Parade winners announced

There was certainly no doom and gloom in Athlone on St Patrick"s Day and the St Patrick"s Day Parade Committee were delighted with such a successful parade and activities. The parade itself was the biggest ever with over 60 entries participating and the diversity of the entries was absolutely fantastic. The lovely weather of course brought everybody out and the parade vommittee would like to thank all members of the public whose presence helped to create a lovely carnival atmosphere in the town. The Parade Committee would sincerely like to thank its sponsors: Athlone Town Council, Westmeath County Council, Ollie Kenny Ltd and Allied Irish Bank. Without this sponsorship the parade and other activities could not take place. The Town Council staff also worked hard in erecting the review stand and safety barriers. The committee also thanked An Garda Siochana for their kind support in ensuring everything went off smoothly. They also reserved words of thanks to DJ Peter Casey on the reviewing stand, Linda-Jo Quinn for co-ordinating the stand, the judges and the Department of Defence, who provided the stewards for Golden Island. The organising committee included Chairperson Kevin "Boxer" Moran, Secretary Helen McCaul, Maura Hynes, Joe Kelly and Sandie Hughes. Thanks also to Nicole Hurley for helping out at registration at Golden Island and Peter Gallagher who helped as a steward. A spokesperson for the parade organisers added: 'Last but not least a big thank you to all the groups who participated in the parade without which the parade could not happen. Its great to see this event going from strength the strength each year and Athlone can be proud of what it achieved once again.' An awards night is planned for Wednesday, April 1, at 7.30pm in the Shamrock Lodge The successful winners are listed below. Best Overall Entry: St. Kieran"s Best Commercial Entry: Athlone Tae Kwan-Do academy Best Voluntary Entry: Jigs and Reels Film Club Best Community Entry: St. Kieran"s Best Creative Entry: Athlone Water Sports Best Sporting Entry: Monksland Foroige club Best Youth Entry: ACT/WCD Award for Originality: Creggan Turf Cutters Best Effort Award: Athlone Architectural Heritage Adjudicator Award: Sean FitzSimons Best Shop Window Display: 1. Shannon Dry Cleaners; 2. Topaz; 3. Jackie Alterations