Band set to take part in two parades - one in Cork and one in New York - just 19 hours apart

WHEN iconic Cork band The Frank and Walters, as Grand Marshal, lead the 3,000-plus participants in this year’s St Patrick’s Day parade, on March 17, the city will not only celebrate the rich tapestry of its culture, sport, and traditions, it will also wholeheartedly embrace and honour those who have chosen to make it their home.

With a theme of ‘Pure Imagination’, participants are invited to explore the “magic, wonder, colours and world of dreams of Cork, all in a sense of togetherness”.

“The Parade will be a celebration of life and Cork and our city of welcomes,” said Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Kieran McCarthy.

So many diverse groups will walk side by side in this year’s parade.

One such group is The Filipino Irish Community Cork (FICC) whose members are looking forward to showcasing the beautiful and colourful pagentry of their native Philipinnes.

“We represent the 800-plus members of the Filipino community currently living in Cork, many of whom have lived and worked here for decades,” explains parade co-ordinator/leader Jubby Quiton.

An IT consultant, he has lived in Cork with his wife and two children for the past year. His wife works as a radiologist in the CUH and they feel very much at home in their new surrounds.

The United Filipino-Irish Association (UFIA) was a vibrant association pre-pandemic and took part in many St Patrick’s Day parades in the past, the last of which was in 2019.

However, the enforced shut-down of all group gatherings due to Covid in 2020, meant that, like many organisations, it never managed to re-establish itself once restrictions were lifted, and was subsequently dissolved permanently.

“I remember being in the audience at last year’s parade and wondering why there was no-one representing our Filipino community,” said Jubby.

So, after mass last January, Jubby mooted the idea of forming a new Filipino-Irish Community in Cork with one of its primary objectives being to re-establish their participation in the St Patrick’s Day parade.

The response was a resounding yes and since then, he and his committee of volunteers have been enthusiastically coordinating their community’s entry.

“In the Philippines, we have lots of festivals. Each city and region have their own special themes and celebrations. 

So, this year, we will be presenting the Masskara festival from Visayas in honour of St Patrick.

About 25 adults and 14 children, dressed in beautiful and colourful authentic costumes and masks, will dance their way through the streets of Cork.

“We had enough time to ship our traditional costumes directly from the Philippines. However, the masks are too elaborate and expensive to bring over, so we have been busy making our own.

“We are delighted. It has been a real community effort,” says Jubby.

Not content with marching in one St Patrick’s Day parade, the Knights of St Colombus Pipes and Drums band from Brooklyn, New York, have set themselves the incredible challenge of walking in two parades, on both sides of the Atlantic, a mere 19 hours apart.

When March 17 falls on a Sunday, the traditional St Patrick’s Day parade through the iconic Fifth Avenue runs on a Saturday.

“That’s the only time we can do the back-to-back transatlantic parades”, says Greg Stephenson, who has been playing bagpipes for the past 27 years.

“This will be our 26th time walking in the New York parade and our third in Ireland. The first time was 2002 in Dublin, post 9/11, and it was such an emotional time for us all. The people welcomed and embraced us.

“We had such a glorious time in 2019 when we travelled to Cork, that we had to return,” he insists.

Unsurprisingly, hailing from Brooklyn, most of the 20 or so band members travelling have some Irish connections.

It is very special for us to be coming here to celebrate St Patrick and all things Irish. 

"Our only regret is that our Drum Major and founder Bob Murphy won’t be with here with us this year. We promise to hoist a pint or two in his honour.”

When asked about the inevitable jet lag, Greg’s promise was resolute.

“We’ll take an overnight flight so will be fine. And the fun won’t stop at the parade either, let me tell you. Last time, we had a wonderful time playing in the pubs around the city.”

The band and family members will remain in Cork for a few days after the parade and have a visit with Lord Mayor Cllr Kieran McCarthy on Tuesday.

The Cork BMX club promises to delight the crowds lining the city this St Patrick’s Day.

Founded in 2015, based in Tramore Valley Park, with the aim of promoting advanced bike skills for all levels and ages, the club currently has 100 members, both male and female rides, and ranging in age from four upwards.

Club members race both nationally and internationally. While it is an individual sport, there is great support assured for riders.

For this year’s St Patrick’s Day parade, Cork BMX Club riders, ranging in age from four to 40+, will ride their BMX bikes in full protective gear of helmets and body armour, performing wheelies, stunts, and maybe even a few ‘bunny hops’ along the way.

For The Cork Renegades Baseball club, marching in the St Patrick’s Day parade is not only a guaranteed fun day out, it is a very important event to promote the club and establish it in the psyche of the Cork people.

Representing the 50 to 60 membership, organiser Heidi Bodin says they are genuinely looking forward to this year’s parade.

“Last year, literally two days before the entries closing date, on a pure whim we decided to walk in the parade. It was fantastic.

Not only did we have a great day, so many people came up to us afterwards and said they didn’t even know we existed. It led to lots of enquiries and our one little team expanded to two.

First established in June, 2022, the Cork Renegades Team is a veritable melting pot of cultures and nationalities.

“All of us are living and working in Cork. However, we only have a few Corkonians. The rest hail from places as far afield as Uruguay, Venezuela, South America, Dominican Republic, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Wales and Scotland.”

In 2023, they became National B-League champions. No mean feat for a club barely out of the starting blocks.

“Our biggest challenge is finding a safe space for us to play and have fun and to learn the game. We are working with the council to find a solution to this but, in the interim, we are extremely grateful to Brian Dillons GAA club who allow us to play our home games on their pitch and to the National Hurling Club in Blackrock for allowing us to hold our indoor training sessions there.”

While they have been training all winter, the national league season will kick off in April. Most of the teams are Dubin-based.

Heidi says the ultimate goal of the club is to expand the number of teams “down this end of the country”.

“When the Irish went to America, they brought the game of rounders with them and it was considered an immigrant sport,” she adds. 

Baseball is also an immigrant sport, but we see it as a legitimate alternative to more established sports.

The club will be hosting an open day in Tramore Valley Park on the last weekend of July and will be inviting families to come along, get a taster of the sport, and hopefully join the ranks.

“If you can play rounders, you will definitely be able to play baseball,” insists Heidi. “If you play hurling even better. We usually find they have brilliant batting skills!”

In the meantime, it is all systems go preparing for the forthcoming national league. And, of course, the St Patrick’s Day parade.

For membership enquiries, contact: corkbmxclub@gmail.com or visit the club in Tramore Valley Park. www.corkrenegades.com or Instagram @corkrenegades filipinocommunitycork@gmail.com

MORE ABOUT THE PARADE

The Cork St Patrick’s Day Parade will take place on March 17 at 1pm, on the familiar route from South Mall to Merchants Quay.

The Parade will include mor than 3,000 participants, performance showpieces from professional art groups Cork Puppetry Company and Spraoi, and marching bands and groups from America, the United Kingdom, Germany and Ireland.

The four-day St Patrick’s festival will showcase a new, specially-programmed range of events organised by Cork City Council in collaboration with venues and organisations in the city, supported by Fáilte Ireland, in Triskel Christchurch, City Hall and Elizabeth Fort

Songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Paul Noonan, who is best known as the frontman of the Irish group Bell X1, will perform in Triskel Arts Centre on Friday, March 15, and up-and-coming Kingfishr appear there on the 16.

Organised by Cork Folk Festival, a free Afternoon Céilí Mór will take place from 3pm to 6pm in City Hall on Saturday, March 16. Acclaimed musicians from the Cork Trad Trio will perform traditional Irish music as dancers are guided with the help of experienced dancers on the floor - no experience necessary.

Presented by Circus Factory, an afternoon programme of Circus High Jinks, towering aerial acrobatics and fire juggling on a tightwire will take over Elizabeth Fort on Saturday, March 16, with a Circus Disco included to give everyone a chance to have a go (not with the fire!). This event is also free, but booking is advised.

Also taking place as part of the Cork St Patrick’s Festival are trad music performances from the Lee Sessions, live music, comedy events, guided tours and family friendly events across the city. The full programme of events is on www.corkstpatricksfestival.ie. Some events do require pre-booking but most are free.

Friends and family unable to be in Cork on the day can view the parade via the livestream, which is viewable via the webpage for the parade. In the days leading up to the festival, the Cork St Patricks Festival’s Social Media pages will also carry lots of information on the parade and other events over festival weekend, while printed brochures will be available in Cork City Library branches, and around the city centre.

See www.corkstpatricksfestival.ie for further details of the Cork City St Patrick’s Festival. Cork St Patricks Festival’s Facebook page is: facebook.com/corkstpatricksfestival