The only annual street parade in Moscow is the one organised by Aer Rianta for Paddy's Day. It's held on the Sunday closest to the day itself. There are some pretty impressive floats, and then there are the other kind. Those ones are the transit vans with a few balloons sticking out the window and the name of the company painted on the side - and nothing else. It's just like parades all over rural Ireland, where the emphasis is on being involved, and it doesn't matter what sorts of vehicles get wheeled out.
There's never a lot of advertising for the parade, so you tend to get lots of Moscovites trying to cross the road in the middle of the parade, looking very confused and wondering what the whole thing is about.
Apart from the floats, there are the bands. The Russian Army Band and various Russian folk bands all follow the parade. My favourite part of the parade is the Russian Irish Wolfhound Society. About 10 Irish wolfhounds go trotting down the streets of Moscow, accompanied by their owners. There are also the Irish Red Setter Society and there's a lot more of those, but the wolfhounds are definitely the best.
The Irish Ambassador sits up on his little viewing stand and watches it all go by, in a surreal version of what happens on O'Connell Street, except there aren't any cheerleaders. And then, we celebrate again on the day itself, so the whole thing usually goes on for a week.
Paschal Mahony (33) is an architect. He has lived in Moscow for five years.
