Colette O’Hagan has been named as the official Grand Marshal for the upcoming St Patrick’s Day Parade. The 75-year-old grandmother completed her 1000th marathon in October last year and continues to clock up marathon runs on a regular basis.
The parade committee, which is chaired by Conor Keelan and includes Cllr. Maeve Yore, Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú, Shane McBride, Dagan Fleming, Anne Campbell, Hanna McDonnell, David Minto and Maria O’Toole, said they were delighted when Colette accepted their invitation to lead the 2025 parade in Dundalk.
Mr Keelan said that Colette, who is supported by Dundalk Credit Union, is ‘an inspirational woman who is well-known for her charity work’.
He said: ‘There was only one choice for the grand marshal this year. Colette O’Hagan is an inspirational woman who continues to run and race into her seventies and shows no signs of slowing down. We were delighted when she said yes and we are really looking forward to working with her at the parade’.
Registration for the 2025 Dundalk St Patrick’s Day parade opened last week and the response has been ‘really positive’, Mr Keelan said. Registration is through the website at www.stpatricksdaydundalk.ie and closes on March 13.
The parade, which takes place on Monday March 17, will start at 1pm, will feature many local community and business organisations showcasing the very best that the town has to offer.
There will also be live music and family entertainment after the parade, so that families can spend more time in the town after the main event.
And following on from the successful two years of the ‘quiet zone’ in Dublin Street, which allowed people with sensory issues to enjoy the parade without the noise, the committee has announced it will make a return in 2025.
Also coming back is the very popular wheelchair access viewing stand which gave wheelchair users a safe and elevated place to see the parade in all its glory. This facility is limited in capacity and needs to be pre-booked through the website.
Mr Keelan said it is vital that people who are involved in community and sporting groups, as well as businesses, ‘come together to join in the parade’.
He said: ‘I hope everyone gets behind us to put Dundalk on the St Patrick’s Day map again. There was a huge level of community buy-in and support last year from a wide variety of groups, which we appreciated very much.
‘We are heartened by the response from almost every community-based group in the area. We are very grateful for their support, their kindness and their brilliant joyful spirit which absolutely made the parade last year.
‘There is a lot of work to do, but we hope with the support of the town, that we will be able to stage a wonderful parade this year’.
Any group or business organisation wishing to take part must register through the website.
