Thirty years after the group began its epic outdoor theatrics, Macnas launched its most spectacular Halloween parade to date, 'Savage Grace'.
President Michael D Higgins was among the 44,000-strong crowd who flocked to the streets of Galway to catch a glimpse of the gothic and ghoulish parade.
The good weather helped boost numbers and spirits.
"An October evening in Galway that is both rain-free and wind-free is rare," Noeline Kavanagh, artistic director of Macnas said.
"We are feeling blessed, that's for sure."
The name Macnas means 'joyful abandonment' and the company was founded in 1986 by Páraic Breathnach, Tom Conroy, Ollie Jennings and Pete Sammon.
In the last 30 years, Macnas has brought its distinct brand of site-specific theatre to abandoned warehouses, football pitches, beaches and community halls in over 25 different countries.
In 1988, Macnas floated a 70-foot figure of Gulliver down the Liffey in Dublin and left him sprawled out in the land of Lilliput (Dollymount Strand).
The company designed the giant U2 papier-mâché heads that became synonymous with the 1993 Zooropa tour - and featured in the MTV music awards.
They celebrated the millennium by suspending a giant baby over New York's Times Square and in 2010, the 'Boy Explorer' and his butterfly wandered through all four provinces of Ireland and Australia.
"Macnas is for the dreamers and schemers," Ms Kavanagh said. "I think people like the imagination, the unpredictability and the fun of Macnas.
"Watching these larger-than-life characters populate civic spaces and crowd our landscape is magic."
Last night, actors, dancers and artists snaked their way through Galway's Shop Street re-enacting births, deaths and weddings.
Crowds gasped as towering ravens, barn owls and gargantuan grey wolves crept down laneways. Gnarled and haggard white witches carrying glowing lanterns and shadow puppets illuminated the crisp night sky.
"It is a ballad and a deliriously dark waltz between love and loss," Ms Kavanagh explained.
Costume designer Cherie White has been working on the Savage Grace parade for the past five weeks and began working with the company 14 years ago.
"We reuse and recycle everything so parts of previous parades get a new lease of life. It adds to the cultural fabric of the parade," she said.
"The atmosphere on the street was incredible this evening. I think everyone was glowing with pride at being part of the 30th birthday party."
Tonight, Savage Grace's magic will be transported to Dublin as part of the Sleep No More parade which runs in conjunction with the Bram Stoker Festival.
"Galway one night and Dublin the next," Ms Kavanagh said. "There's no rest for the wicked."
Ms Kavanagh hopes the next generation of theatre makers in Ireland will help keep the legacy of the company alive.
"We have young ensemble workshops and a new generation working on this parade and hopefully they will be part of Macnas in 30 years' time," she said.
Macnas will present the epic of Gilgamesh as part of Galway 2020.
The large-scale project will be staged in three acts over one year and will see the company collaborate with playwright Marina Carr and puppeteer Julian Crouch.
Irish Independent
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