Large crowds filled Roscrea town centre on Sunday to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and basked in warm sunshine for a parade which showcased the talent and creativity of the young people of the town.
Last year's parade was a hard act to follow and organisers of the event were again blessed with beautiful weather this year, ensuring large crowds were out on the streets for the myriad of floats and entertainment which paraded up Castle Street and before the review stand on Market Square towards Main Street.
The redesign of Market Square enables more spectators to get closer to the action and large crowds enjoyed the musical performance from the Theresa Larkin School of Music and very impressive dance routines performed by local teenagers.
A stunning cavalcade of classic vehicles and motorbikes wowed the crowds and even St. Patrick himself, replete with a white billy goat, was brought to Roscrea by the local Gaelscoil, Shlí Dála.
The memory of one of the stalwarts of the Roscrea Parade, Adrian Hewson, who was involved in organising the event since the very first year, was recalled by many people and his name and involvement lives on through the perpetual trophy named in his honour.
Guest of Honour for this year's Parade was well known Roscrea man Arthur Crawford, who founded the local motorcycle club the Free Spirit MCC that have participated and helped marshall the event every year.
Mr. Crawford's long years of dedication to the local parade was celebrated by MC, John Lupton, who thanked the large crowds for coming out and recalled the first event held in dreadfully inclement weather.
Mr. Lupton was joined on the review stand by Judge, Anne Ralph and representatives of the local Gardaí, the local clergy, Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the organising committee, local Councillor, Shane Lee.
Cllr. Lee told the Tribune the most important aspect of the event is that children and families have a great day out and come together in the heart of the town to celebrate all that is best for Roscrea. Once the young people have a great time the event is a success, he said.
Cllr. Lee said the organising committee are already looking towards next year and would like to build more post-parade musical entertainment into the event and have invited people to share their ideas and help make the 45th Parade an even greater success.
Parade Winners
- Chamber of Commerce Perpetual Trophy and €200 sponsored
by Roscrea Chamber:- Roscrea Lion’s Club
Best Business Float – Lupton & Associates Perpetual Trophy: Bernie's SuperValu
Best local community group/sports club – Roscrea Tidy Towns Shield: Roscrea GAA
Special Recognition Award - Roscrea Credit Union Perpetual Shield: Knock Tractor Run
Special Merit Award - Adrian Hewson Perpetual Cup- Corville National School.
Winners of the Shop Window Display - 1st : Sue Ryder; 2nd Jazz Alley and 3rd St. Vincent de Paul shop on Church Street.
The organising committee would like to extend their gratitude to the local clergy, Fr. Tom Corbett, Rev. Jane Galbraith, Rev. Sean Maguire and Rev. Pam Troy for the blessing of the shamrock ceremony and to John Lyons and staff at Phelan’s Market House for hosting the pre-parade reception.
Thanks also to all the girls for dressing up as Mickey and Minnie Mouse and the PJ Masks Heroes, Shane Reynolds for the excellent job on sound and music, the team of marshals, Paddy Reidy of the C.E. Scheme, special thanks goes to Gearoid Doherty of Doherty Hardware and Niall Crofton and Ivan Hastings for providing the rigid lorry for the review stand.
The organising committee would like to thank Inspector Aidan Lonergan and Sergeant Ciáran Ó’Raidhne and the Garda Siochana, all the participants of floats and Tom and Anne Ralph for the judging of the parade.
The Parade Committee, made up by Cllr. Shane Lee, Marie Tooher, John Lupton, Steve Crofton, Arthur Crawford, Catriona Fletcher, PJ Wright and Sean Delaney want to thank the local media for the fantastic coverage of the parade and also to PJ Wright and Sean Hogan for the excellent photography and sincere thanks to sponsors and patrons Tipperary County Council, Premier Credit Union, Roscrea Chamber of Commerce and Roscrea Lion’s Club.
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