Thousands line streets of Cork as Dragon of Shandon returns for its latest Halloween

Thousands of people lined the streets of Cork this evening as zombies and ghouls gamboled and frolicked among them and the Dragon of Shandon returned for its latest Halloween.

From Church Street, under the shadow of St Anne’s, some 400 participants from 20 community groups turned out while giants and monsters lurched down Shandon Street, across the river to North Main Street and down the Coal Quay.

The street carnival, which began in 2006, has become one the city’s favourite events, with the living and the undead turning out every year to celebrate Samhain, the ancient Irish winter festival.

This year, the two-storey Shadow Lady, a towering monochrome nightmare, led the parade, heralded by some 30 corpse brides from the Joan Denise Moriarty School of Dance, spinning and swaying in ethereal ballgowns and ghostly porcelain masks, behind a garda on a motorcycle.

“The crack of doom is coming soon,” chanted the funereal song as they approached, with the crack of doom threatening perhaps to come a little too soon for some of the amateur photographers who spilled off the pavements, walking backwards with their iPhones up, and into the path of the spooky dancers. 

They were soon shooed out of the way by some of the organisers.

In the ghastly parade of werewolves and goblins shambling behind the Shadow Lady was the Lord Mayor of Cork, Green Party councillor Dan Boyle, his face painted in skull-like black and white, while ghosts and demons howled around him.

Following close behind was the Baba Yaga, the terrifying Slavic witch, her red-roofed cottage creeping along on its yellow chicken legs.

Giant zombie security guards, their pink papier-mâché brains on display, patrolled back and forth, their dead faces betraying no emotions as rat-faced construction workers wheeled around chaotically in a Flintstones-style steamroller.

The Dragon of Shandon itself, 11 metres long, followed on behind, its hideous skeleton made no less creepy when you hear it is given that horrible bony appearance by no more otherworldly a special effect than wrapping its frame over and over in Sellotape.

Some of the biggest stars of this year’s festival were the all-conquering local stars, the Kabin Crew, who before setting off down Shandon Street gave The Echo a sneak preview of the Halloween song, 'Gimme Them Sweets'.

Organised by Cork Community Art Link, working out of the dragon’s lair in the former Lido cinema in Blackpool, the festival this year featured, among others, the Cork Butter Exchange Band, the French co-operative La Bergerie, the Kalyna Ukrainian Choir, the Cobh Animation Team, Tribe Dance, Mexicans in Cork, and the French Afro-Soul band Santa Machete.

The Lord Mayor said the festival had, in its short time, become one of the best-loved highlights of the city’s annual calendar.

“The Dragon of Shandon is a truly great event, and what we need to be doing is to make sure that it’s fully resourced, because it’s built year-on-year into one of the main events in the city, and the fact that the Community Art Link put so much of their own resources, in terms of time and voluntary effort, needs to be recognised by the city in general,” Mr Boyle said.

“It’s fast becoming one of the key events in the city and we need to recognise it for all the potential it has and for all the enjoyment it gives.” 

He added that he would be hopeful that the festival, which raises most of its own funding, would in the future receive greater financing from Cork City Council.