St Patrick's Day Parade 2023 - 17 March | 11.30
The 2023 St. Patrick’s Day parade in Galway city will be its biggest ever! Over 50 local groups and over 1,500 participants are due to take part. Some of the groups participating include Macnas, 1st Port of Galway Sea Scouts, Salthill Devon Football Club, Ability West, GCS Judo, Funky Drums School, Galway Bay Rugby Club, Get Rhythm and all the way from Tampa Florida, Krewe of Europa.
The parade will be led by two grand marshals in an open top bus. Our first Grand Marshal will be Connacht Rugby’s Director of Rugby, Andy Friend who has been a great ambassador for Galway since his arrival in 2018.
Our Grand Marshal will be 11 year old Saoirse Ruane who has helped to collect millions of euro for cancer research since her appearance on the Late Late Toy Show in 2020. Saoirse has captured the hearts of the people of Ireland and we are delighted she will be leading our St Patrick’s Day parade.
Greenings
Bádóirí an Chladaigh will once again light up their Galway Hookers with its annual stunning greening at the Claddagh Basin alongside other landmarks across the city.
EYRE SQUARE MUSIC FEST (FREE) - 17th – 19th MARCH
A three-day programme of free outdoor concerts will take place in Eyre Square in the festival village from Friday to Sunday, featuring an array of local musicians and artists who will bring a great buzz to the city for the weekend and celebrate Galway’s musical heritage.
Each day will begin with a youth band from the Music Generation programme. Music Generation’s mission is to create inspiring experiences for children and young people through music and we are excited to see them perform in Eyre Square.
The weekend line-up will include great local bands including Colm Seoighe & na hEasógaí, MacDara, BackWest, Telebox, The Rosecaps, Livefeed from Music Generation Galway, Moondance Jazz Band and Tracy Bruen & Band.
The full line up:
March 17
15:10 - Colm Seoighe & na hEasógaí
16:00 - Drumadore
16:30 - MacDara
17:45 - BackWest
March 18
14:10 - Telebox
15:10 - The Rosecaps
16:10 - Anna Mullarkey
17:15 - Curley Organ & The Catharsis Collective
March 19
14:15 - Livefeed from Music Generation
16:00 - Tracy Bruen & Band
17:15 - Moondance Jazz Band
FAMILY FUN SPORTS DAY – Salthill Park – Sunday 19th March
Galway Sports Partnership and Healthy Galway have put together a great sports day programme that will entertain all the family.
A huge array of sports for people of all ages to participate in will be on offer including tag rugby, tug of war, athletics, pilates, yoga, tai chi, dance, facepainting, corn hole and activator poles. Just pop by and give them a go – all are welcome to join and no experience is required.
Drumadore, Galways Drumming masters will also be giving drumming lessons along the Salthill Promenade and all are welcome to go along and give it a go.
Activities will take place between 12 and 4 on the prom and in Salthill Park.
More information can be found on the Galway Sports Partnership Facebook page.
UNESCO CITY OF FILM - 17th & 18th March
New for 2023 we will celebrate Galway as a UNESCO City of Film with a series of great events.
Ardán will have an outdoor film screening of short films in the Fishmarket at The Spanish Arch on St Patrick’s Day. Films will be shown from 14.00 until 16.00.
The Cinephile Paradiso will host a two-day walk-in exhibition of the early silent films of Ireland in the Pálás Cinema Bar and the Silent Cinema on Dominick Street. This will include the O'Kalem company films that were made in the 1910s, as well as a short documentary on the importance of these films that was produced by the Irish Film Institute. For more information visit https://cinephileparadiso.com/