Athlone Croí na hÉireann Festival kicks off

The eagerly awaited Athlone Croí na hÉireann Festival kicked off today (Thursday, March 14) with a with plethora of events and activities planned over the next five days, to conclude with a massive parade in the town on Monday, March 18.

As the St Patrick’s weekend draws near, the organising committee is delighted to announce a full programme for the festvail, which it is hoped will develop into a major attraction for the town in the future.

Among the highlights this year include a plethora of musical attractions at the Canopy in the town centre over the weekend, guided walks, exhibitions, an underage futsal tournament in TUS, Irish dancing, music therapy sessions and McFadden's fun fair will be in Burgess Park for the duration.

New additions to the line-up are a multicultural showcase of dance and music on Saturday, March 16 from 3pm to 5pm in St Mary's Hall, a river safety demonstration at Sr Bernard Quay behind the castle on the same day between 1pm and 2pm, a fishing competition on Lough Ree and a kids treasure hunt and teddy bears picnic, to name just a few.

PJ Stacey and JP Burke will showcase their new single 'The Emigrant Song' under the canopy at 3.30pm Monday, March 18, followed by the fantastic Athlone Youth Orchestra at 4pm. There will be traditional gigs across the weekend in Sean's Bar, a big breakfast event in Ballinahown and a table quiz for Athlone Agri-Show on Thursday.

On St Patrick's Day itself, there will be a 5km run/walk kicking off from Athlone Regional Sports Centre at 10am, followed by traditional music provided by Féile na Sionnaine and Comhaltas musicians at the canopy in the centre of the town.

Athlone's parade on Monday, March 18 at 2pm will be led by Grand Marshal, Gerry Johnson, Chairperson of Athlone Tidy Towns. The route of the parade is from west to east, and it will start at Athlone Extrusions and finish at Burgess Park.

Again this year, there will be a designated sensory area along John Broderick Street (from Dunnes Stores to Burgess Park) where all parade participants will be asked to march in silence.

“The interest from participating groups in this year’s festival and parade is extremely high this year and we are just delighted to be able to give them an opportunity to showcase their talents to a wide audience,” said Cllr Frankie Keena, treasurer of the festival group, prior to the start of festivities.

“Hopefully, the public will come along and support these marvellous groups and organisations and participate in the fun and entertainment,” he added.

The committee is very grateful to have received such marvellous sponsorship in finance and resources from Westmeath County Council, Sean’s Bar, Arcadia Retail Park, Athlone Extrusions, Ganly’s Hardware, Shannon Academy, Athlone/Castlerea Credit Union, Bank of Ireland, Garrycastle GAA Club, TUS MMW, Fernhill Garden Centre, Mark Redmond Roofing & Construction and Athlone Regional Sports Centre.

“The aim is to make this a major festival and I do feel we are on the correct trajectory to achieve that,” Cllr Keena commented.