Record number of entries set to grace Longford St Patrick's Day Parade

Colour and diversity will take centre stage this Friday as Longford gets set to roll out the green carpet for its annual St Patrick’s Day Parade.

In what will be the first full feast day spectacle since the ending of coronavirus restrictions, St Patrick’s Day 2023 promises to be one of, if not the county town’s finest, parades in recent memory.

And with entry levels set to surpass last year’s equivalent, organisers are hoping crowd numbers will follow suit.

“We have had a large level of entries already,” said chamber of commerce President Fiona Fenelon.

In a fitting tribute to their county, Leinster and All-Ireland winning exploits, Longford Slashers’ Ladies side will be this year’s official grand marshals.

The parade route, in keeping with previous years, is from Church Street proceeding down Main Street before participants make their way down Dublin Street, New Street, Ballymahon Street ahead of turning left onto Killashee Street, Harbour Row and concluding at Aldi.

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The main sponsors behind this year's parade is Longford Municipal District with Kiernan Structural Steel occupying the role of main commercial sponsor.

The Longford chamber chief was understandably bullish about an occasion which is arguably one of the most eagerly awaited on the local calendar.

Part of that belief is grounded on the addition of a number of new and vibrant float displays which, due to a lingering post Covid restriction hangover, had been absent from last year’s festivities.

“We already have had entries from old reliables that didn’t enter last year because many still had question marks over whether the parade was going to go ahead,” she said.

Among those to already sign up are the Peelo School of Dance, Longford Samba Band and St Teresa’s Killoe National School. Leading the parade will be All Ireland Intermediate Club Champions, Longford Slashers Ladies while talented Longford duo K Muni & ND (Kofi Appiah and Nevlonne Dampare) who took part in Ireland's recent Eurovision Song Contest will also be taking part.

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Given the upturn in entry levels, organisers are of the view the final figure could represent a 20 per cent rise on last year. “Last year, although there were no restrictions affecting the parade, there were a good few groups that simply didn’t feel they were prepared enough to take part and didn’t enter,” confided Fiona.

“We already have had a very colourful array of entries and we expect that to grow as we get nearer the day itself.”

Aside from the parade’s finer contents, organisers have once again included a sensory area as well as an accessibility area for spectators.

The sensory area, which had been rolled out for the first time last year, will once again offer a bright, colourful space for individuals with disabilities to enjoy the parade without having to join the crowd.

That particular part of the parade will be stationed at Longford’s Omniplex Cinema with parking being set aside at Little Water Street.

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Fiona said the day itself, which promises to tick every conceivable box for young and old alike, will provide a much needed boost to the local economy.

“For businesses that do take part, it (parade) is the perfect platform for them and obviously the more entries we receive, the more enjoyable it will be for the public and that will then feed into supporting local businesses,” she said.

“It really is a parade for everybody.”

Longford’s St Patrick’s Day Parade kicks off from 1pm. Road closures will be in place from 11:30am until 3:30pm.

In what promises to be one an event filled with glamour and pageantry, the message is clear: Longford's St Patrick's Day Parade is not just back, it's back with quite possibly its best national feast day celebration in recent memory.