LATEST: Clonmel celebrates St Patrick’s Day with colourful parade through town centre

Clonmel celebrated St Patrick’s Day with a lively parade through the town centre this afternoon, drawing participation from community groups, businesses and organisations from across the area.

The march ran from 3pm to 6pm, travelling from West Gate to the Town Hall. The procession began in Irishtown before moving along O’Connell Street and Gladstone Street, finishing on Parnell Street. The parade itself lasted between one hour and an hour and a half.

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In advance of the event, organisers had set Monday, March 16 as the closing date for entries, noting that any registrations received after that date would not be included in the parade.

“We can’t wait to see all the fantastic groups, businesses and community organisations take part in what promises to be a great day of celebration,” said a spokesperson.

This year’s Grand Marshal was Mary Prenderville, a lifelong member of Comhaltas for more than 22 years. She has served as treasurer during that time and is recognised for her dedication, integrity and commitment to the promotion and preservation of Irish music, song and dance.

Clonmel Borough District organised the St Patrick’s Day parade along with a mayoral reception afterwards. Visitors from the town’s twinned partners in Costa Masnaga and Reading attended the reception, where the Grand Marshal was also presented with a commemorative gift to mark the occasion.

Participants were invited to adopt an optional theme for this year’s parade to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of Charles Bianconi. The theme was ‘Transport Through the Ages’.

Mr Bianconi transformed transport in 19th century Ireland by introducing regular horse drawn carriage services and is widely regarded as a founder of public transport in the country. He later settled in Tipperary and established his first service between Clonmel and Cahir.

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