Raining on Patrick's Day parade

The people of Tullamore, Offaly's county town, have been challenged to show their civic pride after it emerged that no one was…

The people of Tullamore, Offaly's county town, have been challenged to show their civic pride after it emerged that no one was prepared to help run the annual St Patrick's Day Parade.

According to Ms Ann O'Toole, secretary of the St Patrick's Day Organising Committee, only she and two other people turned up at the last meeting of the organisation.

As a result of the low turnout, she was giving the people of the town one more chance to get involved in running the event. "I cannot believe that the level of interest is so low following the success of the previous few years. I am challenging the people of the town and the area to show some civic pride," she said.

"At the last meeting I called, only the chairman, Kevin O'Toole, who is my brother-in-law and the man who revived the parade in the 1980s and another man turned up," she added. "We had one meeting in January which was quite well attended but a number of committee members resigned because of work and family commitments.

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"I think this is perfectly understandable but there must be people out there, traders, publicans and people involved in the culture and life of the town, who would want to see a parade," Ms O'Toole said.

"We had over 5,000 people out last year for a fireworks display which was held on the eve of the feast day. There were thousands more at the parade itself on Patrick's Day," she said.

"No matter how we would try, three of us cannot run a parade and fireworks display like we put on last year," she said.

She said local business people had been very generous with money but they had to be personally approached in order to get a donation from them. "The urban council has given us a grant of £750 and that is generous but there is no way it would go any way towards staging the event."

The hire of marching bands cost a lot of money, upwards on £200 each and there are other associated costs.

Ms O'Toole, who served as an independent councillor for more than 15 years, said she had called one more meeting in the Bridge House on Wednesday night next, to see if any more support was forthcoming.

"I think it would be a terrible reflection on the town if it could not put together its own parade when smaller communities with far less resources, can do it and do it in style," she concluded.

Ann O'Toole can be contacted at 0506-41323.

Contact number

Readers who wish to leave messages for Sean MacConnell can do so by dialling 01-6707711, extension 6296.