Liberties kids to play a star role in St Patrick’s Festival

Children from flat complexes take to the streets with giant puppets in a parade of saints and scholars

By Alan Weston

St Patrick: the real CV

THE LIBERTIES community has worked closer together than ever before to realise what promises to be the most exciting St Patrick’s Festival in the city ever.

Fifteen flat complexes from the south city have joined forces, co-ordinated by South West Inner City Network (SWICN), to piece together an exciting array of talented dancing and colourful artwork.

The project is the largest undertaken by a group from the area in many years. It involves two Art Squads who are making five giant-sized puppets and teaching several different dance routines to almost 100 children.

Under the guidance of John Gallagher and Marie Stanley from SWICN, the project is aimed at improving relations within the community while at the same time fostering and developing the talents of all involved.

Youth clubs from the 15 complexes are working with five themes this year. Each theme will be represented by a puppet and costumes that will be worn by local children who will also portray the themes in their dance routines.

Four of the large puppets are being made by two Art Squads located in Bull Alley and Marks Alley schools. The fifth puppet is being prepared by Niamh Lawlek, an art teacher in the Liberties Vocational School and a dance instructor.

Children aged from nine to 13 years are being taught their routines by instructors Niamh Lawlek and Kim Nolan. They are all being trained over a four-week period in groups of 32 at the Saint Nicholas of Myra community hall off Francis Street.

This is SWICN’s second year partaking in the St Patrick’s Day parade and it is hoped it will be as successful as last year. Marie Stanley told the Liberty: "Last year we won first prize in the Judges’ Discretionary Award for ‘Lord of the Rings’. It is our aim to win that again this year," she said.

The five themes being represented this year include:— St Patrick naturally Zozimus who was a blind musician, St Francis, Gulliver and Bang-Bang, a famous Liberties character.

On the subject of Bang-Bang, John Gallagher explains: "While all of the other characters may be represented by other floats, Bang-Bang will not. He is a unique Liberties character and it is unlikely that he will be represented by anyone else.

"The project provides an excellent opportunity for the children to meet with new friends from other flat complex’s and share a common experience. It also allows youth workers to meet and talk about what’s happening in the area," he added.

All aspects of the project are well underway and are due to be completed in the first week of March, just in time for the parade.

Asked about the biggest worry ahead of the parade, Marie Stanley said: "Funding is our biggest worry. The grant from the Parade Organising Committee doesn’t cover all our costs. We need sponsorship to meet the remainder which we hope will be forthcoming."

Name: Saint Patrick, (born Maewyn).

Date Of Birth: AD 385.

Nationality: Welsh.

Education: Studied Christianity under St Germain, Bishop of Auxerre for a period of 12 years in Gaul, France.

Work Experience: Worked as a slave shepherding sheep in the Mourne mountains, Co. Antrim, for six years. Worked across Ireland converting pagans to Christianity for 30 years.

Honours: Accredited with bringing Christianity to Ireland and being made the country’s patron saint in recognition of this Claim to fame: Banished snakes from Ireland.

Remembered for: Using the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. He used it in his sermons to show how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. Also see claim to fame.

Little known fact: His jawbone was preserved in a silver shrine and was often requested in times of childbirth, epileptic fits, and as a preservative against the evil eye.

Epitaph: Died on March 17 in AD 461. That day has been commemorated as St Patrick’s Day ever since. March 17 has gone on to become possibly the only national holiday to be given recognition outside its native land, a true honour to St Patrick and Ireland as a whole.