Clonmel St Patrick's Day Parade marks 150th anniversary of the death of Charles Bianconi

With fuel prices rocketing, the people of Clonmelwere reminded about a form of less costly transport from another era as the town celebrated St Patrick’s Day.

The Strait of Hormuz was hardly a topic of conversation when Charles Bianconi, the Italian-born entrepreneur who revolutionised public transport in Ireland, set up his headquarters in Clonmel.

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To mark the 150th anniversary of the death of Charles Bianconi, participating groups in the Clonmel parade were asked to embrace a Transport Through the Ages theme.

Over 1,500 people took part in the lively and colourful parade as it made its way through the town from the West Gate down to the reviewing platform outside the Town Hall and opposite the building where Bianconi made his transport headquarters.

The parade was guided through the town by Banna Cluain Meala, fresh from their incredible success at the International Band Championships, where they were named as Overall Parade Winners, and Grand Marshal Mary Prenderville.

Up to 26 participating community groups took part in the parade, among them were the musicians from the Powerstown/Lisronagh branch of Comhaltas, who came out in force to support Mary Prenderville.

A dedicated volunteer with the branch for decades, Mary was given the honour of Grand Marshal for the parade to acknowledge her contribution to the branch and to mark the 75th anniversary of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.

“I could not believe it when I was asked to do it,” said a very proud Mary Prendervile as the parade took off through the town.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be given the honour. It is a privilege for me to do it,” said Mary.

“I love meeting and chatting with all of the children that come to the branch lessons every Friday night. It is a very rewarding feeling to see them master the skills and see how satisfied they are to learn the tunes,” said Mary when asked about what inspires her to continue to be a volunteer with the Powerstown/Lisronagh branch.

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“St Patrick’s Day is an appropriate occasion to mark the establishment of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann 75 years ago given the contribution it has made to music, song and dance and the promotion of the Irish language,” said Mary.