Cork city gearing up for another  spectacular St Patrick's Day parade 

St Patrick a ‘giant puppet’ in parade

One of the more prominent and larger floats in the Cork city St Patrick’s Day parade will be provided by the Cork Puppetry Company.

Artistic director of Cork Puppetry Company Elisa Gallo Rosso is playing a central role in the St Patrick’s Day production.

Ms Gallo Rosso described to The Echo how the Cork Puppetry Company is bringing an interactive and imaginative touch to the parade.

“We are very excited to be part of the parade in Cork again,” she said. “This year, we are going to have 12 performers.

“It has to be very visual. We are going to have the figure of St Patrick represented by a giant puppet and a happy DJ monk pushing a Gaelic cross, followed by four giant snakes,” she said.

“We chose the snakes as puppets because of the Chinese year of the snake, but also to the pagan traditions symbolising the ever-changing landscape of the city,” Ms Gallo Rosso said.

“We have had a few rehearsals with the group and they went very well.”

The Cork Puppetry Company’s float is sure to attract plenty of attention and to provide plenty of entertainment this year.

Cork Puppetry Company is a production studio that specialises in large-scale puppets, children’s workshops, and community projects.

It has also produced commissions for other local organisations, such as Cork Community Art Link and The Everyman.

Art Link follow the ‘Building a Better World’ theme

Cork Community Art Link’s participation in the Cork St Patrick’s Day parade will be a collaborative improvisation.

The group will feature of a wide variety of local organisations including Ballyvolane Hub, Horizons (formerly Cope Foundation), National Learning Network, Simon Community, Headway, and the Cork Volunteer Centre.

Speaking to The Echo, Cork Community Art Link events coordinator Charly Lowe described how the group is basing their lead piece of the parade on the spirit of the Cork philosopher and social reformer William Thompson.

“It is all-excitement and all-go around here at the moment. Everybody is really looking forward to it.

“We have five floats in total that we are putting in and they are combined together in a bit of a story.

“We are following the ‘Building a Better World’ theme that Cork City Council have. We are toying with the idea that it takes an idea to make a change in the world,” Ms Lowe said.

“We really want to give people the wow factor. We are trying to evoke a lot of emotion, while touching on some important topics, but we also want to make it really enjoyable.”

Cork Community Art Link has engaged with hundreds of organisations and thousands of participants within Cork’s public space to build large scale participatory public art installations, street theatre interventions, and parades such as The Dragon of Shandon.

The Cork Community Art Link group is aiming to get this creative side across during the St Patrick’s Day parade.

Mexican culture on show in Cork

One of the highlights of the Cork St Patrick’s Day parade will be the atmosphere brought to Leeside by the Mexican Community in Cork group.

The community-based group aims to the integration of its in Cork while also promoting Mexican culture and traditions in the area.

In that regard, the group has been involved in many cultural events on Leeside, such as previous St Patrick’s Day parades and the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival.

Speaking to The Echo, Cecilia Gamez of the Mexican Community in Cork, described the excitement among the group for St Patrick’s Day and the colour they plan to bring to the parade.

“We start to prepare every year around September for the following St Patrick’s Day parade.

“It is a way to show with our friends that we love to live here. It also is a way to show our thanks to everybody in Cork city.

“We all feel welcome and the parade is a way to show our appreciation.”

Ms Gamez added that the parade provides a strong platform for the Mexican community in Cork to show pride in their Irish and Mexican heritage.

Expect to see a strong taste of the culture and music of Mexico on full display in the parade.

Bringing the grooves of Brazil to the streets of Cork

With this being their 20-year anniversary, MTU Carnival Samba is looking forward to celebrating a landmark year by participating in the Cork St Patrick’s Day parade.

Founded in 2005, the group is made up of the percussion students from MTU Cork School of Music.

Stephen Kelly from MTU Carnival Samba told The Echo what people can expect to see from the group in the parade.

“MTU Carnival Samba will bring really good, infectious rhythms.

“It seems to always get people clapping along, smiling and having a good time. It creates a real party atmosphere.

“Everyone seems to enjoy it and there is great interaction with the crowd when they are cheering and smiling along.

“That is really important, everyone having a good time.

“That is what it is all about, creating that real feelgood factor, getting everyone up for the parade no matter the weather.

“We look forward to it every year.”

According to Mr Kelly, appearing at the parade is always a highlight of the year for the MTU Carnival Samba group, who enjoy bringing the grooves of Brazil to the streets of Cork.

MTU Carnival Samba once again this year is hoping to contribute to generating a positive atmosphere as part of the St Patrick’s Day celebrations.

Fr Mathew’s players to walk in parade

Fr Mathew’s Basketball Club will have players involved in the Cork city St Patrick’s Day parade.

The players will be aged from their junior academy right up to players from their Women’s Super League National Basketball team.

As part of the parade, Fr Mathew’s will have a mobile basket and a couple of basketballs, with of the crowd having the opportunity to take a few shots as the club walks the parade route.

Sian O’Connor, from Fr Mathew’s Basketball Club, told The Echo that the parade is a great platform to show the public what the club is all about.

“It is an opportunity to show the excitement of the club and the pride in the club. It is great fun.

“We are very proud to have the number of kids and volunteers to be able to take our slot in the parade and showcase the club.”

Ms O’Connor said the club is also delighted to have players from their Women’s Super League National Basketball team participate.

“To have them along with us, hopefully some of the international players as well, adds to it for the kids,” she said.

Between current national stars of the game and also potential stars of the future, Fr Mathew’s Basketball will have plenty of sporting talent on show in the Cork parade.

Cork’s Frontrunners the St Patrick’s Day fun

Making a Cork St Patrick’s Day parade debut this year are Frontrunners & Briskwalkers Cork (Frontrunners Cork AC).

Founded in 2018, Frontrunners Cork AC is an inclusive running and walking club for LGBTQIA+ individuals and allies.

The club welcomes of all abilities, from casual walkers to competitive runners.

Originally launched by the Cork Gay Project, the club is now d with Athletic Ireland and continues to thrive as a safe and ive community.

With regards to the parade on St Patrick’s Day, Frontrunners Cork AC aim to bring vibrant energy, with wearing matching masks, capes and armbands to form the LGBT+ flag.

The club will also proudly carry a branded banner while playing iconic LGBT+ hits through a speaker.

Beyond fitness, the club aims to offer a vital social resource and provide an environment to foster meaningful connections, with twice weekly meetups next to the Idle Hour and Marina Market, plus vibrant social outings.

As part of the International Frontrunners Network, a group of LGBT running clubs all over the world, the club promotes health, wellbeing, and LGBTQIA+ visibility through weekly 5-10km routes and social events. They look set to bring plenty of colour and joy to the St Patrick’s Day parade in Cork.

Highlighting friendship between China and Ireland

One of the main aims for UCC Confucius Institute participating in the Cork St Patrick’s Day parade is to showcase the rich cultural heritage of China to the people of Ireland.

More than 100 people will participate in the parade as part of the UCC Confucius Institute.

Speaking to The Echo, Liang Shen, co-Chinese director of UCC Confucius Institute, said the parade provides a good opportunity to highlight the friendship that exists between the two countries, with plenty of Chinese flair set to be on display in Cork on St Patrick’s Day.

“We will have different themes,” Liang Shen said. “We will have the national flags of China and Ireland, symbolising friendship and unity.

“It is my pleasure once again to organise representatives of the Chinese community in Cork to participate in the St Patrick’s Day parade.”

Since the foundation of the UCC Confucius Institute in 2007, it has been collaborating closely with the School of Asian Studies at UCC.

Throughout the year, UCC Confucius Institute organises a diverse range of cultural events that bring Chinese heritage to life within the community.

Among the highlights include the annual Chinese Spring Festival Gala, Chinese cultural performances during the St Patrick’s Day parade, and the Chinese Bridge Competition.

This Chinese heritage is set to be very much alive and kicking in Cork on St Patrick’s Day.

Dance group excited to make parade debut

Although this is their first occasion performing in the Cork St Patrick’s Day parade, expect the Attridge Academy of Irish Dance to make a good impression.

The Attridge Academy of Irish Dance is the longest established school of dancing in Cork city, after being formed in 1958 by Nancy Murphy-Attridge.

The group is now directed by Nancy’s daughter, Niamh Marie Murphy.

The Attridge Academy is a non-competitive dance group, with the primary aim to promote and foster Irish culture at home and abroad.

The school is proud to educate their young students and to on the tradition of Irish dances.

Speaking to The Echo, Ms Murphy described the mood amongst the group ahead of the St Patrick’s Day parade.

“There is absolute great excitement. We hope to bring a nice atmosphere to the parade.

“We do an awful lot of parades and festivals abroad, for example we were in Serbia last July.

“What we want to do is bring a bit of colour, bring an atmosphere. We do this so often abroad, it was a shame that we never got to do it in Cork.

“So we are very excited to be doing it in Cork city.”

This will be the first time that the Attridge Academy of Irish Dance will be performing in the Cork St Patrick’s Day parade and all in the group are excited to take part in this showpiece event on Leeside.