Dublin Pride to participate in Patrick’s Day Parade for the first time ever

The folks at Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride couldn’t wait until June to march again, so they’re entering the Saint Patrick’s Day parade to get us in the mood for the return of Pride.

Entertainment . Written by Han Tiernan.

Crowds dressed in green for Saint Patrick's Day gathered outside the GPO to watch the parade.
Image: @stpatricksfest

After its two-year forced hiatus due to the pandemic, the Saint Patrick’s Day Festival 2022 returns with an ambitious, bigger and better-than-ever live parade and this year they’ll be featuring Dublin Pride who will have not one but three entries in the parade, including their first-ever floats.

Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride told GCN, “After two years without a parade, we couldn’t wait till June to come back. 

“We are incredibly honoured to be one of the main pageants in this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and we want to say a huge thanks to the Patrick’s Day Festival team for giving us this platform; to showcase how far we’ve come and how much further we can go still.”

If ever there was a group who knew how to bring colour and pageantry to a parade, it’s the LGBTQ+ community and the Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride vision for the parade is about as colourful as it gets with just a slight hint of glitter balls and feather boas.

The team will host three sections of the parade focusing on the theme of ‘inclusion’. The first section will see 81 performers making up a snaking Pride flag. They will all carry placards with the word “HOPE” written in different languages to represent the universal desire for inclusion.

The second section will focus on the idea of community and will support Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride’s commitment to sustainability. The float will be decorated with a mixture of plants and animals to represent the ideals of diversity and inclusion. All of the trees used on the float will then be planted in community gardens. The float will also feature the Rainbow Twirlers dance troupe.

The final entry into this year’s parade will represent joy. And in true Pride fashion, it will be – you guessed it – a disco float! A DJ will blast the tunes from under a glitter ball dome as drag queens and performers will dance around the float in club costumes from different decades.

This will be the culmination of what they believe to be true inclusion: joy and a sense of belonging. “You’re not just invited to the party, you’re asked to dance!”

And if you would like to dance or get involved in Patrick’s day parade in any other way, as part of the Dublin Pride pageant, please email [email protected].

© 2022 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.

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