Santa showed up to a jam packed Gorey Main St. to switch on the Christmas lights. Pic: Christy Farrell.

The Christmas season got off to the perfect start when an estimated 10,000 people packed onto the Main Street on Saturday night to see the man in the red suit switch on the town’s Christmas lights.

The organisers had totally re-vamped the event on safety grounds after 8,000 people turned up last year when the new illuminations were introduced, they switched from Friday night to Saturday night, but they were gobsmacked by the large numbers, mostly family groups, that came out this time.

“It was the biggest crowd seen on Gorey’s Main Street since the wonderful welcome home for the All-Ireland champions twenty years ago,” said one seasoned observer.

It was clearly an occasion for the children to savour and it was well organised and went off safely and without any overnight incident coming to the attention of the Gardaí.

Full report in THE GOREY ECHO.