THEME OF WOMEN FOR PARADE
THE Year of the Woman is the theme of the Sligo St Patrick’s Day Parade this year.
Sligo St Patrick’s Day Parade Committee announced the theme last week and are now inviting entries for what they hope will be the biggest parade yet.
The theme of Woman was chosen in line with the Centenary of women being granted the right to vote and stand for election.
Chairperson of the Parade Committee Finbarr Filan told The Sligo Champion that it was also chosen because of Countess Markievicz:
“We had a lot of people comping into the office saying it was a good idea to do something around those centenaries,” he said.
“We chose The Year of the Woman as our theme to mark both the vote centenary and the centenary of Countess Markievicz winning a seat in the House of Commons, which she did not take,” he said.
“We didn’t want to have it specifically for Countess Markievicz however, as there are many Sligo women who have done wonderful things over the last 100 years. We wanted to broaden it to women in general for that reason,” he said.
It’s the second year running this year that the parade will be organised by Sligo Business Improvement District (BID) and costs in the region of ¤10,000 to run.
Last year’s St Patrick’s Day Parade in Sligo had its highest number of entries yet, according to Finbarr.
“We saw entries from schools, local businesses, community organisations and sports clubs, all representing Sligo as the European Capital for Volunteering for 2017.
“As last year’s parade was such a success it was important to decide on a theme for this year that reflects the greater world around us,” he said.
Everyone will be hoping for better weather this year than last year’s downpours.
“They say it was the worst weather on a St Patrick’s day in thirty years,” said Finbarr.
St Patrick’s Day falls on a Saturday this year and with the follow- ing Monday a Bank holiday, Sligo town businesses are hoping for a much-needed boost to the season.
“It’s going to fall on a long weekend for the next three years, people will have the following Monday off so there should be a lot of activity in town that weekend,” said Finbarr.
“It’s the last Ireland match in the Six Nations, we play England that day, so there’ ll be a great buzz about town. It should be a great day,” he added.
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Those who wish to march or organise a float in the parade are invited to register through the Sligo St Patrick’s Day Website: sligostpatricksday.com.
Further information on volunteering opportunities, parade routes and more will also be available through the website.
Alternatively, application forms will be made available for collection from the Sligo Business Improvement District office on Abbey Street.
For further enquiries please email info@sligobid.ie.