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Derby prepare for St. Patrick’s festival  Derby’s
St. Patrick’s Day committee have been hard at work planning the
city’s 13th annual celebrations and are promising it will be a festival
to remember.
Every year the committee tries to make the weekend bigger and better and
this year is no exception.
The annual ball, which is to be held this year on March 14, has now been
moved to a bigger room at Pride Park as demand is so high.
And committee member Mary Murphy said: “We are really excited about
this year’s ball and we have got the fantastic Pat Jordan and Finian’s
Rainbow to perform which is great.
“Tickets are on sale now but they sell out quickly so to avoid disappointment
I would urge people to get their tickets as soon as possible.”
The weekend’s main attraction is the annual parade through the city
on Saturday, March 15.
There will also be a series of world-class Irish dancing displays in Derby
Market Place featuring winners from the recent World Championships and
traditional Irish music.
The parade will start at Market Place at 10.30am and proceed through Iron
Gate and then to St. Mary’s Church for a Civic Mass at 11am.
After the Mass the parade will return through Iron Gate and to the Market
Place where music and the dancing will be performed on a specially erected
stage from 12.30pm.
The celebrations then finish with the parade continuing to a civic reception
at 1.30pm hosted by the Mayor of Derby at the Heritage Hotel along the
Cornmarket and St. Peter’s Street. Admission is free.
The parade will be led by the Ashbourne Pipe band and the Mayor of the
City of Derby Councillor Pauline Latham and a representative from the
Irish Government will also attend.
All events are open to everybody — Irish or not.
And with all the hard work of the committee and all the other volunteers
it looks like Derby will be giving other cities that are well-established
in St. Patrick’s Day celebrations a run for their money.
St. Patrick’s Day Ball tickets are £35 each — contact
Mary on 07814 363272/Nuala on 07793 242747 or e-mail: saintpatrickderby@hotmail.co.uk
for further details. |
