Monday, March 18, 2013

  Most people dressed as St Patrick: Limerick sets world record despite Guinness' Rejection

Limerick, Ireland -- More than 50,000 people lined the streets of Limerick city for this year's Saint Patrick's Day parade, including 285 locals who made their own costumes and dressed as Ireland's patron saint, setting the world record for the Most people dressed as St Patrick, according to the World Record Academy: www.worldrecordacademy.com/ .


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 The Guinness world record for the largest gathering of people dressed as sunflowers is 571 and was achieved by British Forces Brunei Garrison (UK) in Seria, Brunei Darussalam.

  Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the most people dressed as Smurfs: 2,510 - achieved by Jokers' Masquerade with the help of Swansea University at Swansea Oceana in Swansea, UK.

  The parade - the biggest outside Dublin - saw more than 100 different groups and organisations march from Sarsfield Barracks through the city centre to Island Road, the Limerick Leader reported.

  "The Limerick St Patrick's Festival truly pulled out all the stops this year with an impressive line up of performers for the St Patrick's Day Parade," said the Mayor of Limerick, Cllr Gerry McLoughlin," who added it was great to see thousands of spectators on the streets of the city centre.

  Cllr Jerome Scanlan, Cathaoirleach of Limerick County Council, said he thoroughly enjoyed the parade.

  "It was a fantastic occasion, the sun shone which was marvellous, everything about the parade and the effort put in by the participants was great and you have to commend the crowds who turned out in such massive numbers," he said.

  According to The Irish Examiner : "Mike Finn, who co-wrote the TV hit Killinaskully, aimed to have at least 250 St Patricks in Limerick's parade. But he said: "We contacted the Guinness Book of Records people and they informed us they could not recognise a record of people dressed as St Patrick because it was not iconic enough to be recognised by them. (...) it seems that St Patrick is not good enough for Guinness World Records."

 ...The World Record Academy does NOT have any category-limitation or desire to limit people's creativity, so we had no problems in recognizing this record...fast, as usually.