UCC CI participated in 2022 St. Patrick's Day parade in Cork
On the March 17th, at the invitation of the Cork municipal government, the Confucius Institute at the UCC formed a group of more than 80 people including CI teachers, volunteer Chinese teachers, students from the Chinese Students' Association of UCC, the local Chinese community and foreign friends participated in this very event of celebration took place in Cork city centre on St. Patrick鈥檚 Day, which is considered as the Irish National Day.
The team was led by two panda figures who were adored enormously by the crowds, followed by several groups displaying a wide range of Chinese cultural symbols, such us waist drums, Beijing opera masks, Chinese traditional outfits like Qipao and Hanfu, Chinese traditional instruments like erhu and Hulusi, Tai Chi, and dragon dance.
This is the first return of the parade after the pandemic since the year 2020. It was meant to celebrate the individuals and organizations who have made a difference in their communities, especially during the pandemic around the theme鈥� Heros鈥斺�擮rdinary people in Extraordinary Times鈥�. Nearly 50,000 spectators watched the parade along the street and their enthusiasm lit up the whole city despite of the changeable weather.