Laois community launches county's newest St Patrick's Day Parade
The Heath GAA club announces the first ever parade for the village
Laois will see its newest St Patrick’s Day parade this year as The Heath is set to host its first ever running of the famous tradition this March 17.
The parade is the brainchild of local woman Samantha Whelan, who has assembled a hard-working group of volunteers to bring the event to life.
“I have been saying for years that The Heath should have their own St Patrick’s Day Parade.
“We have so much to be proud of in our area. The Heath is a thriving community, and it is time we show what we have in our area. If we didn’t get started this year then another twelve months would pass without it, so this year I decided to do something,” Samantha told the Leinster Express / Laois Live.
The St Patrick’s Day parade is the latest initiative to come from The Heath GAA club’s Health and Wellbeing committee, which has been very active in recent months. The opening of the club’s floodlit walking track coincided with the launch of Operation Transformation, which saw up to 150 people register to walk the track each evening as part of the Ireland Lights Up campaign.
As well as that, there have been exercise classes arranged for all ages, from chair pilates for older members of the community, to strength and conditioning classes and regular pilates for others. A weekly game of cards has also been set up, while it is hoped to see a Comhaltas group take flight in the next few weeks.
The idea for the parade was one of the first ideas to be floated in this new community initiative, but has had to wait for the famous date to come around before it could be realised. It has taken a lot of work and support to get it to this stage.
“We wrote to all our local businesses, organisations, and community groups to participate in this historic event” explains Samantha.
“To participate, you will need to create or design your own banners, floats and signs, and to really stand out, you could maybe add costumes and props to enhance the overall parade experience. This is for the whole community to come out and join in and if you are not taking part, we are asking people to stand along the road to welcome the parade on its way down to the church.”
The plan for the event is to begin at 8.45am at the GAA club grounds, before proceeding to the church for 9.30am mass. Refreshments will be served afterwards in the adjoining parish hall.
“We contacted Laois County Council and Cllr Paschal McEvoy kindly gave us funds towards the parade. We are also very grateful to local business Booth Concrete for their donation. This was a great boost for us which we were very appreciative of,” she said.
If you are interested in entering a float or finding out more information, you can do so by phoning Samantha on 086-3667583 or email [email protected].