State Funeral Of Former President Patrick Hillery

I'd actually forgotten this was happening in Dublin today, then suddenly remembered on my way back from a poetry workshop I'd given in Parnell Square. The whole of Marlborough Street was cordoned off: crowds of onlookers, cops, cameras... and then soldiers doing their clockwork parade ground thing against a background of shabby old ramshackle shops. A requiem mass was being held in the Pro Cathedral and loudspeakers relayed a beautiful woman's voice, singing. Impressive in its way. Lovely sunny day for it, with clouds like gouts of white steam sailing quickly overhead. Took a few more shots, including THIS ONE, in which the policewoman ('ban garda' in Irish) is armed with a bottle of water.