Sentinel
Tuesday 3 July 2012
We’ve come to expect pageantry and spectacle at major events in Galway. As the home of Macnas, the Arts Festival parade, this year’s Volvo Ocean Race finale and the Galway Races, we know how to dress up and party.
So the quality of the costumes and displays at the Corinthians Tag Rugby Fancy Dress should have come as no surprise, but it did.
Over 50 of the 70 teams took part in the Fancy Dress parade and the imagination and effort put in by so many of them was astounding.
Volvo Ocean Race teams, including one fairly large boat, featured strongly as did superheroes, priests, nuns and soldiers in many forms.
Teams cam e as the characters from Tyo Story; as Noah complete with pairs of animals; as Fr Ted and the Craggy Island residents; as Ken & Barbie; and as a tea break.
Contestants from Operation Transformation were there as well as an ensemble of traffic cones, engineers and signal men representing the city’s never-ending road works. Occupy Galway Corinthians groups took up residence on the pitch as well.
The Angry Birds were a big hit with the crowd and a contingent of Mick Wallaces came to campaign in Galway and seemed to attract popular support.
However the biggest cheer of the night went to the 18 member synchronised swimming team which gave an, eh, acrobatic and artistic display – the quality of which will definitely not bee seen at the London Olympics.
The Judges, including deputy Mayor Frank Fahy, also went with the crowd’s choice and the daft but delightful swimmers won the night.
There was a serious side to the evening as over €3,000 was collected for CRY, the charity established to address cardiac risk in young people.
Oh, there was a full round of tag rugby matches played on the night as well, but we’ll deal with that next time.
More photos of some of the matches and the fancy dress are available on www.galwaynews.ie/photos.
There will be no tag rugby this week so as not to conflict with the Volvo Ocean Race celebrations so there will be two rounds next week on Tuesday and Thursday.