St Patrick might have expelled the snakes but Thurles is suffering its own curse, by having its annual parade on the weekend before March 17th.
"The best bands are all booked elsewhere for St Patrick's Day," explains the chairman of Thurles UDC, Ms Frances Boyle, and the town's flagship band, the Moycarkey Pipe Band, is committed to performing in Roscrea and Temple more on March 17th. Ms Boyle said local bands have been tied in to other towns because Thurles did not hold a parade until 1996. "But our parade has gone so big now, they want to come back to Thurles." Pipe bands will be especially suited to this year's parade, which commemorates the centenary of the unveiling of the monument to the 1798 rebellion. The '98 Man in the town's Liberty Square was unveiled before 5,000 people 100 years ago. Among the special guests were Archbishop Croke, Michael Cusack, founder of the GAA, and MPs John Dillon, Timothy Harrington and T.J. Condon.
On March 12th, the '98 Man unveiling will be re-enacted, with the Thurles Drama Group dressed in period costume. The parade committee is seeking anecdotes about the occasion. Meanwhile, the parade committee expects the parade's period of banishment to expire this year. "We are hopeful of getting it back to the 17th of March by next year," Ms Boyle says.