Galway parade returns to streets as St Patrick’s Day is celebrated in style

Nearly 50 groups are expected to take part in the first St Patrick’s Day parade for three years, with an expanded programme of music, sporting and cultural events likely to attract in influx of visitors over the extra-long weekend.

So far, 46 community and sporting groups have registered to take part, ten of them in just a single day, according to Ruairí Lehman, Tourism Officer for Galway City Council.

That’s slightly up on 2019 when the last one was staged and a crowd of an estimated 30,000 descended on the city.

This time round, Galway’s Olympic rowing heroes Fiona Murtagh and Aifric Keogh will lead the parade as the Grand Marshals, alongside Frank Downes, who was scheduled to be up front in 2020 before it was cancelled in the Covid lockdown. He has generated over €2 million in donations for the Irish Guide Dogs Association during his 40-year-association with the charity.

“We’re seeing lot of groups really interested in taking part. They are just delighted to get back on the street celebrating our national day and not having another virtual event,” stated Mr Lehman.

“We are working closely with the Gardaí and will have security in place to ensure this is a wonderful family-friendly affair. We are expecting it to be a great event for all ages. And so far the long range forecast is promising.”

The theme for this year will be peace, with participants asked to incorporate this into their floats, banners and dress. The Macnas drummers and the Galway Community Circus will be among the perennial crowd favourites marching along the route.

The parade will kick off at 11.30am on University Road before heading over the Salmon Weir Bridge, along Eglinton and Williamsgate Streets before passing the official viewing stand at Eyre Square and heading up Prospect Hill, eventually finishing on Bóthar na mBan.

There will be a packed schedule of events over the four-day weekend, the first ever when two bank holidays have taken place to mark St Patrick’s Day

Taking to the Eyre Square stage On St Patrick’s Day itself will be BackWest, as well as the five-piece multi-instrumentalist Indie/Folk band the Amazing Apples. The concert runs from 3pm to 6.30pm.

On the second bank holiday, music will be staged between 2.30pm and 7.30pm, featuring performances by the Choice Music Prize-nominated singer-songwriter Niamh Regan and the award-winning composer and performer Anna Mullarkey who will weave electronics with piano and voice.

Galway singer-songwriter, Ultan Conlon, who has shared the stage with the likes of John Fogerty and Bryan Ferry, will be the headliner on March 19, alongside ska and rock music nine-piece outfit Big Jelly.

A day of Jazz om March 20 will feature some of Galway’s favourites: Galway Bay Jazz Band, , 4 Men & a Bass,  and Aengus Hackett & Barbara Vulso, billed as ‘Galway’s own Queen of Soul’.

Over by the sea, there will be a free family fun sports day in Salthill Park on the Saturday, with the public invited to take part in activities such as beach volleyball, tag rugby,  Pilates and Olympic handball.

Galway Lawn Tennis Club will also host an Open Day with games and activities, including tennis, squash and badminton for all age groups.

The festival will mark the real start of the tourist season with the opening of Curry’s Funpark on St Patrick’s Day following their winter break.

Galway City Council has commissioned local lighting artist Brendan Savage from The Galway Light Festival to design a new greening experience, Reflexions on a Nation, that will bring the city centre streets to life, joining other iconic sites around the world by going green.

Bádóirí an Chladaigh in the Claddagh Basin will once again be going green with a fabulous display of lights on their hookers.

For those wanting to indulge in a bit of highbrow culture, Mountain Language is a group exhibition featuring Irish and international contemporary artists at the Galway Arts Centre  Duncan Campbell, Ailbhe Ní Bhriain, Sarah Pierce, Alice Rekab, Denise Ferreira da Silva and Arjuna Neuman. The exhibition looks at language and identity through a range of mediums, including sculpture, film, photography, installation and performance. A performance piece by Sarah Pierce will take place on Saturday at 4.30pm in the Arts Centre.

Meanwhile, a group representing local civil, business and academic communities travel to Lorient in France, Galway’s twin city.

The delegation, led by Mayor Colette Connolly, will include representatives from Galway Chamber, NUI Galway and the Portershed as well as French honorary consul Catherine Gagneux and Marian Ni Chonghaile from the Galway-Lorient Committee.

They will meet Mayor of Lorient Fabrice Loher and business, academic, sport and community groups during the four-day trip.