Athlone Parade falls foul of coronavirus

The organisers of this year's St. Patrick's Day Parade in Athlone have decided to postpone this year's event in the interest of public safety as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

In a statement issued today (Monday) on their Facebook page, they state that the decision to postpone the Parade was "based on the national guidelines" around coronavirus and was made "in the interest of public safety." They have not yet picked a new date for when the Parade will now go ahead.

The committee acknowledged the support of all groups which were due to take part, local businesses and volunteers, and said they would be in touch with all groups shortly.

A spokesperson for Moate St. Patrick's Day Committee said today that, while they have not made a final decision on this year's Parade, it now looks  "extremely unlikely" that it will go ahead.

UPDATE:

At 5.15pm, just after this story was posted, the Government announced that all parades will be cancelled. 

Due to the unique nature and scale of the St Patrick’s Day festivities, in terms of size, the mass gathering of local and international travellers, and the continued progression of community transmission in some European countries, along with the emergence of a small number of cases of local transmission in Ireland, the Government has decided that St Patrick’s Day parades, including the Dublin parade, will not proceed. This is based on the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team. The situation in relation to other events and mass gatherings remains under review and any response will be guided by the NPHET which meets again tomorrow, along with the public health advice.