THOUSANDS braved the bad weather yesterday in Cork to march in the annual Cork Pride Festival parade.

A carnival atmosphere full of colour brought the week-long festival to a close.

It meant the city centre streets were alive with a sprawling mass of magical floats, giant inflatables, double decker buses, live bands and DJs.

Following the sad loss of Dave Roche LGBT leader earlier this year, he was posthumously named Grand Marshall for the parade with his family members leading the marchers through the streets.

The parade was followed by the official Pride after Party with a stage set up on Grand Parade.

Now a major event in Cork's festival calendar, the pride festival has seen a range of events take place across the city over the past week.

Yesterday evening a break in the rain saw a Family Fun Day take place in Fitzgerald's Park and a coming Out evening where people celebrated their stories and give insights and advice to those struggling with coming out.

Also last week there an art exhibition and film festival; a religious ceremony at St Anne's in Shandon and a community celebration evening for Dave Roche.

On Saturday a Pride Village event took place in Bishop Lucey Park for an afternoon of community Pride fun and entertainment, with live music from bands and DJs.