Sinn Féin’s Cathy Mason calls for a bigger, bolder vision for St Patrick’s Day in Downpatrick
Sinn Féin MLA Cathy Mason and Cllr. Oonagh Hanlon have called on Newry Mourne and Down District Council to begin re-evaluating the St. Patrick’s Day in Downpatrick which attracts around 30,000 people.
The South Down MLA said: “Downpatrick has always been the beating heart of St. Patrick’s Day celebration across the Island.
“Sinn Féin recognise the real progress made in recent years and the hard work that has brought the festival to this point.
“This years celebrations were a credit to our local community.
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“However, it’s hard not to notice the untapped potential that our local businesses and community space
could benefit from.
“That’s why Sinn Féin are proposing that the Council begin preparations ahead of next
year’s celebrations to ensure we continue to build on the festival’s current success.
“I have also written to the Minister for Communities to play his full part in supporting an ambitious, properly planned celebration.
Downpatrick Cllr. Oonagh Hanlon added: “I have proposed that Council review and transform our St. Patrick’s Day plans.
“It’s important that the council engage directly with local businesses, community groups
and residents alike to develop a new plan for St. Patrick’s Day that will exceed current expectations.
“Your Sinn Féin team will continue to work with the Council and the local community
to create a bigger, bolder vision for St Patrick’s Day in Downpatrick.”
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Editor’s comments on the St Patrick’s parade and festival – time to unleash the creatives
St Patrick is a unifying symbol in Christianity and as such he deserves his place at the table of great festivals around the world. This initiative needs to be a top-down, bottom-up development, building on the core principles of openness, accountability, democracy, and fairness across communities.
This event has global implications and potential as St Patrick’s days are celebrated from as far away as Hong Kong, Australia, South Africa, North America and in Europe and across the whole of Ireland.
A lot more could be done to lift the festival. For example, why not have a simple pre-festival walk along the same route with ‘St Patrick and a band 2 days before to drum up PR / media attention and kick-start the proceedings pre-empting the world celebrations. Would that not create media attention ? The sun should rise and set in Downpatrick!!
It needs a couple of big names, famous faces. Why not ask the likes of Liam Neeson if he’ll come play St Patrick next year if he’s free from filming and his special skills are available? Or some other well-known face – could be a singer, sports person, comedian, etc etc. Go big! Go famous!
The St Patrick’s festival may be just a little way of healing this broken country and coming up to the 1600 year celebration, isn’t it time that Downpatrick got it’s fair deserves and is recognised for its central role in Irish Christian history.
And it needs big companies to sponsor a few prizes for best dressed, best float etc etc. Businesses too need to be involved eg best dressed shop window competition and spot prizes etc.
And in Newry around 20 years ago, the Santa run started ? Could we not have a St Patrick’s run, everyone (men and women) all dressed up as St Patrick running down the length of Market Street – I’m sure the East Down AC could assist there!
I’ve loads of ideas but what’s the best way to get all the community’s ideas into a framework where we have indeed a new transformative vision for a St Patrick festival and parade fit for the 21st century ?
There needs too be be a series of seminal talks by eminent academics and religious thinkers around the history of early Christian Christianity and St Patrick and other saints, and the St Patrick Centre could accommodate that.
‘Ego Patricius!’ His words!
But it begs the question: what is the best mechanism to deliver this ?
