Tag Archives: St Patrick’s Day

THERE was huge relief on Monday last (March 23) for a group of Clare musicians who braved major travel disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic to make their way back to Shannon Airport from South America. The nerve-wracking journey of Los Paddys took them more than 11,000 kilometres from Chile, and was fraught with uncertainty because of the international travel chaos. With vast sections of international airspace shut down and ongoing severe flight disruption, the six Clare members of the outfit came close to finding themselves stranded on the other side of the world. The musicians had been on a tour of Chile and Argentina for St Patrick’s Day, and when their original travel plans were thrown into disarray, they had to fundraise online to make alternative arrangements. Paddy Mulcahy, Head Programmer for Los Paddys, told The Champion the response, which raised more than €7,000, had been incredible and essential in getting them home. “Our outward journey and the end …

CLARE County Council has confirmed that the Ennis St Patrick’s Day parade has been cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Other Clare parades that have been confirmed as cancelled include Ennistymon, Fanore, Kilfenora and Kilkee. In relation to the Ennis parade, Clare County Council said that a risk assessment, based on Health Service Executive guidelines, was carried out which concluded that based on the demographic of those attending the parade, the close proximity of people attending the event and the duration of the event (among other considerations), Clare County Council is not in a position to provide the necessary assurances in relation to current HSE Guidelines.  

Green is the colour throughout County Clare this weekend, as we celebrate the feast day of our patron saint, St Patrick. A festival atmosphere is evident in  town and village, with parades showcasing our traditions, culture and music, as well as everyday life in farming, business and industry.  Of course, no parade would be complete without colourful characters representing local, national and even international figures. The county’s main parade in Ennis attracted a huge crowd, which stretched all along the route from Áras Contae an Chláir on New Road to O’Connell Street.  Mayor of Ennis Paul Murphy and grand marshall John Burke, the Everest climb hero, led the parade in a horse drawn carriage.

Members of the Clare Association in Dublin will break new ground this weekend, when, for the first time in the long history of the association, they will be participating in the St Patrick’s Day parade in Ennis on Saturday. They will carry their own banner and will  travel in a  vintage Mercedes car, placed at their disposal by Pat Foudy Tyre Sales, Ennis. The grand marshal for the parade, which will start at New Road at 11am, will be Spanish Point hotelier John Burke, who has been selected by the Clare Association as their Clare Person of the Year for 2018. They recognised his achievement of being the first Clare man to climb Mount Everest and his efforts to provide and promote mental health wellness programmes for young people through his charity, Elevate. He will be presented with his award at the association’s annual dinner dance on April 28 in Dublin. This weekend will be busy for the Clare Association in Dublin. On this …

John Burke, mountaineer and founder of the charity Elevate, has been named Grand Marshal of this year’s Ennis St Patrick’s Day parade. Mayor of Ennis Councillor Paul Murphy today said that John is receiving the honour in recognition of his efforts to bring wellness programmes to young people in Clare, as well as his achievement of becoming the first Clare person to summit Mount Everest in 2017. John will join Mayor Murphy in leading the parade in a horse-drawn carriage, which will be followed by approximately 50 groups representing the many aspects of life in Ennis and County Clare. Mayor Murphy commented, “During my term as Mayor, I have committed to promoting positive mental health initiatives and individuals and groups who are working in the area. John through his own remarkable personal achievements and through Elevate is playing a key part in ensuring that the most vulnerable in society are protected and supported. That is why I am delighted he …

A group of more than 20 people from Langenfeld, located in North-Rhine-Westphalia between Düsseldorf and Cologne, have travelled to the county capital to participate in the 2017 Ennis St Patrick’s Day Parade today (Friday) Since the Irish Embassy in Berlin first facilitated contact between Ennis and Langenfeld in 2009, relations have been strengthening between both towns in the areas of culture and youth affairs. Ennis and Langenfeld became official twinning partners in 2013. Langenfeld is already twinned with Senlis (France), Gostynin (Poland), Montale (Italy) and Batangas City (Philippines). Mayor of Ennis Ann Norton; Leas cathaoirleach of Clare County Council Paul Murphy and Councillor Michael Begley, chair of the twinning committee, welcomed the delegation to Áras Contae an Chláir in Ennis.

Tourism Ireland’s annual Global Greening initiative, to celebrate the island of Ireland and St Patrick, has begun in earnest – kicking off the organisation’s major first half promotional drive to grow overseas tourism in 2017. The annual initiative sees a host of major landmarks around the world turn green for St Patrick’s Day. In Tampere in Finland, James Lenihan, originally from Newmarket-on-Fergus, joined the ‘greening’ fun, when he and his friends took part in the first ever ‘greened’ Irish-Finnish fishing championship. The Siilinkari lighthouse and Näsinneula observation tower provided the green backdrop.  

Tourism Ireland has unveiled a new online film for St Patrick’s Day 2017, to encourage prospective holidaymakers to come and visit Ireland this year. The 60-second film includes wonderful footage shot around Ireland, including the Cliffs of Moher, interwoven with some great images from Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative, which sees hundreds of famous landmarks and iconic sites across the globe illuminated in green each year to celebrate St Patrick’s Day on this Friday. The film is being promoted through Tourism Ireland’s social platforms, including Facebook with 3.8 million fans worldwide; Twitter with 379,000 followers and YouTube. Last month, Tourism Ireland announced details of some of the famous attractions and sites around the world which will join its Global Greening initiative this year to mark St Patrick’s Day. From Rome to Rio and from London to Las Vegas, a host of major landmarks and iconic sites around the world will be illuminated in green this week – including the Colosseum, …