Unless volunteers come forward and funding is sourced before March 17th, it's likely there won't be a Saint Patrick's Day parade in Cavan Town this year. Michael Mooney, who owns the Slieve Rossa pub in Cavan has served on the committee for the past 13 years. He said the main reason there will be no parade, is lack of volunteers.
The committee he served on has been reduced to just four members, some of whom are in their 70s, and despite call-outs for local people to join the group in recent years, their pleas has "fallen on deaf ears" Michael said. In a statement, Cavan County Council confirmed the development saying the parade is a community-run event and "that, in the absence of any new volunteers coming forward to run it, it is anticipated there will be no parade this year."
Among the responsibilities of a parade committee is organising fundraising, security, floats and participants and the work usually begins well in advance of March 17th. Michael, however, says it's not too late to save the Cavan St. Patrick's Day parade. "I for one would definitely love to see a parade," he explained. "I know the work that goes into getting things like this off the ground and it's a tough ask for it to be done within three weeks, but it's not impossible. I'm calling on the council, or the arts department to look at running it as it would be something that I would hate to see die away because it's so important. St Patrick's Day is always a wonderful day of the year."
