Manchester’s 2010 Parade declared UK’s biggest St Patrick’s Day Parade by Irish Embassy

Manchester’s 2010 Parade declared UK’s biggest St Patrick’s Day Parade by Irish Embassy

Manchester was brought to a standstill and turned green for the 2010 Manchester Irish Festival, Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, which took place on Sunday 14 March in Manchester and this year was sponsored by Quinn Insurance. Derek Feely a councillor with the Irish Embassy in London declared the three hour parade the biggest in the UK and the Irish media named it as the third biggest in the world behind Dublin and New York. The Parade was led by Greater Manchester’s Police Chief constable Peter Fahy and the Lord Mayor of Manchester Councillor Alison Firth, with festival co-chairs Cllr John Flanagan and Kevin Fitzpatrick.

The Police chief whose mum comes from Dublin and Father from Galway was delighted to be the first Manchester Police chief to take part in the community event he said in a speech from the podium in Albert Square “My Irish mother told me that I had to accept the invitation from the Irish community to attend today’s parade and I am honoured as someone with Irish roots to walk in the March.”

Organised by the Irish world Heritage Centre it is one of the major highlights of the city’s annual Irish Festival. Over seventy community groups were involved in the parade. It was made up of a host of marching bands, traditional Irish Dancing groups, County Associations, specially decorated floats, Vintage Tractors, Vintage vehicles, GAA Gaelic Football and Hurling Teams, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann traditional Irish Music groups, the Rose of Tralee beauty competition finalists and a Donkey called Molly from Leitrim.

The main parade was led this year by the Connaught region of Ireland featuring Roscommon, Mayo, Leitrim, Galway and Sligo. The Castlerea Roscommon Brass and Reed Band from Ireland led the Province. Other highlights included the 2009 World champion Brass Band from Greater Manchester Fire Brigade.

Brian Kennedy from County Donegal the organiser of the Parade said “It was a great free day out for all the family, it hardly seems twenty years since our first parade. I guess I will be getting the key of the parade with this being our 21st! This year the parade appealed to the city’s second and third generation Irish community to get involved in the ‘Your County needs You’ Parade campaign. It was great to see the flags of everyone of the thirty two counties of Ireland held by these young people in the parade.”

The special day started with Mass in Gaelic at 10am in the Irish centre which was concelebrated by the well known Kerry Priest Fr John Aherne. The Parade itself took three hours to get to Albert Square and back home to the Irish centre. It was greeted in Albert Square by Michael Kierans (former presenter of the BBC’s Come into the Parlour Irish programme) who invited each group to March past the Lord Mayor – Councillor Alison Firth and the Police Chief Peter Fahy for review as the procession traversed around the square. A special Irish Market sponsored by Chris O’Connor promotions and Lebara Mobiles along with an entertainment marquee in
Albert Square and kept everyone entertained until late into Sunday night.

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