Region prepares for parades and festivals

Ireland's national feastday, St Patrick's Day, takes place next week. Many towns and communities across the region are preparing for the national holiday, with a number of festivals taking place around La Fhéile Padraig. Among the events will be the visit of the Canadian Ambassador, Loyola Hearn, to the Hill of Tara for a shamrock planting ceremony, as part of the Navan Shamrock Festival. Ardee Eight bands are lined up to take part in this year's Ardee St Patrick's Day Parade which will move off from the Fair Green at 3pm. In attendance this year will be representatives of Ardee's twin town in Italy, Nettuno, and the grand marshall is Austin Nevin, chairman of the Ardee Concert Band, which celebrated its 150th anniversary recently. The parade will be led off by a Civil Defence colour party and the award-winning Ardee Concert Band and the other bands participating include a samba band from London, St Brigid's Accordian Band from Jonesboro, the Lourdres Band from Drogheda, the Clontribet Brass Band, Carlingford Pipe Band, St Joseph's Pipe Band from Derrynus, Co Down, and the Analong Accordian Band from Co Down. A large number of floats, walking groups and people in fancy dress also will take part. The reviewing stand will be in the middle of the town and the MC for the occasion will be Seamus Farrelly. Ashbourne and Ratoath Neighbouring towns of Ashbourne and Ratoath are hosting St Patrick's Day parades again this year. Mr Tayto is the grand marshall of the Ratoath pageant. It commences at 12 noon on 17th March and will feature many different floats and groups marching. There will also be a stage with music for the duration of the parade, as well as face-painting for all children. Ashbourne's parade will begin at 2pm, and has many other side events such as a petting zoo for children from 10am; a carnival and food fair, festival stage til 7pm and a Sham-Rock festival at the Residents Hotel in the town. Athboy This year, Athboy proudly celebrates its 27th St Patrick's Day parade, which is regarded as a great achievement for the town. There will be a spectacular display of floats, marching bands and, this year, the organisers promise there will be a memorable parade with entertainment for all the family. The Athboy parade will take place on 17th March at 12.30pm. Enfield This year, the Enfield St Patrick's Day parade will start as usual at 3pm from the GAA field and the reviewing stand will be located in the town centre. To date, two marching bands have been confirmed, including the St Lawrence Pipe Band from Howth, Co Dublin. In addition to all the usual walking groups and commercial floats, some 10 new groups and clubs are expected from Edenderry, Longwood, Clonard, Summerhill, Kilcock and Carbury. The Enfield parade is now regarded as the biggest parade of any small town in the midlands and attracts around 3,000 spectators. This year, the colour party will again comprise an Reserve Defence Forces (RDF) detachment, and it is expected Meath Civil Defence will again take part, The committee has noticed a number of local clubs have become very secretive indicating that plans are being made for extra topical floats this year, and it is expected that some new government members may appear in some form or other. The committee would welcome new volunteers for ideas and to help out on the day. Anyone interested in entering floats or groups should contact Rita on (046) 954 1298 or Bill on (085) 713 5073. Kells Kells is celebrating the national saint's day with a St Patrick's Weekend Festival which will include the traditional parade on St Patrick's Day, music, coffee mornings, nature walks and craft workshops. The parade itself takes place at 3pm on St Patrick's Day, starting on the Cavan Road and proceeding across Circular Road, down Canon Street and around the town. There will also be hundreds of 'leprechauns' taking part. Plenty of music and craic is promised as well as floats and walking groups as well as live music. People are being asked to come along, dressed as leprauchans as there will be a ceili on the street after the parade. The Kells parade plans to have a link with Sydney, Australia, this year. The theme for the Australian city's parade is the Book of Kells and Kells man, Michael Owens, who lives in Sydney, contacted Kells Chamber of Commerce to see how they could link both parades. Kells artist, Patrick Morris, who went to school with Michael Owens, has designed two flags, one of which will be carried in the Australian parade and the other in the Kells event. The celebrations will begin next Tuesday when a representative of the US Embassy will turn on the lights at the Spire of Loyd, which will be bathed in green light for the festivities. This will be followed by an Irish night in the Railway Bar. The People's Resource Centre will host a coffee morning and craft workshop on Wednesday next and there will be a coach crash simulation in the town centre at 12 noon the following Saturday. A leisurely nature walk on Girley bog with ecologist Kate Forde will take place at 2.30pm on the Saturday and a faster paced walk, tracing the old railway line from the Railway Bar to Loyd and then proceeding to the Ring Fort Walk, will take place later than day. There will be a tea dance in the People's Resource Centre on the Sunday. Kilcock Kilcock's St Patrick's Day parade will commence at 1.30pm and this year. The parade Committee is, as usual, working very hard in the run-up to 17th March. Given the current resession, it can be difficult to raise the funding necessary as running costs average at about €7,000. However this year, to encourage participation, entry fees have been lowered. The entry fee for businesses is €50 and for schools and voluntary groups it's just €30. There are, as always, several prize categories with trophies and cash prizes to be won. The winners for each category will be announced on the day. A presentation night will be held in Kilcock GAA Club on Saturday 26th March where all prizes will be presented. There is also the much-coveted Glor Na nGael Shop Window Trophy which is presented to the premises that is best decorated and makes use of the Irish language in its display. On 17th March, all floats must be in place outside Musgrave's at 12.45pm sharp and the parade will start at 1.30pm. This year, the Kilcock Business Association has once again organised a duck race on the canal just after the parade. Last year's race was a great success and, building on this, the Kilcock Business Association is planning additional activities, including pony rides, live music and entertainment, a bouncy castle and inflated orbs (for walking on water). There will also be a food fare with the 'Taste of Kilcock Foods' available on stalls near the canal and Kilcock Dramatic Society is running a free junior sisco in St Joseph's Hall from 3pm. Kingscourt The Kingscourt St Patrick's Day parade starts at 1pm on the Dublin Road and the organisers are expecting the largest number of entries ever. There will be plenty of bands and colourful floats and the parade will proceed along the main street to Gilmore's Garage on the Shercock Road. The parade will be led off by St Mary's Brass and Reed Band and there will be lots of traditional music, set dancing and Irish dancing. The reviewing stand will be at the Bank of Ireland on Main Street. There will be a fancy dress parade for all schoolchildren before the parade starts and competitions for different categories of floats as well as a shop window competition. Navan Navan Shamrock Festival's packed programme of events begins today (Wednesday), while the traditional street parade will commence at the Navan Enterprise Centre at 4.30pm on St Patrick's Day. All community groups and bands are asked to assemble at the Enterprise Centre at 3.30pm and the route will continue along Railway Street, Cannon Row, Kennedy Road and on to Market Square. Members of the public are being advised that Kennedy Road is the recommended position for viewing the parade. There will be prizes this year for the best shop window display, best overall parade float, best business float, best community parade float, most environmentally-friendly parade float, and best schools participant. Also on St Patrick's Day there will be a traditional outdoor market at Kennedy Plaza and Cornmarket throughout the day, a charity fun cycle commencing at Teach na Teamhrach at 12 noon, a post parade children's disco for parade participants in the Newgrange Hotel at 5.30pm, and a fireworks display at Andy Brennan Park at dusk. Coscan will play in Tara na Ri at 5.30pm and there will be ceili and old time dancing in aid of charity in the Ardboyne Hotel at 9pm, and music by the Misprints (ARC fundraiser) in Teach na Teamhrach at 9pm. A funfair will take place at the Fairgreen from Saturday, 12th March until St Patrick's Day and the Fingal Outdoor Market also runs for the week. A huge programme of events has been organised for the festival and full details are available on www.navanshamrockfestival.com. The festival will be official launched by the Mayor on Monday, 14th March, by Mayor Phil Brennan and music will be provided by Youthreach Progression and Navan Educate Together. There will also be an official welcome for the Canadian Ambassador. A fundraising table quiz for the festival takes place in the Stone House on 14th March at 9pm with entry of €20 for a table of four. On Wednesday, March 16th a concert will take place in the Solstice Arts Centre featuring the National Foresters Band, members of Navan and Co Meath Ceolthas Ceoltoiri Eireann. There will be various readings, talks, live music and other events throughout the week. See the Shamrock Festival website for full details. Mullagh All roads lead to Mullagh this St Patrick's Day for the annual parade, as the organising committee put the finishing touches to it. Over the last 14 years, the parade has got bigger and better and it's hoped that 2011 will be the best to date. The parade will start at 5pm and promises a good selection of floats from local businesses and clubs. This year, the Mullagh Development Committee has decided to give free admission to all floats taking part. There will be prizes for the best local float, best novelty float and the best overall float. All floats are asked to assemble in the Community Park on the Moynalty Road and all vintage vehicles are asked to form a line from Mullagh Hall back towards the Community Park on the Moynalty Road. Floats are reminded not to throw sweets into the crowd. For further information, contact a member of the Mullagh Development Committee on (087) 746 6606. Oldcastle The Oldcastle St Patrick's Day parade will leave the Show Hall at 12 noon, via Gilson Park and follow a circle of the town. It will be led by the RDF's 65th Battalion troop and colour party and the Kells Silver Band, and has a prize fund of €900 for entrants. The organisers are urging floats and walking groups to come along on the day. There will be prizes for the best overall float, best local float, best vintage display, best topical float, best presented lorry, as well as a child's fancy dress prize. Meath County Council is sponsoring a prize for the best float with an environmental theme and there will be a prize for the best window display, sponsored by Donna McQuaid, Pharmacy. There will be music by Capture from 11am and the MCs for the day will be Speedy and Justin. There will also be bouncy castles for children. Slane The Slane St Patrick's Day Parade will start at St Patrick's National School at 3pm and will be led off by St Patrick and the Kenstown Accordian Band, who have participated in the parade for many years. The parade will continue down through the village, finishing up at Marian Terrace on the Navan Road. Some 20 to 25 floats will take part, and there will be plenty of cartoon charachters around, including Minnie and Mickey Mouse, Shrek, Sccooby Doo and The King himself, Elvis Presley, will take part in the parade. The Malahide Pipe Band will join this year's event and there will be entertainment on the street, including jesters, clowns and stilt-walkers. There will be music on the square and the parade committee is asking businesspeople and private houses in the village to decorate their windows and shopfronts for the occassion and there will be a prize for the best. The best float and the best walking group will also be eligible for prizes. The organisers are asking everyone to be in place by 2.30pm. Trim This year Trim's Celtic Festival will be staged over the six days, leading up to St Patrick's Day, and promises a packed programme of events for all the family. After many months of planning by the festival committee, the programme has taken shape and chairman Ray Butler said he confident of another hugely entertaining and successful event. "This year's festival will be almost entirely free to the public and is very family-orientated," said Deputy Butler, the newly elected Fine Gael TD. The only exception will be the Thorny Queen contest, which is a fundraiser for the Chernobyl Children's Trust. The festival commences this Friday, 11th March, when the Celtic Queen contest takes place in the Bounty Bar at 9pm. The 'Thorny Rose of Trim' alternative beauty and talent pageant takes place in the Castle Arch Hotel on Saturday 12th March at 8.30pm. It is based on the Rose of Tralee, but with a twist, as the competitors are men dressed as women! Each 'queen' will have an escort and will undergo an interview and do a party piece. Nine 'queens' will take part, representing local pubs Lynch's, McCormack's, The Judge and Jury, Sally Rogers, The Malt, Cusack Group, Lenihan's, The Abbey and The Chernobyl Children's Trust Group. On Sunday 13th March, the Carney School of Irish Dancing will stage a gala performance at 5pm in Trim GAA Centre. On Monday 14th March, a Trim Tidy Towns exhibition will take place in Trim Castle Hotel at 8pm. The committee will also reveal its plans for 2011 and beyond in its bid to win back the coveted title twice won by Trim in the past. On Tuesday 15th March, local artist Emma Noonan will open her textile exhibition in Trim Library, which runs until the end of the week. Her work captures the historical building of Trim Castle through a mixture of mixed media combined with textile techniques, including digital printing, transfer print, hand and machine embroidery. On Wednesday 16th March, the Bounty Bar will feature an evening of entertainment by the traditional Irish ballad band, Tara Shamrocks. St Patrick's Day itself will feature the now customary Daft Raft Race on the Boyne, starting at 1.30pm. A kiddies' corner will be open all day in the town hall, while the St Patrick's Day parade itself will commence at 3pm through the main streets of the town, starting at the ring road and finishing at Castle Street, having passed through Patrick Street, Emmet Street and Market Street, where the reviewing stand will be located. At 8pm, Trim GAA Centre will stage a Scurlogstown Céilí Mór featuring the Tara Céilí Band. All local pubs will feature music and entertainment throughout the week.