Five from Westmeath visit New York stock exchange for St Patrick’s Day

Mullingar auctioneer Pat Davitt has spoken of his experience attending the New York Stock Exchange and taking part in the St Patrick’s Day parade in New York, describing the trip as an opportunity of which he was “delighted” to be part.

The visit to the stock exchange was at the behest of Peter Burke, TD, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, who invited Pat and his nephew, Senator Aidan Davitt, to accompany him on his official visit to the stock exchange one of a series of official engagements aimed at promoting Ireland and encouraging investment.

The Davitts had travelled to New York to support Senator Davitt’s sister, Cllr Aoife Davitt, cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council, who was representing Westmeath in New York on St Patrick’s Day, and taking part in the New York parade, alongside the chief executive of Westmeath County Council, Barry Kehoe.

While Mr Davitt stressed that he was “only tagging along as a guest”, he said the visit to the stock exchange stood out as a personal highlight.

“I do a bit of investing myself, so from a personal point of view, getting into the stock exchange was a big thing,” he said.

The group had an insight into how the exchange operates, and although some attendees took part in the traditional bell-ringing ceremony, Mr Davitt said he was content to observe.

He said the minister received a warm welcome during the trip and was also guest of honour at a St Patrick’s Day Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York.

Mr Davitt joined the Westmeath Association for the city’s world-famous St Patrick’s Day parade along Fifth Avenue. Describing the scale of the event, he said it stretched for hours, with groups joining the route at various points along the avenue.

“The parade starts around 11am, but we weren’t on until much later – it could have been close to 3pm before we got moving,” he said.

Mr Davitt estimated that between 20 and 30 people took part in the Westmeath Association group, which marched between bands and other county organisations.

“There were people coming in from all sides, so it was hard to know exactly how many were in it, but there was a great turnout,” he said.