Dancing on the streets of Cavan Town
The county town’s parade will be led this year by a Cavan native who has danced his way into the hearts of the nation over the last couple of weeks. Comedian Kevin McGahern will act as Grand Marshal for the day. Parade organiser Michael Mooney of the Slieve Rossa Bar says they are delighted to host the Gowna man who represented the county so well on Dancing With the Stars, despite getting voted off the show last weekend.
“He has been a great ambassador for Cavan over the years,” said Michael, adding that Kevin will be joined by his dancing partner Laura Nolan for the Cavan festivities.
The parade will contain five marching bands and will be broadcast live on Cavan TV, which Michael says can give those abroad a little taste of home.
“Cavan has a big diaspora so being able to broadcast the parade allows them all to have a little piece of home, it can be important for people to have this connection.”
Michael says the parade can be difficult to organise, but says a good committee, generous sponsors and strong community support make sure it goes ahead every year.
“We have a good small team who organise it every year. There’s a good blueprint that we follow every year. Our sponsors Sheridan Insurance are fantastic. They give us great support and help with things like insurance. We also couldn’t go ahead without local people who enter the parade, do stewarding at it and attend. All of these elements are fantastic. We raised the funds to run the parade by doing church gate collections and people were very generous. The town always looks well on the day, so it should be a great day,” he said.
The parade will start at the usual time of 12:30pm in the Tesco carpark, with all entrants requested to be at the starting point for 11:45am. The event will feature five marching bands. Entry to the parade is free and the best overall float will be awarded the Eddie Brady Memorial Cup.
The Cavan Town parade is one of just a dozen parades taking place across the county this St Patrick's Day.