Let’s be Frank about St Patrick’s Day
After all Cork really loves you and what better way to show that than appointing you as this year’s grand marshal for the St Patrick’s Day parade in Cork city?
It is, of course, the Frank and Walters who were yesterday, Wednesday, announced as the grand marshals for 2024 parade which will take place on 17 March at 1pm, on the familiar route from South Mall to Merchants Quay.
The parade will include more than 3,000 participants, performance showpieces from professional art groups Cork Puppetry Company and Spraoi, and marching bands and groups from America, United Kingdom, Germany and Ireland. The Knights of Columbus Pipes and Drums Group will, for the third time, be repeating their amazing transatlantic double of marching in the New York Parade on March 16 before flying to Cork to take part in the Cork Parade on St Patrick’s Day.
Founded in Cork in the early 1990s, The Frank and Walters are an acclaimed Cork band that have achieved international success with their classical indie hits, charting both inside and outside of Ireland. The groups longevity and the enduring popularity of their music especially the song ‘After All’ makes them one of Ireland’s best loved and most recognisable alternative indie Irish bands. The band members are Paul Linehan on lead vocals and bass, Ashley Keating on drums, Rory Murphy is on lead guitar and on keyboards is Cian Corbett.
The Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Kieran McCarthy said: "I am delighted that the iconic Cork band The Frank and Walters are the Grand Marshal of the Cork St Patrick’s Day Parade. The theme of this year’s parade is Pure Imagination and I invite those participating to explore the magic, wonder, colours and the world of dreams of Cork, all in a sense of togetherness.
“Our parade will be a celebration of life in Cork and our city of welcomes, with our traditional sporting and dance groups alongside new communities that have made our city their home.”
The four day festival, from 15-18 March, 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 15 March, and up-and-coming Kingfishr appear there on 16 March.
· Organised by Cork Folk Festival, a free afternoon Céilí Mór will take place from 3-6pm in City Hall on Saturday 16 March. 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 and no experience is 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 16 March, with a Circus Disco included to give everyone a chance to have a go... but 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 is on corkstpatricksfestival.ie. Some events do require prebooking 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 brochures will be available in Cork City Library branches.