‘County town should have a parade again’ - Illingworth

Following Joe Connaire’s call to have a St Patrick’s Day parade in Mullingar in 2023, historian Ruth Illingworth has reiterated the call, saying it will be the first parade for the town in half a decade.

“We haven’t had a parade since 2017, we had a cultural event in 2018 – music in the Market Square which went quite well but it wasn’t a parade,” says Ruth who was involved in the St Patrick’s Day Parade from 2007 to 2018, and was chairperson for a couple of those years.

“I definitely agree that the county town of Westmeath should have a parade again, particularly given the human success that was the Fleadh Cheoil, if we can host half a million people, we can certainly do a St Patrick’s Day Parade,” she said.

The upcoming St Patrick’s Day 2023 will take place on a Friday, which lends itself well to a long weekend of celebrating our national heritage and culture.

Ruth is planning to call a meeting for mid-September with a view to putting a committee together.

“It takes quite a lot of work to organise a parade for a town of this size but I certainly think it should happen. We are hoping to have the involvement of the Fleadh people, the Chamber of Commerce and other bodies to make it a success.

“We want to have the parade to showcase the best of Mullingar, its community groups, sporting organisations, business community, and arts bodies.”