Is it the end of the line for the St Patrick's Day parade in Donegal Town?

The future of the Donegal Town St Patrick’s Day Parade is looking very bleak after a callout for new committee members and volunteers fell on deaf ears.

A public meeting held on Monday evening was attended by only six people. Three of these were members of the Kennedy family who have been instrumental in organising the parade for generations.

A statement issued following the meeting said that due to lack of interest and support, there would be no parade this year. 

But can the situation be salvaged?

Mayor of Donegal Town Pauric Kennedy, his daughter India and his brother Jonathan are bitterly disappointed with the response to the call for help.

Jonathan Kennedy said: “The same people have been organising the parade for years and it just got too much. Pauric and myself have been involved for over 40 years, firstly by helping out our father [the late Cllr Peter Kennedy] and then doing it ourselves.

“We had some very good people helping us, Linda O’Donnell has been very good. 

“But it’s the same here as it is in towns all over the country, you have a small number of people doing all the work. They don’t benefit from it but it is left to them to do.

“We are there every St Patrick’s Day from six o’clock in the morning putting up barriers, flags, etc, then organising and marshalling throughout the day. In the evening when everyone goes home or to the pub, we are picking up rubbish and taking down barriers, the same handful of people every year.

“We are very aware of the fact that businesses have had a tough few years but we really needed to see them get involved in the parade. We have to invest time and effort in these things to get people to come to the town.

“We need financial support too, and always manage to scrape the money from somewhere; it is physical help on the ground that we need most of all.”

The last parade to be held in Donegal Town was in 2019 and it was the biggest and most successful to date, bringing people to the town centre in their droves. There was a wonderful festive atmosphere that organisers had hoped to build on for the future.

“We talked about making a long weekend of it, having music on the Diamond and things like that,” said Mr Kennedy. 

“And after two years with no parade we really believed there was a big appetite for something but it looks like we were mistaken.

“It is the same few people again, and we can’t keep doing it with so few people. We need marshalls and people at the junctions and the barriers to keep everyone safe, people keeping an eye on the tractors and the cars and the children. At the end of the day, we want people to come to Donegal Town and enjoy the parade and to go home safe and well afterwards. To do that, we need more help and we need that help to come from the people who will benefit the most.”
Mayor of Donegal Town Pauric Kennedy is hopeful that the situation can be salvaged.

“It would be a shame to let it go now,” he said.

“Donegal Town has been the place to be at 3pm on St Patrick’s Day for years and going forward, we really want to keep that.

“I am still hoping that people will come forward.

“It is not just about more help, it is about new ideas and new energy injected to bring it forward.

“We are appealing to people - and particularly the business community - to get involved.”