Gearing up for North Westmeath St Patrick’s Day celebrations
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Paula Lawlor (Commitee member) , Octavia Tulloch (Chairperson)Image 2 of 14
Liam Sullivan, Ted FaganImage 3 of 14
Sean Moore, Geraldine Gissane, Rose-Mary CoffeeImage 4 of 14
Simon Hole, Joels HoleImage 5 of 14
Clive Blakely, Paraic FanningImage 6 of 14
Peter Fitzsimons, Keith Fay, Cliff GorrenImage 7 of 14
Colm Hennessy, Stephan Sullivan, Aonja Goroncy, Noel MurtaghImage 8 of 14
Eoin, O’Neill, Liam Cheevers, Liam Sullivan, Ciara Beegan, Ted Fagan, Breda SullivanImage 9 of 14
Roisin McCabe, Deirvhile McCabeImage 10 of 14
Millie Moore, Mia MurrayImage 11 of 14
Noddy Bonnet, John Lynch, Thomas WeldonImage 12 of 14
Elizabeth Walsh, Aoibheann Walsh, Tony Healy, Pierce WalshImage 13 of 14
Claire Coyle, Stephan Sullivan, Kathrine Cooney, Patrick Cooney, Angela MastersonImage 14 of 14
Prize table at the quiz night in Castle Varagh HotelAs St Patrick's Day nears, anticipation is growing across the county around the annual festival, and the communities of north Westmeath are already well advanced in preparations.
The theme for this year's parade in Castlepollard is 'Entertainment Through the Ages' and Mullingar Town Band will be among the many marchers to bring the festivities to life when the parade starts at 4.45pm on St Patrick's Day.
Last weekend the North Westmeath St Patrick’s Day Committee held a table quiz in the Castle Varagh Hotel: “When the community get together for events like this table quiz, when it's for something like St Patrick's Day Parade or community events, it gets great support,” committee member Cllr Alfe Devine said of last Friday's gathering.
The gathering was just the start of building up to the feast of the patron saint: “It was well organised and well supported. It made a good few bob, which is important for small local towns like Castlepollard and Delvin.”
Cllr Devine says the support reflects the public appetite for the event: “Castlepollard St Patrick's Day Parade is one of the highlights of the year in the town. We bring the Mullingar Town Band out and they love to be a part of it.
"Castlepollard is an evening parade, there can be up to 2,000 or 3,000 people in the town on a good St Patrick's Day.”
There is a real draw for the floats to take part: “The St Patrick's Day Committee arranges cash prizes for winners, so the standard of the floats is excellent.”
Staging the annual event is an extended process: “There's a lot of stuff done already. We started meeting in October organising the bits and pieces, getting the teams together.
"We do a collection day as well, which we're going to do in the next couple of weeks. That also gets great support.
“It's well-sponsored and well-run. There's a really good working committee there. They enjoy doing it. It's a fantastic day for Castlepollard,” Cllr Devine concluded.
A commmittee statement added: "It was great fun, we had a tie-breaking final, and an entertainment themed quiz. Thank you to all who came to play the quiz and support the parade, (some bringing two teams), those who bought raffle tickets, those who donated raffle prizes and those who donated the quiz prizes.
"Also many thanks to quiz masters and organisers Cliff and Keith, to all the committee. Lastly thanks to the Castle Varagh Hotel for accommodating us. Looking forward to the next one."