Craic On

With 20 minutes before the Red Arrows fly there is a huge line of mostly Northern cars going at no more than a good walking pace stretching as far as the you can see along the Derry road.

From the bottom of the town by the steps that lead to the River Row, I counted 50 cars. 38 of them had Northern licence plates, 8 had Donegal licence plates and 4 had number plates from other countries in Ireland.

Last year there was a good crowd in Greencastle for the start of the Clipper race. However, it was noticed that there were few with Northern registrations.

This year it is going to be different. More than three-quarters of the cars coming along the Derry road have Northern registrations (76%) with 16% Donegal registrations and 8% from other counties in the Republic.

Screen

Last year Derryites could watch the start of the race in Greencastle on the screen of the big TV in eth square but that’s gone now. Also, the Red Arrows can only be seen from this end and can’t be seen from Derry.

Those in the car queue now (and there are many of them) won’t reach Greencastle by the time of the Red Arrows. Those involved with parking in Greencastle be warned. There are lots more cars on the way.

For the pubs, shops and restaurants in Greencastle, you are going to have a bumper day – even better than last year.

Good luck!