Winners of the Cork St. Patrick's Day Parade Recognised
WINNERS OF THE CORK ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE RECOGNISED
The 2012 winners of the Cork St. Patrick’s Day Parade were recognised today (Thursday, 22 March 2012) with a reception in City Hall where they were presented with their prizes by Deputy Lord Mayor Cllr Sean Martin. And with a record number of over 2,700 participants in this year’s parade, the competition for the top spots was tougher than ever.
Cork City Foras Co-Op was awarded Best Sporting Group, as they celebrated Cork City FC’s return to the Premier Division of the League of Ireland under Foras, which is the supporters trust who are now 100% owners of the club. The Joan Denise Moriarty School of Dance who were celebrating their centenary won Best Dance Group while the Ballyphehane and District Pipe Band, led by Pipe Major Gavin Richardson won Best Music Group.
Wesley Oliveira of the Brazilian martial arts group, Capoeira Candeias Cork won Best Individual Entry for their piece which displayed the academy’s skills which combine self defence, acrobatics, flexibility and music.
Best Overall Group went to the Chinese Community in Cork whose participants included staff and students from UCC’s School of Asian Studies, UCC Confucius Institute and the Irish Institute of Chinese Studies at UCC and Chinese students from UCC Chinese Students Union all dressed in traditional Chinese clothing and carrying a dragon to symbolise 2012 being the Year of the Dragon.
Speaking on the parade winners, Lord Mayor Cllr Terry Shannon said “We had a huge response from local community and sporting groups to partake in this year’s St. Patrick’s Day parade and each and every one were winners in their own right for turning out to entertain the crowds that lined Cork’s streets last Saturday. Our five winners here today were chosen by the parade judges for their innovation, imagination and participation in the event and I’m delighted that we can acknowledge their achievements with these prizes”.
50,000 people from home and abroad descended on Cork City for the St. Patrick’s Day parade last Saturday, which kicked off the three-day Cork St Patrick’s Festival 2012, presented by Cork City Council. In addition over 30,000 people watched the parade online through a live stream on www.corkstpatricksfestival.ie and on Cork Community Television while another 25,000 people visited the city centre to enjoy festivities taking place on the Sunday and Monday. This year saw a record number of parade participants with over 2,700 people from 65 different groups taking part in the parade which was led by joint Grand Marshals, the Cork Ladies Football and Camogie teams.