Japan, Chile, America, and Singapore were just a sample of the countries with Mayo natives that logged onto www.mayotv.ie over the weekend and watched all the colour and pageantry of the 60th Swinford St Patrick’s Day parade unfold live on Mayo TV.
“The reaction to the live broadcast on Mayo TV has been phenomenal. We had people in Australia, America, and all over England logged on and watching. We are inundated with messages of goodwill from people all over the world that watched the entire broadcast. It was a great opportunity to showcase Swinford and Mayo to the world and we hope that the town and county will benefit as a result in the future,” commented Joe Mellett, chairperson of the parade committee.
The 60th Swinford St Patrick’s Day parade was full of pageantry and colour with every strand of the community represented. “The parade was a wonderful celebration of community spirit and camaraderie and it shows what Swinford town can achieve when everybody works together. I want to thank the entire community for their support and their efforts in making the 60th parade one of the best ever,” commented Mr Mellett.
The theme for the 60th Swinford St Patrick’s Day parade was ‘Remember The Good Old Days’ and the entire community came out in their droves to watch it. “I am sure that the good old days will return very soon. We have a new Taoiseach from Mayo in Enda Kenny and there is great hope now for the future,” commented Mr Mellett.
Mayo TV presenter Piaras O’Reilly stated the live broadcast on Mayo TV was watched all over the world. “It was fitting that one of the oldest and longest established parades in the country was also the first ever to be broadcast live on Mayo TV,” stated O’Reilly.
The Grand Marshall for the Swinford St Patrick’s Day parade was Irish and UK martial arts champion 16-year-old local lad Aaron McLoughlin. Highlights from the Swinford St Patrick’s Day parade can still be viewed on www.mayotv.ie in the community channel. Log onto www.mayotv.ie and click on the community page.
