Santa tours Newport in style
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Santa Claus after his arrival at Newport on Sunday evening as the presents are being loaded for his tour of the town.Image 2 of 3
Mrs Claus just before setting out for the tour of the housing estates in the town on Sunday evening.Image 3 of 3
One of Santa’s helpers before setting out for the tour of Newport on Sunday evening.It was dry, but cold for the arrival of Santa Claus at Newport on Sunday evening and his tour of the town and surrounding estates as darkness closed in on the town.
Accompanied by Mrs Claus, the couple were greeted by two elves, who had arrived at the Centra Supermarket shortly before. A team of local helpers were on hand to assist with the major task of loading a tractor trailer with hundreds of gifts for the young people along the route.
The presents had been delivered to the centre ahead of his arrival and a brightly illuminated tractor and trailer was waiting to be loaded up for the trip around the town.
The local gardaí provided an escort for the seasonal celebrity, who set off exactly on schedule at 5pm, making the first call at the nearby Mulcaire Manor Estate, distributing scores of presents to the young people along the way.
After that the entourage travelled up along Church Road, out Black road towards the Four Roads where on route they visited Marion Estate and Cill Padraig, before returning by Black Road, down Main Street, turning at the square and continuing up Clonbealy Road to visit Rosehill, Clonbealy and Stonehall to Rockvale Graveyard before heading back to visit Jail Street, pass Tullow and visit Hillcrest Manor and continuing all the way out to Foxhall Cross. On their return they headed up Cork Road to visit Glenwood and Glencree to Lacken Park before returning through the town.
Along the route scores of boys and girls were anxiously on the look out and ready to greet Santa and Mrs Claus, many of them dressed in colourful festive outfits. The two elves had a busy evening handing out the presents along the way as the children assembled to greet the party with the numbers boosted by some young people from outside of the town who had travelled into Newport to meet Santa. Many of them remained in their cars, to comply with the requirements for social distancing, while the elves keep a close look out to ensure that they met as many as possible. Santa and Mrs Claus had specifically asked that the young people to wear their Santa hats for them and they were not disappointed.