Sydney St Patrick’s Day parade cancelled over storm debt

Irish people living in Sydney will have to find an alternative way of celebrating St Patrick’s Day this year after the organising committee of the annual parade and family day cancelled the event for 2016.

The “current financial situation of the organisation, coupled with the construction works in the Sydney central business district” had forced the decision, the Sydney St Patrick’s Day Committee said in a statement on Friday.

Heavy rain sent revellers fleeing from the family day in Hyde Park after the parade in 2014, which substantially affected fundraising efforts on the day. The committee was left with a debt of AUS$107,000 (€69,500).

The parade went ahead last year after receiving financial support from the Irish Government and the Irish community in Sydney, but committee president Robert Kineavy said the debt incurred in March 2014 still had to be paid off.

“It’s with a lot of sadness that we cannot fund the event this year,” he said. “However we are committed to bringing it back in 2017.”

The Sydney parade and family day, which attracted 80,000 people last year, is the fourth-largest St Patrick's Day celebration in the world after New York, Dublin and Boston.

Unlike other annual celebrations such as the Mardi Gras or Chinese New Year in Sydney, the St Patrick's Day parade doesn't receive any financial support from the City of Sydney.

The Hyde Park family day costs an estimated AUS$160,000 per year to stage, including payments to the City of Sydney for use of the park, and the New South Wales Police Force to police the event.

Mr Kineavy said the committee was reliant on the generosity of the Irish Australian community, as well as local businesses, to help with rising costs.

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Dubln has given almost €80,000 over the past six years to the Sydney parade committee, under the Emigrant Support Programme fund. It has not provided any funding for the 2016 parade, a spokeswoman has confirmed.

Construction of a new light rail network in the city has also disrupted the route usually taken by the parade.