Green light for St Patrick’s Day

Green light for St Patrick’s Day

10 November 2021

A ST Patrick’s Day parade in Downpatrick is scheduled to go ahead next year.

The Recorder can confirm that Newry, Mourne and Down Council is pressing ahead with plans for the event which regularly attracts thousands of visitors to the town.

The cross-community spectacular was last held in 2019, with last year’s event one of the district’s first high profile casualties of the emerging coronavirus pandemic.

The parade was cancelled due to lockdown restrictions to help prevent the spread of the deadly virus, but council officials are confident the event can go ahead next March.

With Covid restrictions now eased, they are keen to see the 2021 parade take place with details surprisingly unveiled to councillors in private during Monday’s meeting of the local authority’s Enterprise, Regeneration and Tourism Committee.

As the public health emergency has eased slightly, a number of councillors believe that as the parade is an outdoor event, it will be able to proceed, provided people continue to exercise caution.

Downpatrick area councillor, Dermot Curran, said while there are over four months to go before the parade would be held, various plans have to be put in place.

He said decisions have to be taken now to ensure that all the pieces in the event’s jigsaw are in place and believes that the current environment allows for the popular event to proceed.

“Public health advice rightly prompted the decision to cancel the last two St Patrick’s Day parades but the situation has changed. The fact that this will be an outdoor event is also an important factor in deciding that it can proceed,” Cllr Curran continued.

“The virus is still in circulation, but a significant number of people have been vaccinated and things are certainly a lot different compared to last year. Protecting people’s health remains important and we should all continue to wear a mask when required to do, exercise good hand hygiene and maintain our distance from others.”

Cllr Curran said the past 19 months had been some of the most difficult people across the district haf ever faced, suggesting news that the St Patrick’s Day is due to proceed will provide them with a glimmer of hope for the future.

“There have been many large outdoor events over recent months and normality is slowly to starting to return, but there is no room for complacency and we must all continue adhering to the public safety message,” he continued.

“The St Patrick’s Day parade in Downpatrick is hugely popular and people who regularly attend it now have something to look forward to. Normality is slowly returning and I and others hope that we can celebrate next year’s event in style.”

A Newry, Mourne and Down Council spokesman confirmed that plans are being drawn up to hold a St Patrick’s Day parade in Downpatrick next year.