THE new Mullingar St. Patrick’s Day committee are ready to shake things up for this year’s parade.
At the beginning of the year, it had been decided there was to be no parade due to lack of interest. However with a rejuvenated committee, thanks to a number of new members, the group has an infectious renewed enthusiasm and are eager to put on a spectacular show for the people of Mullingar.
New Chairperson Jason Scarff, who has been one of the driving forces behind the wildly successful Mullingar Half Marathon, had the idea of joining forces with the St. Patrick’s Day committee in order to build on its success.
“We think there is a huge potential for the parade. The half marathon brings a lot of people into the town and especially the way it is falling on a Friday this year, we could make a really decent weekend of it.
We’re going to liaise with the marathon and put a mini festival together. We want to keep the crowd from the half marathon in the park until 3pm.”
Jason said the parade will follow its usual route from Columb Barracks to Nugent’s Corner but there will also be a number of new entertainment elements with musician Frank Byrne to organise a stage in the Market Square/Mount Street area as a warm up act before the parade starts at 4pm. “The usual children’s entertainment will take place on Castle Street and we’re going to try and get some kind of Zorb five-a-side soccer in Dominick Street too.”
Another new member, who is master of organising large events, is spoken word artist and Electric Picnic veteran, Marty Mulligan.
Admitting that the parade has been lacking in creativity for the last number of years, he believes Mullingar could put on a great display if backed by the community.
“It is hard for parade committees and most towns in the country are struggling. People are often too quick to knock the parade. When I heard there was no parade this year, I decided to get involved in it. What we’re trying to do this year is to open it out to people to get involved too. It’s really about bringing all the community together.
“There is a marathon going on in the town and this is something that should be getting national attention. There will entertainment in Mullingar from 10am in the morning up until the parade until 6pm and it’s all free.”
Marty, who is PRO for the committee, emphasised that to ensure the parade was the best it could be and to get people into the town, the community needed to support their parade. “I have lots of ideas for spectacular floats and have been in touch with all of the different companies who organise the Galway and Dublin parades. There’s huge expense involved in getting these attractions to Mullingar but they are willing to work with us.
“It is a voluntary committee which is organising this, but the end result is very professional and people don’t often see the work that goes in to create that.”
Marty said the committee were looking at a sponsorship plan in order to fund the parade this year.
“Anyone who puts into this will get something back from it as well. We really want to bring all the communities together. There are up to 30,000 people coming to Mullingar on that day and if we all pull together with our skills and ideas, we could get a huge response.”
Marty said that the committee are putting out a call to all the people and businesses in Mullingar to come together and support the town and the parade.
“We are going to need funds, sponsorship and ideas and people to get involved. This could be the year we break the mould. Rather than the usual trucks and tractors, we want people to be creative with their business floats and we are more than willing to help you.”
He added that the committee will facilitate businesses with tying in with community groups or sports group in order to make a more creative float and advertise their businesses more effectively.
Committee member Susan Nooney agreed, saying there were many communities in Mullingar that would benefit from advertising and this was their chance to get out there and show people what they can to do. She said that RTÉ have already been in touch with the committee to find out when it will take place. “We want to see Mullingar on the 6 o’clock news along with all the other towns.”
Jason said that while the committee will ensure they stick to a budget and have “cash in the bank”, it still costs money to run the event. “We want the floats to be as creative as possible.”
The committee, who are working in conjunction with Westmeath County Council, Mullingar Chamber of Commerce, Westmeath Civil Defence, the Order of Malta and An Garda Síochana, said they would like to see Mullingar’s very own One Directioner, Niall Horan, on board next year.
“That’s what we should be aiming at. Mullingar is a music town and we can do things. If the town gets behind us and we get the whole town together, then we’re pulling something off, and if everyone goes away from the day saying, ‘Well that wasn’t bad, fair play to them’, next year we’ll pull off something spectacular.” Marty concluded.
