Here they come......again
by Laura Friel
It was a first. A St Patrick's Day Parade to the heart
of Belfast city centre. It was brilliant. Tens of
thousands of people celebrating their birthright not in
a triumphalist display but with self effacing good
humour. It was a day for families to relax and enjoy.
For Belfast nationalists, who only a few weeks ago were
living under the shadow of a loyalist sectarian murder
campaign, it was an opportunity to walk free from fear.
It was a taste of equal citizenship long denied.
A few years ago it hardly seemed possible. In the
sunshine of an unexpectedly warm spring day, Belfast
city centre, formally a no-go area for nationalists
became a ``Let's Go'' area.
As people gathered shortly before midday at West
Belfast's Dunville Park, it was obvious the parade
would not just meet the expectations of the organiers
but outstrip all expectation.
By the time the revellers reached the city's Castle
Street it was clearly the largest turnout since US
President Clinton had joined the Christmas celebrations
of 1995. At Royal Avenue, West Belfast was joined by
the North Belfast contingent, meeting parades from
South and East Belfast at the City Hall.
Just over a month ago, nationalists joining a city
centre rally against loyalist terror were jeered and
derided. Admidst a sea of green, the British national
flag flying from the City Hall seemed out of place,
almost forlorn. When a group of youngsters climbed the
statue of Queen Victoria to place a Tricolour in her
hand, nobody seemed to mind. On such a good humoured
day, perhaps even the English monarch, renowned for not
being amused, simply enjoyed the joke.
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)