Sunday15 March 2009

Singapore River

Parade meeting point: ACM, Empress Place

Come rain or shine the Parade will go on!

And it did!

Sunday 15th March was gearing up to be a beautiful day, warm, sunny and a small breeze, and the clouds looked too far away to do any harm! People on the Waterfront were dressed in green and gathering in groups ready to walk in one of Singapore’s 3 parades – Yes it was St Patrick’s weekend and the Irish were out in full force for the 4th year running – to bring a little Irish cheer and a lot of luck to Singapore!

As St Patrick himself was safely delivered, to the place where Sir Stamford Raffles first stepped onto Singapore, by the Gaelic Dragon Boat group, little drops of rain started to fall. St Patrick was handed over to the Grand Marshals Michael Yeo & Rosemary Lim who were joined by Ambassador O’ Brien. To try to avoid the worst of the rain the parade started off early, people moved into their group positions along the rivers edge. Some people put on their rain jackets and looked up to the sky.. will it? Won’t it? Their attention was quickly re-focused by the playing of 70+ pipers led by St Joseph’s Institution, who got things moving with St Patrick’s march & walked behind St Patrick & a colour party from St Patrick’s School joined by Teresa Ryan, President of the St Patrick’s Society & Colin Mac Donald, President of the Irish Business Association.

As the groups rounded the corner onto Cavanaugh Bridge, the heavens opened, and with it came gales of laughter from the participants, “Sure it wouldn’t be a Paddy’s Parade without rain!” was the general thought. Bravely all continued on with lots of kids dressed in green with faces painted in the Irish colours and shamrocks all over them! The Storm Troopers were wishing they had windscreen wipers for their helmets!

As the parade came round to the UOB plaza, each group was marshalled into their particular area. In a sea of 30 different shades of green, the centre area cleared to make way for the performing groups; The St Joseph’s Institute Pipe and Brass Band, La Salle College of Arts, Temasek Malay Dancers and The Star Wars Fans all of whom executed their performances with style and finesse. The only ones who couldn’t perform were The Irish Inspirational Dancers – as their pumps were soaked from the walk!

“It was great to welcome the champions of the Singapore Special Olympics Team together with so many local school and cultural groups, which helps to bring Ireland and Singapore even closer together” said Teresa Ryan adding that “our parade is about celebrating cultural diversity together.” “This was our most colourful & noisy parade yet” said Colin MacDonald, and “we are amazed at the interest in the event amongst locals and expatriates alike”.

As the Parade Manager I would like to thank the following people for all their help in the months of preparation and the day itself:

Charlotte Haynes, for all her hard work in being the point of contact for the groups, for helping with the t-shirts and generally being an ideas bouncer!

Patsy Barry, who worked hard on hunting down sponsorship, which considering the financial environment!

Colin MacDonald, Teresa and Peter Ryan for the handy tips and all round experience collated from the previous 3 years parades.

Nicole Lim, Gerry Cox and David Beattie for their wonderful patience re logistics & licence gathering.

Last but not least the Bucks rugby boys who stood out in the pouring rain ensuring that the route was clear & that everyone was in the right place!

Next year – which will be the 5th St Patrick’s Parade we are aiming for bigger, better and drier!

If anyone would like to be involved in 2010, please contact me at roisin.mills@gmail.com

Article contributed by Roisin Mills

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