Thousands of people turned out in Atlanta today to see the Taoiseach lead the annual parade for St Patrick's Day.

Local media had reported that demonstrations were planned, in opposition to Enda Kenny's stance on water charges.

But there were no protests at the parade, which is one of the longest-running parades in the United States.

Enda Kenny was the grand marshall at that parade - and the demonstrators were reputed to have difficulty with his policy on water charges, as well as allegedly racist comments attributed to him in 2002.

But there was no sign of any protests as one of America’s oldest Patrick’s Day parades crawled through the streets in Georgia.

These onlookers enjoyed the day: 

11Alive had reported a large amount of opposition to the Taoiseach's presence at today's parade, seemingly over the government's stance on water charges. The TV station claims it has been 'flooded' with emails and Facebook comments calling for action against his appearance.

The official organisers of the parade had condemned the messages, saying the parade should not be turned into a political event.

Tonight the Taoiseach travels to Texas, where tomorrow morning he will speak at South by Southwest - one of the world’s biggest technology conferences.

Enda Kenny is also due to meet Barack Obama in the White House on Tuesday.

Originally posted at 14.03