'Nobody was hurt': Fathers of teenage boys on Epstein St Patrick's Day floats defend their sons

The fathers of the teenage boys on the Epstein float that featured at a number of parades in the West of Ireland have defended their sons. 

It depicted a person wearing a wig on a mattress being wrestled down by a number of other people. 

The float that followed showed people impersonating Stephen Hawking, Donald Trump and Sean 'Diddy' Combs on a "Fishing Trip with the Lads" at Epstein Island. 

Hawking could be seen in a wheelchair being straddles by a person wearin shorts and a bra stuffed with balloons, accoridng to the Irish Independent. 

The floats appeared in four St Patrick's Day parades across Mayo and Galway. 

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The father of one of the teenagers who was in the Epestein files float says he balieves it's all been blown out of proportion and that the boys meant no harm.

"That’s what happens in parades. Whatever is on the news, you highlight it, and that is what happened... Nobody was hurt," he told the Irish Independent.

He added that he doesn't feel the teenage boys should be demonised, and that those who actually commit crimes against women should be.

He finds it sad that they are "walking around and aren’t in jail at all."

The father of one of the boys in the second float, depicting the "Fishing Trip" says that float wasn't as offensive as the first one. 

"The young lads had their float in relation to that island, but it wasn’t the controversial float," he said.

The father agreed the floats were inappropriate, but said they "did not go out to hurt anyone." 

"They had done it as pure fun and they just didn’t have enough cop-on to realise it would offend people. They are too young and innocent to realise they did harm," he said.

"Maybe there wasn’t a funny side to it, but there is great nature in those young lads. And they don’t cause trouble. They don’t have it easy, young people now. They meant no harm," he added.

The organisers of the Ballinrobe parade, one of the places it was featured, have apologised and said they had not known in advance about the offensive floats.

They added that once they saw the floats, a planned second lap of the town did not go ahead.