For St. Patrick"s Day "the sky"s the limit"!

There"s less than two months to go, but the committee behind the St. Patrick"s Day parade are about to swing into action, to ensure that this year"s parade is yet another to remember.And with a nod to the fact that 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy, they"ve decided that the theme for this year"s parade should be 'The Sky"s the Limit'!Following on the success of the last two years" parades, at their AGM on Thursday night the committee agreed that this year"s is even more important, as a distraction from the misery of the current financial crisis.'More than ever, we need a parade, a feeling of something good happening, of goodwill,' said chairperson, Frances Guckian, at the meeting at the Greville Arms Hotel, where she also expressed delight at the turnout for the evening.'It"s been a tremendous success over the last couple of years, which is a tribute to the hardworking committe here, but as a committee this year, we have certainly made it even more difficult for ourselves because we have so little time, and a lot of work to be done in very little time,' she continued.But the parade wasn"t just necessary as a lift from the doom and gloom she stressed: 'It"s vital that we try and maintain our heritage. There is very little of that left. St. Patrick"s Day is uniquely Irish, and we need to be maintaining that.'The officers for the coming year are: chairperson, Frances Guckian; deputy chairperson, Enda Geoghegan; secretary, Martin Nally; treasurer, Ruth Illingworth; assistant treasurer, Frances Gallagher; PRO, Fergus Hilliard.In charge of floats are to be Enda Geoghegan assisted by Chris Murtagh and Declan McCormack; Derek Irvine, and Clair Geraghty will look after entertainment and street theatre; Cllr. Betty Doran will liaise with the non-national communities; while fundraising will be led by Cllr. Detty Cornally and Rosemarie Connolly and assisted by Cllr. Robert Troy.Following the selection of officers, Ms. Guckian said she was delighted at the enthusiasm.'It"s so important for the town of Mullingar. We need this parade more than any other year. We did have a hiatus for many years with no parade, and we all know how people felt about that, and how bad it was for the image of Mullingar, so 2009 has come in with nothing but doom and gloom throughout the media.'There would, Ms. Guckian said that having the parade will bring advantages for the town, 'if we put in the hard work, and have people come in here and spend money, and see it as a town that in spite of adversity, hard times, and economic gloom, that we can put on a parade, and that people are willing to take part and wiling to assist.'It is hoped that given St. Patrick"s Day being on a Tuesday, and Belvedere having their St. Patrick"s Day events on the Sunday, that a calendar of events can be arranged running over the weekend and on to Tuesday, the committee agreed.On St. Patrick"s Day itself, there will be street entertainment from around 2 p.m., with the parade itself at 4 p.m., following the same route as last year.It"s time to get the thinking caps on, organise your firm"s float - and to remember: the sky"s the limit!