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Two separate marches brought Auckland's Queen St to a halt yesterday - the first ending with Guinness being poured and the other, lighter fluid.
At midday, about 200 people paraded the city's main business strip for the annual St Patrick's Day parade. Half-an-hour later about the same number marched on the opposite side of Queen St for International Day of Action, calling for foreign troops to be withdrawn from Iraq and Afghanistan.
That demonstration ended outside the entrance of the offices of the US Consulate General where about four activists burned, spat and trampled on a Kiwi flag.
No arrests were made and police praised the "good behaviour" of the demonstrators. "It is not illegal to burn a New Zealand flag... It's a great thing about New Zealand, you can demonstrate but if you do it [in an] unseemly [manner] then we enforce the law," said officer in charge, Senior Sergeant Danny Meade.
Among the marchers was Algerian refugee Ahmed Zaoui - dubbed a "human rights symbol"- who rode his five-speed bicycle from his home at St Benedicts Church, Newton, to Queen St, where he spoke to those involved in both events. "My lawyer Deborah [Manning] is Irish. They have a better understanding of justice. I also have many friends who are Irish so it is good to be here," said Zaoui, who waved at inner-city shoppers and signed autographs.
March organisers said they hoped Government officials here would consider withdrawing the Army contingent from Afghanistan "where it is helping bolster a puppet regime organised by the US".
Ireland's Honorary Consul General, Rodney Walshe, said the celebrations were about "singing, dancing and yes, drinking". While he had no issue with the anti-war march being on the same day as the St Patrick's parade, he refused to be drawn on the message conveyed by the marchers: "The Irish were very strong and neutral about the war, but I've got no comment on it, I keep that to myself," Walshe said from the parade start-line. He said 18 per cent of people living in New Zealand were of Irish extraction.
At Aotea Square, a free St Patrick's Day festival ran until just before 5pm. Performances included the Doyle Academy of Irish Dance, O'Sullivan Irish Dancers and Lil Bit of Blarney - "the future of Irish music in New Zealand".
