Community gets behind St Patrick’s Day parade

Wednesday’s St Patrick’s Day parade in Gort will have more community involvement than in previous years, it appears.
Voluntary organisations, community and school groups are busy preparing their entries. There will be novelty entries both on foot and on floats, together with street theatre, commercial and individual entries. The committee was awaiting confirmation of a surprise entry at time of going to print. 
The parade will start with the blessing of the shamrock and its distribution to a colour party of Gort Reserve Defence Force immediately after 12.15pm mass. Gerry O’Donoghue, grand marshall, together with the Reserve Defense Force and St Patrick’s Pipe Band, Tulla, will lead the parade, which will proceed via the usual route having assembled earlier in Church Street.
A registration system was introduced this year and this will ensure a strong commentary as the various entries pass the review stand. Registration forms are available at the Family Resource Centre, Community Centre and at www.gortchamber.com. The forms are to be returned by Monday.
The day will start with live music on The Square by Celtic Star at 11.45am, followed by an exhibition of step dancing by the younger members of the Marie Gavin School of Dancing. After the parade passes, the older members of the school of dancing will dance to their theme of “up for the match”. There will be a display of set dancing by the Marion Cahill-Collins group and modern dance by Gort No Name Club.
Gort Fire Brigade will simulate the scene of a traffic accident and will give a display of their new Stabfast equipment, used to stabilise cars to prevent further injuries to accident victims. The brigade will take part in the parade with their fire tender and their new 10,000-litre water tanker.
Francis Linnane and his helpers will thresh on The Square and there will also be a display of old working farm machinery and a local producers’ market. Eddie Lenihan, the famous storyteller living across the border in Crusheen, will have stories for all ages from eight to 108 in the ICA Hall at 3pm.
The gardaí will operate a traffic diversion for the duration of the parade and parking in the town will be very limited. Floats taking part are asked to approach the assembly area from the Blackwater/Tubber Road and Gallagher’s Lane/Ballyhugh directions and leave by the same routes to avoid congestion before and afterwards.