Local Notes: Record crowd for St Patrick's Parade in Claremorris
Faces in the crowd at the St Patrick's Day Parade in Claremorris. Picture: Trish Forde
Approximately 7,000 people lined the streets of Claremorris on Sunday, March 16th, to view the annual St Patrick’s Day Parade.
The fine day - one of the few things the organising committee couldn’t influence - helped greatly. The committee did an excellent job on everything else. Key to the outstanding success of the parade was the decision to bring in amusements for children, which were free for the participants.
“We brought in the amusements and paid them a flat fee,” Nina Pilbrow, chair of the organising committee, told the . “This meant that families could come along and enjoy the event, without having to pay, when it could otherwise end up as an expensive day out, with all that we had on offer.
“We brought the parade forward by a day from our original plans, because St Colman’s College were in the All-Ireland Schools’ Football Final. We wanted to ensure our community could fully support both events.
"Having the parade on the Sunday also meant that people who live outside the area could relax and not have to be dashing back immediately after the parade.”
Nina said that the parade had a small amount of money left over from last year, and this, along with the support from businesses in the town, meant they could pay for the amusements as well as other operating costs. She said the support from the community made the parade possible.
“The community runs the parade,” Nina said. “It’s everybody. We received tremendous help from Mickey Nally and the crew from the IRD, and Michael Heaney, from the shop on Main Street. We’d be lost without them. Mickey and the lads put up all the signs and the flags and bunting for us. When the parade was over, they took them down again.
"We bought crowd-safety barriers last year and Michael Heaney was out with his forklift, dropping bales of them around the street where they were needed, and again, after the parade was over, he collected them again. Michael looks after the barriers for us afterwards. He stores them in his yard.”
Nina said her group received support from other organisations too.
“The Tidy Towns group are a tremendous help. They came out in numbers and cleaned up the town afterwards. And we have to thank the County Council staff as well, and the Gardaí – both were very helpful this year.
“We had spontaneous community volunteers who stepped forward on the day to help out, as well, which was fantastic.”
The main sponsor of the Claremorris Parade is the local Credit Union while local business, CBE, sponsored the enormously popular fireworks display.
“The fireworks display has been a huge addition to the parade,” Nina said. “It brings thousands of people to the town. It’s such a novelty and draws a huge crowd.
“Everything else was funded through the sponsorship of the businesses in the town and some funding we receive from the local councillors under the General Municipal Allocation, for which we are very grateful.”
Nina said there was approximately 50 floats in the parade.
“We’d like to thank all who entered floats. There’d be no parade without floats. We were supported by all the local clubs, businesses and schools. We brought in a few bands and a few entertainment floats; the rest were all locals.”
The parade committee is made up of eight women - Aisling Warde-Fallon, Helena Brady, Catherine McEveney, Marina Reilly, Sarah Borg, Michelle O’Sullivan and Aishling Flanagan all serve alongside Nina.
Before the parade started, the crowds were entertained with music from two groups. Local musician and teacher, Eibhlín Ní Ghallachóir (a member of Cailíní Lua - a lively, all-girl trad band) and her students played tunes on the tin whistle, and another group was led by Bríd Roe. The MC for the parade was local Mid-West Radio DJ Eamonn Kelly.
“Eamonn is great,” Nina said. “He is very helpful. The music was terrific too. It created a great atmosphere before the start.”
The grand marshal for the parade was Patrick Cassidy, the internationally renowned composer. The Claremorris native lives in Los Angeles and his family live in Limerick.
“Patrick was a fantastic grand marshal,” Nina said. “He attended the Hooley in the Hall, which was run later in the evening by the Claremorris Community Recreational Centre.”
Nina said the theme of ‘Irish Myths, Legends, and Folklore’ didn’t fully work.
“The theme didn’t work as well as we’d like,” she admitted. “Not all the floats stuck to the theme, but that’s okay. There are prizes for the best floats in a number of categories.”
Nina said the committee wasn’t trying to make the parade bigger, but would always be trying to make it better.
“The crowd and the entries this year were brilliant,” she said.
While the St Patrick’s Day Festival was a great success, there are other opportunities for festivals in the town that are missed. The town has fantastic facilities, which could be exploited to provide tourism opportunities.
The Ham Fair, for example, which was held in the summer for many years, could be revived and built around the hugely successful agricultural show, which is held on the Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend.
The town has a huge population of non-Irish nationals and an international festival could be held in the autumn to showcase the cultures of the immigrants.
These three festivals, while retaining full autonomy, could operate under an overall Festivals Committee, which could share expertise. That overall committee could take out a single insurance policy covering the three festivals, thereby reducing costs.
The Mayo Abbey remake of 'Father Ted' was the overall winner of the local GAA club’s Oscars night held last week in the McWilliam Park Hotel.
The other winners were: Best Actress - Sarah Malone (Father Ted), Best Actor - James Trench (Killinaskully); Best Supporting Actress - Carmel Prendergast (The Field); Best Supporting Actor - John Byrne (Father Ted); Best Producer - Niall Brett (The Field); Best Costume/Props – Braveheart; Best Drama Scene Fight Scene - The Field; Best Small Role - Mary Kirrane (Waking Ned Devine); Best Comedy Scene - Paul Quinn (Honda 50 - Waking Ned Devine); Best Location/Scene – Braveheart; Judges' Favourites – Rocky; Highest Grossing -Waking Ned Devine; Outstanding Contribution - Ollie Browne (Braveheart); Best Drama Scene- Fight Scene, The Field.
Mayo Gaels GAA club has expressed a heartfelt thanks to all their sponsors and everybody who contributed to the fundraiser. The club also thanked the judges, Laura Brennan, John Daly and Colm Boyle, and the organising committee of Goretti Gibbons, Alan Prendergast and Derek Vahey, PRO Bina Jennings, and all involved in the Oscars.
The club congratulates the six talented teams for taking part in the event and all the ‘extras’ that helped out. Special congratulations go to the winners – the Father Ted cast and crew - on a wonderful performance.
There was a huge turnout at the McWilliam Park Hotel for the event and the attendance and support played an important role in the fundraising success.
The death occurred on March 23rd of Dympna Monaghan, of Lisduff, Scardaune, Claremorris, who was in her 98th year.
Dympna died peacefully in the wonderful care of the staff of the Dalton Community Nursing Home in Claremorris, surrounded by her loving family.
She was predeceased by her husband Paddy, son Padraic, baby Noreen and infant son.
Dympna will be sadly missed by her sons Tommy (Kiltimagh), Johnny, Liam, Paul (Maynooth), daughters Eileen (Dublin), Anne, Dymphna (Cork), sons-in-law Thomas, Jean Paul, daughters-in-law Mary, Mary, Breda, Marie and Marie, partner Sean, her adored grandchildren and great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.
Dympna’s remains reposed at Carey’s Funeral Home, Ballindine on Tuesday evening, March 25th, from 6pm with removal to the Church of the Sacred Heart, Crossboyne for Funeral Mass on Wednesday and burial afterwards in the local cemetery.
May she rest in peace.
There’s no stopping that man, Darren Forde. His company, Eco-Powered Cabinets, picked up one of the most prestigious awards at the Small Firms’ Association National Awards ceremony in the RDS last week.
The company was the winner of the ‘Emerging New Business Award’ and Darren has dedicated the win to “every single person and existing small businesses who help produce this life saving unit.”
The death has occurred of Joe Joe Roche of Fallagherin, Irishtown.
Joe Joe, who died peacefully on March 25th, surrounded by his family, was predeceased by his wife Marie.
Joe Joe will be lovingly remembered by his children Rebecca, Howard, Michelle, Sharon, Regina, Deborah and Jason, brother Mick, sisters Carmel, Ann, Rosaleen, Bernadette, Angela and Eileen, 16 grandchildren, sons-in-law, daughter-in-law, nieces, nephews, cousins, neighbours and many friends.
Joe Joe’s remains reposed at Carey’s Funeral Home, Ballindine on Thursday evening, March 27th, and Funeral Mass was celebrated in the Church of the Holy Family, Irishtown on Friday, with burial afterwards in Irishtown Cemetery.
May he rest in peace.
Huge congratulations to the Mount St Michael girls who were crowned Lidl All-Ireland Post-Primary School Senior 'B' Champions last Thursday in Kiltoom, Co Roscommon, beating Eureka Secondary School, Kells, Co Meath, on a scoreline of 1-11 to 0-9 in the final.
See sports pages for extensive coverage.
A memorable night of themed music performances was presented by a number of local acts at the inaugural Hooley in the Hall concert on Sunday, March 16th.
The event rounded off a very successful St Patrick’s Weekend Festival that featured the largest ever attended parade and fireworks display.
Compere Colmán Ó Raghallaigh welcomed the attendees and extended a warm ‘Céad Míle Fáilte’ to special guests Patrick Cassidy, the world-renowned composer, and his brother Frank, who are both living in Los Angeles. Patrick was the grand marshal for the St Patrick's Day Parade earlier in the day.
The Chloe Feeney Music and Dance School, from Roundfort, began the evening of entertainment with a rendition of traditional music and folk songs, with Chloe singing, accompanied by Shane McGrath on the guitar, and a series of highly energetic Sean-Nos dancing displays performed by Chloe’s young students, some of which hold All-Ireland titles.
Fourteen young harpists from Music Generation Mayo, led by Grainne Hambly and her husband William Jackson, performed a selection of nineteenth-century tunes, blended with modern-day compositions. Grainne, originally from Mayo Abbey, along with William, have dedicated their lives and careers to promoting harp music, and have performed all over the world.
After the short break, the ‘Hooley’ began in earnest, with the Gilligan’s Bar Traditional Music Group performing for the first time on a main stage. They performed an array of jigs and reels, much to the crowd’s pleasure. The audience was mesmerised, in particular, by the magnificent tin-whistle playing by Anne Morley.
The stage debutants were Anne Morley (tin whistle), Eoin Davey (fiddle), Anthony Kavanagh (banjo), Cillian Gallagher (accordion), Declan Burke (bodhran) and Rory Walsh (guitar and vocals).
“It is always a joy to return to Claremorris, where I was born, to meet old and new friends,” Patrick Cassidy said. “Attending the Hooley Concert to witness the immense and varied talent that Claremorris and the surrounding district has to offer was truly remarkable.
"To see young musicians, dancers and singers performing is always to me the most profound and beautiful thing in this world. I would like to thank everyone involved for this most memorable evening.”
Frank Cassidy was also most impressed with the event.
“We were blown away with the broad variety and the excellent performances by all of the groups. Claremorris can be very proud,” he said.
Jarlath Sweeney, co-chair of the Claremorris Community Sports and Recreational Centre, which organised the event, thanked the acts for giving their time on a busy festive weekend. A note of appreciation was also extended to the young harpists who travelled to Claremorris from other parts of the county and to Colmán and Darragh Burke and the team at the Town Hall for their part on the memorable night.
Claremorris-based Upstage Players has qualified for the All-Ireland Confined Drama Finals.
The group’s production of ‘The Weir,’ written by Conor McPherson, has impressed adjudicators across the country, winning a number of festivals. The cast includes Tim Oates, Aisling Costello, Ollie Turner, Jourdain Cunningham and Ollie Barrett. The finals will be held in Claremorris from April 25th to May 3rd with the Awards Night on May 4th.
The play has proven popular with groups in this year’s festival circuit with three groups presenting versions of it in the competition.
‘The Weir’ won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play of 1997–'98. McPherson won the Critics' Circle Award as the most promising playwright in 1998 as a direct result of the success of ‘The Weir.’
The play was well received by critics. It was voted one of the 100 most significant plays of the 20th century in a poll conducted by the Royal National Theatre, London. critic, Michael Billington, listed ‘The Weir’ as one of the 101 greatest plays of all time.
The Women’s Collective April Coffee Morning will be held on Thursday, April 3rd, at 10.30am in Cúram Family Centre, Claremorris.
Emma Fitzmaurice, Physiotherapist and Pilates Instructor, will be the guest speaker and will talk about bone health and wellbeing for women.
All women are welcome come along.
Cúram Family Support Service is a service for parents having difficulty in managing their children’s behaviour, parents experiencing a crisis which impacts on their children, and families experiencing communication and relationship difficulties.
A Family Support Drop-In Clinic will run every Tuesday morning between 9.30am and 12.30pm in Cúram Family Centre in Claremorris. For further information, contact Maria Cribbin, Family Support Project Worker, on 087-9119714.
Tai-Chi Classes are due to start on Monday evening, April 14th, at 6.30pm and Tuesday morning, April 15th, at 10am.
Booking is essential. Call Cúram on 094-936 2096 for further information and to book your place.
Carrie Loftus on 41 points was the winner of the ladies’ section of the 18-Hole Stableford Club Sponsored Competition, held at Claremorris Golf Club over the weekend of March 21st, 22nd and 23rd.
The men’s section was won by Chris O'Neill with 39 points. The other winners were: Men’s Category 1 - Ger Noone on 36 points, Men’s Category 2 - Liam Kearns on 34 points, Men’s Category 4 - Gary O'Toole with 35 points and Men’s Category 5 - John Brady who scored 35 points.
Congratulations to Ann Marie Mee, Senior Assistant Manager, and the accommodation team at the McWilliam Park Hotel in Claremorris on winning the Gold Award at the Irish Accommodation Services Institute last week.
This is the third consecutive year that the hotel has won this award. The award is made based on a random thorough inspection of the hotel by anonymous judges.
The awards ceremony was held in the Great Southern Hotel, Killarney.
This is well-deserved recognition for a very hard-working team who always go above and beyond to ensure guests at the four-star hotel are given incredible service. Last year, the hotel was awarded the prestigious Georgina Campbell Award for Family-Friendly Hotel of the Year, amongst a number of other awards.
A computer training course for farmers is commencing soon at Claremorris Family Resource Centre (FRC).
Most Department of Agriculture form-filling is now online, as well as motor tax, and banking, so this is an excellent opportunity to improve computer skills.
Contact the FRC on 094-9377838 to book a place or find out more.
Buggy Buddies is a new, free parent and baby/toddler social meet-up for parents, childminders, grandparents etc., to take part in with their little ones.
Buggy Buddies caters for all fitness levels and allows participants to work at an intensity which is appropriate to them. It is also a great way to get out and meet other parents in an environment which is safe and fun for both parent and baby/toddler.
Buggy Buddies will consist of a stroll around Clare Lake in Claremorris on Thursday mornings at 10am. This is a great opportunity to meet with friends or make new ones.
Commencing on May 1st (meet at Clare Lake at 10am), Buggy Buddies is funded by Mayo Sports Partnership. If you are interested, contact Claremorris Family Resource Centre on 094-9377838.
English classes begin this evening, April 1st, from 6 to 8pm and on Thursday, April 3rd, from 3 to 5pm. Registration essential.
To book a place contact the Family Resource Centre at 094-9377838.
The Friday Friends Group for over 55s meets in the Claremorris Family Resource Centre every Friday from 2 to 4pm. The group enjoys lots of laughter, exciting prizes, and of course, a good cup of tea.
Art classes are now taking place every Saturday in the Claremorris Family Resource Centre. The classes run from 10.30am to 12.30pm and 12.30pm to 2pm. Beginner, intermediate and advanced levels are catered for.
Contact Lanna on 089-409 1820 for full details and booking.
Congratulations to Claremorris boxer, Michael Mullaney, on winning his fifth Irish title with a great performance at the National Boxing Stadium in Dublin last week.
Congratulations and best of luck to the four Claremorris players who have been called up to the Mayo GAA Under-20 hurling panel.
Mayo manager, Brian Finn, has selected Aidan McGing, Ronan Fallon, Michael Foody and James Wooley for the coming campaign.
Congratulations to the Davitts Club's award winners for 2024. The Ladies Player of the Year went to Lorna Bourke while Patrick Keadin won the Junior Player of the Year. The Under-21 award went to Jack Devane and the Intermediate Player of the Year winner was Niall Treacy.
The Club Person of the Year award was won by Barbara Kelly, with Frank Fahey inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Claremorris Ultimate Kickboxing Club has three newly-crowned national champions in their club.
Nine of their students travelled to Birr, Co Offaly, to take part in the WKO Ireland National Championships last week. The nine students had 22 fights and brought home a very impressive haul of eight medals.
The gold medals were won by Emmanueal Apaw, Ionut Leonard and Mihai Jirebie. Paul Ryan took silver, while bronze medals went to Hnat Dmyterhuk, Alex Halligan, Phelim Halligan Jnr and Madalin Lazer.
Congratulations to all who represented the club to the highest standard.
Canon Oliver Heaney, who died on March 1st in Brighton, England, was formerly of Ivy House, Scardaune, Claremorris.
Canon Oliver is predeceased by his parents Walter and Angela, brother Conor (Con, Belcarra) and sister-in-law Kathleen and is deeply regretted by his brother Walter (Castlerea), sister-in-law Mary, nieces, nephews and their respective partners, grandnieces, grandnephews, cousins, relatives, and his many friends.
Canon Oliver reposed at St Patrick’s Church, Ballyglass last Sunday evening with Mass of the Resurrection taking place yesterday, Monday, at noon followed by burial in the local cemetery.
May he rest in peace.
Claremorris GAA is offering boys and girls aged eight to 15 an opportunity to train with Mayo footballers Enda Hession, Paul Towey, Jack Carney and David McBrien this Easter.
The club is running a Level Up Camp at St Colman's College. The programme will include elite coaching, performance and recovery programmes, and runs between April 21st and 25th from 10am to 2pm with early drop-off and late pick-up available.
The cost is €100 cash or Revolut. Family discounts are available. For more information or to book a place, contact the organisers on 087-3696408.
The Garrymore GAA Club Lotto celebrated its 30th anniversary in March.
On Sunday, March 26th, 1995, the first Garrymore GAA club lotto draw took place. The winning numbers were 7, 9 and 24. The first winners of the £25 prizes were Kathleen Nally, Bushfield, and Michael Mannix, Curraghroe. Tickets cost £1 each.
This milestone wouldn't have been possible without the dedication of the lotto committee of Padraic Corcoran, James Heaney and John Tierney, who have been involved since the very first draw. The club thanked them for their help and commitment over the last 30 years.
Athlone woman, Claire Temple, was the winner of the Claremorris GAA 50/50 draw last week. Claire won €902 on a ticket bought in the McWilliam Park Hotel. The draw is held weekly with tickets on sale at retail outlets in the town.
Claremorris AFC is inviting boys to attend its academy. This is an opportunity for boys born in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and the academy will commence on Sunday next, April 6th, at 10am on the club’s astro turf pitch.
Social dancing takes place every Tuesday from 8.30 to 10pm in Taugheen community centre.
If you fancy a jive, a waltz or line-dancing (and more) this is the event for you. The cost is €10.
The sudden death has occurred of Frances Ryan (nee Cullinane), of Carrowkeel, Hollymount and formerly of Cortoon, Tuam.
Frances died suddenly in the care of Mayo University Hospital surrounded by her loving family. She was predeceased by her daughter Teresa (Ryan), sons Michael and Peter, parents Patrick and Eileen Cullinane and brothers Paddy and John.
Frances will be sadly missed by her sons Kevin (Hollymount) and John (UK), daughter Eileen (Galway), sisters Mary, Bridie and Eileen, brother Oliver, brother-in-law Barry, daughter-in-law Virgie, former partner Liam, grandchildren Rebecca, Rachel, Sophie and Nathan, great grand-child Isabella, nephews, nieces, extended family, neighbours and friends.
Frances’ remains reposed at Gilligan’s Funeral Home, Market Square, Claremorris on Saturday, March 22nd, from 5pm. Requiem Mass was celebrated in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Roundfort on March 23rd with burial afterwards in the local cemetery.
May she rest in peace.
Garrymore GAA Club will hold an Easter Camp from Tuesday to Thursday, April 22nd to 24th. The Camp will run from 10am to 1.30pm each day and is open to all boys and girls from Junior Infants to Sixth Class.
The cost of the Camp is €45 for one child, €80 for two or €100 for three (children must be from the same family). There are limited places available. To book, contact Pauline Jennings on 086-8607374.
Davitts GAA club is delighted to offer a free cardiac screening for some of its underage players (12-18 years), provided by the Dillon Quirke Foundation.
The purpose is to identify any heart condition which puts the person at risk for Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) which sadly takes many young lives in Ireland each year.
The one-day event will take place on Monday, April 14th, at Davitts Clubhouse, starting at 9.30am. As this is a free service, the club is asking all involved to raise funds for the Dillon Quirke Foundation charity, to help offset their costs. The club has provided a link for donations on its social media pages.
This vital screening can help detect underlying heart conditions. Availability is limited, so early booking is essential.
The death has occurred of Michael (Mickey) Hyland, Ballyglass, Scardaune, Claremorris; Belmont, Milltown and formerly of Brodella, Shrule.
Mickey will be sadly missed by his wife Breda and family, Eileen and Dara, Mark and Breda, Lisa and Johnny, Michelle and Roger, Aoife and Michael, his adored grandchildren Emily, Dara Óg and Jayden, sisters Mary Finn, Christina Flanagan, Angela Flavin, brother Patsy Hyland, sister-in-law Mary Cunningham (Belmont) and nephew Paul Flavin, relatives, neighbours and friends.
Miickey’s remains reposed in Carey's Funeral Home in Ballindine on Friday evening, March 21st, from 6pm with removal from his residence on Saturday morning to St Patrick's Church in Ballyglass for funeral mass at 12 noon with burial afterwards in Ballyglass Cemetery.
May he rest in peace.
