Call to Westport community to make St Patrick’s Day Parade best ever

Neill O'Neill

WITH 2017 being a historic year as Westport celebrates its two hundred and fiftieth birthday, there is a hope that the St Patrick’s Day parade to be held in the town on March 17 will be an extravaganza of fun, music, colour and community.
All sporting organisations, community groups, businesses, agencies and schools are encouraged to enter this year’s parade, which will leave from Castlebar Street around 1.30pm before following a route around the town centre.
On St Patrick’s Day in 1767, an advertisement was placed in Faulkner’s Dublin Journal by patron, Peter Browne Kelly and architect William Leeson, calling for tradespeople to build the new town of Westport. It is fitting then that the calendar of events to celebrate this milestone for the town will commence fully on St Patrick’s weekend, when aside from what is hoped will be a parade to be remembered, there will be street performers, live music and dancing around the town, and a spectacular fireworks show.
However, central to all this will be the parade, and without the participation of as many organisations, groups and schools as possible, the vision for St Patrick’s Day 2017 will not be realised. The ‘Gathering for Patrick’ festival will take place across the Bank Holiday weekend, further adding to the appeal of Westport for locals and visitors alike, and the vision of the dedicated St Patrick’s Day parade committee, and indeed the separate Westport 250 year celebrations committee, is that the parade through Westport on March 17 will be befitting of the quarter of a millennium anniversary of the town, and an event for the ages, remembered by young and old alike for years to come. So far the response from schools has been positive, but the committee are hopeful that all schools, national and secondary, in the Westport area, will participate to some extent.
Community groups are being openly invited to participate and facilitation will be offered to them, as it will for schools who need some assistance. The numerous sporting clubs are also encouraged to participate, while businesses in Westport are being asked to get involved in huge numbers, and at a minimum to decorate their premises for the weekend. Marching bands are being invited to participate in the parade, and the potential for using some special floats is being investigated.
Marshalling of the parade can sometimes be a problem and community groups are asked to nominate volunteers for the duration of the parade, from 1pm to 3.30pm, who will be needed to assist the gardaí with their duties that day and ensure the smooth and safe running of the event.
For further details and to register your participation in the parade, which must be done in advance to allow for safe and efficient organising of the event, contact Westport Civic Office on 098 50400.
St Patrick’s Day is our national holiday and your chance to celebrate your community, your town and your country. It is also a chance to showcase your organisation, business school or club to what it always the biggest gathering of people in Westport annually, so please come out and support this event in 2017 - the 250 year anniversary of Westport.