St Patrick’s Day is just around the corner and, as preparations get underway for the parade in Fermoy, an appeal has also begun for volunteers to help out on the day.
Following a two year hiatus due to Covid-19, numbers of steward volunteers and those working behind the scenes for the parade have been dwindling and the call has now been extended for more to get on board and help out on the day.
“Times have certainly changed and the committee has noticed that after a two-year absence, some of our steward volunteers are no longer able to assist us.
"Sadly, we lost one of our stalwarts, Michael Leonard, just very recently,” a statement from the Fermoy St Patrick’s Day parade committee read.
The committee requires volunteer stewards to provide safety for those taking part and so, the committee is now asking each group taking part in the parade to provide two members to steward their group.
“We will give them high-viz jackets so that all members of their group will know who to go to when they arrive at the start. Once the parade starts, these stewards will join in the parade with their group.
"At the end of the parade, we ask that all stewards return the high-viz jackets to the viewing platform,” the statement added.
Recently, RTÉ News noted that many celebratory St Patrick’s Day parades are being cancelled throughout Ireland because of the lack of stewards.
DUNGARVAN CANCELLED
One such parade recently cancelled was the Dungarvan parade.
In an interview with Deise Today, committee member Ann-Marie Rossiter who is a former Fianna Fail councillor in Dungarvan, cited several reasons for the cancellation of their parade, including being ‘short of volunteers’ and ‘short of stewards’.
In a statement issued to The Avondhu, organisers of the Fermoy St Patrick’s Day parade said: “This cannot be allowed to happen to Fermoy”.
“The parade has been running every year since 1983, with exception of 2001 for Foot and Mouth Disease and 2020/'21 for Covid.
“This is the 40th year of the parade and the 37th parade and is an amazing tradition for a town our size,” the statement added.
Anyone wishing to volunteer on the day of the parade, please contact Donal O Lochlainn at donal@avondhu.org.
“Volunteering on the day will only take up about 2 hours of your time for a great cause and mean so much to the town of Fermoy,” the parade organisers concluded.
