St Patrick’s Day parade will not go ahead as committee disbands

THE Tallaght St Patrick’s Day Parade won’t go ahead this year, as the committee behind it has decided to disband.

The committee has been staffed by a group of volunteers over the past eight years, and they were behind St Patrick’s Day events such as the festival in Tallaght Stadium in 2016, and the parade and festival in Tallaght village in 2018.

The last St Patrick’s Day Parade in Tallaght village was held in 2019, with the planned 2020 parade in the village having to be cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a Facebook post last week, the committee confirmed that the parade would not be going ahead, citing increasing costs and other commitments among members.

“We have made the very difficult decision to disband the St Patrick’s Day Tallaght Parade Committee,” they wrote.

“We have not come to this decision easily but with rising costs, committee members’ commitments and circumstances beyond our control, we feel this is the right thing to do.

“We would like to thank South Dublin County Council and all our loyal sponsors and supporters who have helped make these events possible.

“We would also like to thank all the volunteers and participants who got involved over the years.

“As you can imagine putting on a parade in Tallaght is a mammoth task and we feel we’ve done all we can at this point.”

This doesn’t necessarily mean the village will never again play host to a St Patrick’s Day Parade in the future, as the committee has expressed their hope that other people might carry on the tradition.

“Hopefully another group will take on the challenge and Tallaght will have a parade again next year,” they stated.

“We would be glad to offer any advice to whoever decides to take the baton from us. “We hope you all have an amazing St Patrick’s Day and best of luck to all the other parades happening in South Dublin.”

In a South Dublin County Council document seen by The Echo last week, the local authority stated that it would meet with local councillors to discuss the future of the event.