Manchester to stage UK's biggest St Patrick's Day Parade

Thousands of people are expected to turn out to support the annual Manchester Irish Festival, Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, which takes place on Sunday 14 March in Manchester and is this year being sponsored by Quinn Insurance.

This year marks the twentieth year of staging the annual St Patrick’s Day Parade which is organised by the Irish World Heritage Centre and is one of the major highlights of the city’s annual Irish Festival. Over seventy community groups are involved in the parade, making it one of the biggest community parades in the UK. The Parade is made up of marching bands, traditional Irish Dancing groups, County Associations, specially decorated floats, Vintage Tractors and Vintage vehicles, GAA Gaelic Football and Hurling Teams, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann traditional Irish Music groups, the Rose of Tralee beauty competition finalists and the occasional Donkey. The front of the parade is to be led by Greater Manchester Polices’ Mounted Horse Division and Brass band group. The main parade is led by the Roscommon Brass Band from Ireland who will lead all the thirty two County Associations. Other highlights include the 2009 World champion Brass Band from Greater Manchester Fire Brigade.

Brian Kennedy from County Donegal the organiser of the Parade said “It is 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. The success of the campaign has meant that every one of the thirty two counties will be represented in the parade and more importantly the future growth of the parade for the next twenty years will have been strengthened.”

The special day starts with Gaelic Mass at 10am in the Irish centre which is celebrated by the well known Kerry Priest Fr John Aherne. The Parade itself will start at 11.30am sharp from the centre and arrive in the city centre about 1pm and get back to the centre for about 2.30pm.

When the Parade reaches Albert Square, Michael Kierans (former presenter of the BBC’s Come into the Parlour Irish programme)will invite each group to March past the Lord Mayor – Councillor Alison Firth for review as the procession traverses around the square. A special Irish Market sponsored by Chris O’Connor promotions and Lebara Mobiles along with an entertainment marquee sponsored by Mulligans Irish Bar will fill Albert Square from Friday 12 March until Sunday 14 March, which will keep everyone entertained while they wait for the arrival of the Parade.

The very first parade was held on the 17 March 1990 by the Irish World Heritage Centre when the members of the centre paraded to St Chad’s Church where Mass was celebrated by Fr. McGarry before returning to the Centre. In 1991 the parade was extended to go to the roundabout at the end of Cheetham Hill Road after Gaelic Mass at the Irish World Heritage Centre. It was in our third year in 1992, that the St. Patrick’s Day Parade was extended as far as Albert Square, where it was reviewed for the first time by the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Cllr., Billy Egerton.

In March 1993 the parade went again to Manchester Town Hall, but this time it was lead by the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Cllr., Bill Risby(RIP), accompanied by the Mayors of Trafford and Salford. This is the route that the parade has continued to follow every year since.

The Parade sets off at 11.30am from the Irish World Heritage Centre, then moves onto Queens Road (A6010) turning left onto Cheetham hill road (A665)proceeds towards Manchester City Centre, passing the Fort Shopping Centre, past Saint Chads church (the oldest Catholic Church in Manchester) past the Manchester Evening News Arena, towards the CIS buildings at approximately 12-30pm where it will turn right into Corporation Street (A6042), passing the Printworks and Marks and Spencers, into Cross Street (A6042) towards Albert Square where there will be a five minute halt approximately at 12-45 pm, this is to marshal up the parade. The parade will then turn left into Princess Street (A34), after100 metres turn right into Lloyd Street around the back of the Town hall , the parade will again then marshal up, at 1pm, each group will march into Albert Square.