Grand Marshal of the 2026 St Patrick’s Day parade Sensei Patrick Beaumont, pictured at last year’s event.

'Colourful and lively' plans for St Patrick’s Day in Athlone

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Representatives from the Athlone Agri Show, Athlone River Festival , Athlone Comholtas, Feile na Sionnaine, Athlone Boat Club, Athlone Sub Aqua, Tri Athlone, RNLI, MPAI, IUNVA and Athlone Safety Awareness with the Croi na hEireann Committee.

Published: Mon 16 Mar 2026, 3:37 PM

The St Patrick’s Day Parade on the banks of the River Shannon, is a colourful and lively event, with floats, street performers, and marching bands that reflect the diverse cultural heritage of the town.

Athlone’s parade gets underway at 12.30pm tomorrow, March 17, to mark the Feast Day of Ireland's patron saint, St. Patrick, and will follow a route from the gate of Custume Barracks on Magazine Road to Golden Island.

The section along John Broderick St will be a sensory friendly area, with all participants marching quietly through this section.

The Grand Marshal for Athlone's St Patrick's Day parade is Sensei Patrick Beaumont, Chief Instructor of St Mary's Karate Club, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year.

The two parade judges for this year are writer and Westmeath Independent columnist Jean Farrell and Regina Bushell, President of the Athlone Chamber of Commerce and the Managing Director at Grovelands Childcare.

The Croí Na hEireann festival, which is a five-day event, got underway on Friday last, March 13, wit a Futsal Tournament at the Multi-purpose Hall in TUS.

The programme of events across the five days included activities and contributions from the Luan Gallery, Dean Crowe Hall, The River Festival, Feile na Sionnaine, Athlone Sub Aqua, Athlone Comhaltas, River Safety, Athlone Agri Show and local sporting clubs.