Getting Ready for St. Patrick's Day Parade

The buzz is building ahead of the big day tomorrow, and we've got a little look behind the curtain at one of our newest pageants...
We've been checking in with the Arkins Dance and Stage Academy over the last number of weeks on their journey towards tomorrow's National Parade. One of 8 groups taking part in our brand new pageant in collaboration with the North East Inner City Initiative (NEIC) and Dublin City Council, these performers are all about shining a light of positivity over their communities, sharing the story and power of the NEIC and the Talent, Strength, Hope, Diversity and Joy in this amazing community.
St. Patrick’s Festival, Dublin City Council and the North East Inner City Initiative have come together to celebrate the North East Inner City and its historic relationship with the St. Patrick’s Festival.
A co-production between the three organisations, over 200 participants are putting their best foot forward on March 17th as the pageant celebrates the energy, resilience and talent that make up the community of the NEIC, shining a light of positivity over the story and power of the NEIC and the Talent, Strength, Hope, Diversity and Joy in this community.
Over the course of the past few months, the participants have been working on two floats which will follow the Lord Mayor’s carriage along the St Patrick’s Day parade route. The first is based on the iconic Dublin landmark The Five Lamps, while the second is a boxing ring denoting the sport’s popularity in the area.
Working with a creative team led by designer Vanessa Daws, local community groups, schools and sports clubs in the NEIC played a major role in co-creating this year’s pageant around the Festival’s theme of Spréach or Spark.
Lead artists Amy Hearty and Saoirse O’Shea workshopped with the students of O’Connell’s School, Larkin Community College and St Joseph’s Secondary School together with the Francesca Arkins Dance Academy to create the storyboard, designs and props for their performance in the St Patrick’s Festival Parade 2024.
Alongside lead performance facilitator Hugh Brown and St. Patrick’s Festival Community Arts Performance Director Muirne Bloomer, participants rehearsed their performance elements over a period of 8 weeks leading up to the Parade, weaving a rich tapestry of movement stories and dance to create an energetic and invigorating experience to entertain the audience on March 17th.
Participating groups include Arkins Dance and Stage Academy, NEIC Trojans Basketball Club, Dublin Docklands Boxing Club, Swan Youth Services, Sheriff Youth Club, St Joseph’s CBS Secondary School, Larkin Community College, O'Connell Secondary School, NEIC Trojans Basketball Club, as well as specially commissioned puppet and props by highly skilled artists Tommy Casby, Martin Cahill and Andrew Clancy. The Project Manager is Justine Doswell with assistance from Rachel Hopkins.