THE organisers of the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Fermoy said inviting Dr Tom Cavanagh to be Grand Marshal is a gesture of thanks for the time, effort and money he has put into philanthropy work in the town and beyond.

Dr Cavanagh had a successful career in the motor industry and went on to have involvement in financial services, hospitality and other sectors. He founded his first philanthropic trust in 1987 and has supported many community, sport and other initiatives in the 30 years since.

“We had about 1,700 people marching in the parade last year, representing about 50 groups, clubs and societies in Fermoy and behind all those groups are volunteers who help share their time and experience to help us raise our children in Fermoy and raise our quality of life,” organiser Donal O’Loughlin said.

“None of that would be possible if we didn’t have the philanthropy of someone like Dr Tom Cavanagh who has helped put up the infrastructure — the all-weather pitches, the floodlights, the swimming pool and community centres, all that stuff. He has been so good to the town and is so modest about it. Asking him to be Grand Marshal is really our only way of Fermoy saying thanks to him.”