Inspirational Cork boy leads a successful Ballincollig parade day

“THEY all turned up in the finish,” Ballincollig Business Association chair Emer Cassidy told The Echo with a laugh.

Despite a few last-minute panics that there wouldn’t be enough people taking part, this year’s Ballincollig St Patrick’s Day parade was a roaring success, with approximately 8,000 spectators turning out to cheer on some 2,000 participants.

10-year-old Oliver Lynch, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy and who has raised tens of thousands of euro for charity, was this year’s grand marshal. Oliver, who has been described by President Michael D Higgins as “one of life’s great heroes”, did a great job and took the day in his stride.

“Oliver did a fantastic job, he was a fabulous grand marshal and we just couldn’t have got better,” Ms Cassidy said. “Great credit is due to his parents, Alison and Kevin, they’re absolutely amazing people."

Dick Beamish from Cork Comhaltas was MC for the day, with Comhaltas supplying some fantastic music, and a haunting rendition of Sé mo laoch mo ghile mear stole the show before the parade started at all. The chief steward was Odhrain O’Connell, ably assisted by Pat Enright.

“SOS Recovery was one business which was outstanding,” Ms Cassidy said. “I don’t know how many vehicles they had in the parade, but they were just shining. You could eat your dinner off of them, and they came down the street tooting ‘Baby Shark’, which was a huge hit with the younger people in the crowd. The little kids just went wild!”

Ms Cassidy said that, despite the panicking and the cajoling that every year goes into making the parade a success, it all paid off on the day, just as it does every year.

“It’s a great sense of community, it’s just lovely, you’d just be bowled over at the end, it’s worth every little bit of effort,” she said.

The winners of the best voluntary group award was Ballincollig Scouts, earning a €1,000 prize sponsored by Dunnes Stores.