“Leo’s flame has gone out,” commented Dublin Lord Mayor Oisín Quinn as he posed in a rickshaw along with burning candles, two female elves, a white angel and Minister for Tourism Leo Varadkar.
The occasion was the announcement of the “Dublin New Year’s Eve Party - the Ultimate Gathering”, and passers-by on Dawson Street stopped at the Mansion House forecourt to snap the happy gathering for instant relay on Twitter.
Seemingly determined to show that any gathering of Irish people - even those from differing political parties - is excuse enough for a party, the two men laughed and teased each other as Mr Varadkar called for “more flame please”.
As the angel climbed, wings outstretched, on the back of the rickshaw, and the keepers of the flame approached, Mr Quinn was seen to hastily wrap his cloak around him: “Careful,” he said, “I’m highly flammable”.
Just a few moments earlier Mr Varadkar had told reporters the unusual scene caused him no fear. “I’ve already lost all sense of shame,” he joked, before neatly side stepping questions on reported staff difficulties at Aras an Uachtarain. Was the Government concerned? Had he any thoughts about the reports of Staff difficulties we asked?
“No, no. None. None at all, no thoughts whatsoever,” he laughed. “Nice try.”
Mr Varadkar also brushed aside the prospect of power and airline strikes in the run up to Christmas. While a potential power strike had been discussed by a Cabinet sub-committee earlier, he said unions had the right to threaten to withdraw their labour.
“It is not unusual in industrial disputes for there to be a threat of strike action…. [BUT]that usually then spurs a very intensive talks process.”
He said it was “ a long time since the lights went out in Ireland as a result of industrial action, it is not the kind of thing I’d like to see happen.”
Outlining how he hoped the year of the Gathering would “go out with a bang” Mr Varadkar said he wanted some events, such as the New Year’s Eve Party in St Stephen’s Green, to become an annual occurrence.
He said he was “delighted” to confirm Ryanair would be sponsoring racing at Leopardstown. In response to a reporter’s question as to what Ireland had to attract visitors, Mr Varadkar quipped: “air access”.
It is very easy to get here from many European cities, he said, and “the fact that we can throw a really spectacular party in College Green” was an added bonus. Last year’s party was “brilliant”, he said.
The year of the Gathering appears to have broken all targets with an additional 250,000 visitors coming to the country in 2013, generating a revenue stream likely to be about €30 million ahead of the €170 million forecast.
Among the four days of events announced for the “Ultimate Gathering” are
* December 29: The Gathering at Leopardstown will see the home of Christmas racing celebrate with special performances from Mary Black and Finbar Furey . A percentage of ticket prices will go to the London Irish Centre and The Forgotten Irish
* December 30 : Love Dublin Day will celebrate the city's flair for music and literature with a number of free pop-up events across quirky venues.
* December 31 : The Procession of Light will mark the beginning of the end of the Gathering Ireland 2013, as over 1,000 people parade through the city's streets holding lanterns made at free family workshops. The procession will be joined by pageants, street artists, musicians and a marching band and will conclude with a spectacular acrobatic finale at St Stephen's Green.
The Three NYE Countdown Concert will see MKS (Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan, the founding members of Sugababes), new act The Strypes and YouTube darlings Seo Linn join ska band Madness and Ryan Sheridan on stage at College Green.
