The people of Ballintubber are once again pulling out all the stops to stage the biggest and brightest St. Patrick’s Day Parade yet.
The excitement is already building within the village and among participants from neighbouring villages and towns with the news that RTÉ will once again broadcast from Ballintubber on St. Patrick’s Day. The national broadcaster was full of praise for the parade when last they covered it three years ago.
Chairperson, Eileen Kenny, says that spectators will need to be in position prior to the commencement of the parade.
“Due to RTÉ’s coverage of this year’s event, the parade will commence at the earlier time of 1 pm and spectators are urged to be there at least 30 minutes before it starts in order to gain access to the main viewing and commentating stand.
“Stewards will be on duty to give directions. Brendan Burke, Mike Ryan and Mark Condon are the main stewards organising traffic control and spectators are asked to contact them with any queries as there will be traffic restrictions in place for the duration of the parade”.
There promises to be great street entertainment on offer this year with characters from Disney, Mrs Brown’s Boys, Bozo the Clown, the largest unicycle in Ireland, stilts, fire breeders and much more.
“It will be a day to remember for all ages,” said Eileen who also advised that there would be live music in both Kenny’s and Garvey’s throughout St. Patrick’s Day and that Carmel McLaughlin would be performing in Kenny’s Bar and Lounge on St. Patrick’s night.
As for the parade itself, Eileen has urged those with floats or who would like to sponsor floats to contact the committee.
“It’s free to enter a float and you can still sponsor floats as there are still a number of them left. So if you can’t make it to Ballintubber on St. Patrick’s Day but would like to sponsor a float, the committee would greatly appreciate your support”.
