St Kieran’s Community Centre emerged the big winner in this year’s St Patrick’s Day parade in Athlone, scooping the awards for ‘Best overall entry’ and ‘Best community entry’ during Tuesday’s festivities.
An awards night is to be held on Wednesday April 1 at 7.30pm in the Shamrock Lodge Hotel, when the successful winners will be rewarded for their efforts to make this week’s celebrations the most colourful ever.
Shannon Dry Cleaners won the ‘Best window display’ category, with Topaz and Jackie Alterations coming in a close second and third.
Awards also went to Athlone Tae Kwando Academy for best commercial entry; Jigs and Reels film club for best voluntary; Athlone Water Sports for best creative; Monksland Foroige club for best sporting; and ACT/WCD for best youth entry.
The award for originality went to Creggan Turf Cutters, and for best effort to Athlone Architectural Heritage, while Sean Fitzsimons received the Adjudicator Award.
There was certainly no doom and gloom evident on the day, and the Athlone St Patrick’s Day parade committee was delighted with the successful run of activities.
The parade itself was the biggest ever, with over 60 diverse entries participating and the lovely weather bringing the crowds out. The parade committee would like to thank all the members of the public who came out on the day, adding to the carnival atmosphere in the town and promoting community spirit.
Gratitude was also expressed to the parade’s sponsors Athlone Town Council, Westmeath County Council, Ollie Kenny Ltd, and Allied Irish Bank, without whom the parade and other activities could not have taken place.
Town council staff were also out working hard on the day, erecting the review stand and safety barriers, while the Gardai ensured everything went off smoothly and public order was maintained.
The committee would also like to thank DJ on the reviewing stand, Pete Casey, Linda-Jo Quinn for co-ordinating the stand and judges, the Department of Defence who very kindly provided the stewards for Golden Island to help put all the entries in order, committee members chairperson Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, secretary Helen Mc Caul, and Maura Hynes, Joe Kelly, and Sandie Hughes. Thanks also to Nicole Hurley for helping out at registration at Golden Island and Peter Gallagher who helped as a steward.
Last but not least, a big thank you is due to all the groups who participated in the parade. The event is going from strength to strength each year, and Athlone can be proud of what it has achieved once again.
