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MANY FAMILIES THAT attended the Christmas lights being turned on in Dublin city centre last night were left disappointed.
Up to 40,000 people made their way into the city centre for the Christmas Procession of Light but once again overcrowding caused issues.
Last year the lighting ceremony ended early for health and safety reasons after a larger than expected number of people turned up to watch.
Appearances by a number of musical acts had to be cancelled and people reported not being about to see or hear the entertainment which inspired a new format for this year.
The plan was for two separate processions to move through the city and finish up on O’Connell Street, where the lights on a 40 foot Christmas tree would be switched on by Lord Mayor Mícheál MacDonncha and Santa.
However, it’s understood that gardaí stopped one of the processions from going on O’Connell Street due to crowd safety concerns.
‘Crowds far larger than expected’
The Lord Mayor of Dublin has arranged to meet with city officials this week to discuss what happened and see if lessons can be learned.
Speaking to reporters this morning, MacDonncha said, “I understand what happened was that the crowds were far larger than expected, much larger, and the gardaí advised that no further people should be allowed into O’Connell Street.
“So that’s why the parades were shortened, they didn’t go to their end point which was O’Connell Street before the main lights were lit on the Christmas tree.
“I understand that the parade that come onto O’Connell street from the North side was allowed onto the street but after the lights. So there were some people who were disappointed. It needs to be looked at, the organisation needs to be looked at in terms of the numbers.
I can understand the safety concerns, there were concerns that there were already too many people on O’Connell Street and more would have been let on, and that would have been a safety issue.
“I did speak to people who were on O’Connell Street, they felt there was a bit of a crush, so we need to learn the lessons from it.”
Many people took to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the event:
Eddie Mccluskey / Twitter#DublinatChristmas have been to the turning on of the Dublin Christmas lights for at least the last 6 years, 2017 was so poor
— Eddie Mccluskey (@EddieMccluskey1) November 19, 2017
Toni Ann Byrne / Twitter
Toni Ann Byrne / Twitter / Twitter
Diana / TwitterA little disappointed after #Christmas #Lights #Ceremony. Could be done a little more for Dublin and for the people excitement. #DublinatChristmas pic.twitter.com/YRoQaj7uyI
— Diana (@MKDiana88) November 20, 2017
TheJournal.ie has asked DublinTown - the organisers behind the city’s Christmas lights – for a comment but has not yet received one.
Prior to the event taking place, Clyde Carroll of DublinTown told this website, “You can stand anywhere and you will see the moment the lights go on and you see will see a beautiful procession.”
With reporting by Gráinne Ní Aodhna
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Athens enters the financial markets with a bang.!
About time.
Fair play… Should have been done here too seeing as protesting is absolutely useless.
So you think bomb’s should be set of in our streets? Idiot…we had enough of that carry on for 30 years on this Island.
In Northern Ireland you mean. The rest of the island didnt suffer any in comparison to up here.
Jamesy, I think you’ll find that Northern Ireland is on this island (nobody mentioned whose island it is). Or do you think that Northern Ireland is a separate island? Do we need to take a ferry to cross over to Northern Ireland? And, as far as I know, one person’s experience of a bomb exploding in Monaghan or Dublin is the same as another person’s experience of a bomb exploding in Omagh or Belfast – i.e. abject horror and psychological trauma at the very least. Or do you place a lesser value on casualties down south compared to those up north?
What sort of a cowardly animal would place a bomb in a car?
Bombing out the banks
And not even one banker dead.. what a waste of a good bomb!!!!!!
Can these lads not see this helps nothing ! Far from the empire they once were
When was the Greek state an empire?
Approximately 2,500 – 3,000 years ago when they had colonies stretching from Gibraltar to the Caspian Sea. There are still Greek speakers living today in Georgia, Ukraine, Turkey and Italy, albeit in dialects that are not mutually intelligible with modern Greek as spoken in Greece proper. The cities of Marseilles, Sevastopol, Trabzon, etc. were founded by the Greeks. Also, approximately 2,300 years ago we had Alexander the Great who built an empire that stretched from the Adriatic to Pakistan in which a multitude of cities were built in his name, such as Alexandria in Egypt, Alexandria in Afghanistan, Alexandria in Pakistan, and Iskanderiya in Iraq.
The Greek nation is less than 200 years old.
Jeremy, I think you’re confusing the word “nation” with the word “state”. The Greek nation has been in existence for thousands of years, sometimes under petty kingdom rule (Sparta, Athens, Macedonia, etc.), sometimes under the rule of foreign powers (Rome, Ottomans, etc.) and at other times as a unified independent state (Kingdom of Greece, Hellenic Republic, etc.). Greece’s current independence is less than 200 years old, but the nation is far older. You’re actually quite typical of a lot of Irish people when it comes to terminology – you use words in the wrong context and mix meanings up. Tell me this: without consulting a dictionary, can you tell me the difference between “ethnicity”, “race”, “nationality”, “citizenship”, “aboriginal”, “indigenous”?
By the way, just in case I’m misconstrued, that “You’re actually quite typical of a lot of Irish people” comment was not meant as an insult. I apologise if it came across the wrong way.
There are quite a few sick people commenting here which is understandable when you consider the number of Shinners who are attracted to the Journal.
Streamlining its bloated public sector. Why didn’t we do that?
We did.
The cost of governing was reduced including a reduction of 30,000 in staff numbers.
The majority of those 30,000 were temporary contracts that weren’t renewed, natural attrition, and people retiring early.
Correct Pierce. Nobody who was permanent was let go as the job for life still exists. I can only speak for county council staff but a few need firing as some are useless. They know they can get away with doing the minimum. These people will never stretch themselves or go out of their way to help. A lot of council workers become unemployable after being with the council any length of time.
When they wore awesome togas I can assume Jeremy :)
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