The 13th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Girardville will remember Irish history in the motherland and Schuylkill County.
Sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians John “Jack” Kehoe Div. 1, Girardville, the parade is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising in Ireland.
According to www.history.com, on Easter Monday in 1916 a group of Irish nationalists proclaimed the establishment of an Irish Republic and staged a rebellion against the British government. The rebels seized buildings in Dublin and fought with British troops. Within a week, more than 2,000 people were killed or injured.
The parade will also salute the local coal miners’ union labor movement of the 1870s, which some say was started by the Molly Maguires. The yearly commemorative booklet and parade program will feature history about the Easter Rising and the local labor movement.
The parade will begin at noon Saturday, rain or shine. Revelers are encouraged to get to Girardville early as parking is at a premium. Traffic into the borough will be closed at 10 a.m. Stephen Barrett, parade manager with the Girardville Parade Committee, said they are asking people to travel Route 61 from Frackville to Ashland to Girardville to avoid congestion at the Gold Star Bridge in Shenandoah.
The state Department of Transportation began a replacement project at the bridge last week, which has restricted traffic flow in the borough. Barrett said he was requesting PennDOT put up message boards to help travelers from out of the area.
Parade registration will be held from 8:30 to 11 a.m. at the Girardville Municipal Building, Fourth and B streets.
The grand marshal will be Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Mike Stack. According to a press release from Barrett, Stack’s mother, Judge Felice Rowley Stack, was born and raised in Girardville.
Barrett said the committee has been trying to get more floats back in the parade, so this year they developed a contest with winners receiving a monetary award. The contest will be divided into two classes — floats created and sponsored by nonprofit organizations and floats for for-profit groups or businesses. He said the committee hopes the contest will grow into an annual tradition and something groups strive to participate in.
“Maybe people will try to compete against each other,” Barrett said.
Another special addition to this year’s parade is the State Correctional Institution/Mahanoy honor guard.
Barrett said members of some veterans groups are getting older and have trouble walking a parade route, so he reached out to the prison.
“They never marched in the parade. I sent a letter to their superintendent to ask if they could be our honor guard in the parade,” he said, adding the parade committee will buy the group a flag carrier for their participation.
Parade participants include Emerald Society Bag Pipe Band, Chester County, making its first appearance; dignitaries including U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-17, and state Sen. David Argall, R-29, and AOH groups from around the county and state.
The Schuylkill Amateur Repeater Association will return for the third year to provide its services. Jim Munley, secretary, said men will be set up at checkpoints to aid parade operations and report any medical or emergency incidents.
Munley said the first two years went well with not many incidents. The use of ham radios allows a free flow of communication, without using any of the county communication lines unless absolutely necessary, Munley said.
“I wouldn’t be able to do it without those guys,” Barrett said. To learn more about the repeater association, visit www.w3sc.org.
Before the parade, Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. at St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church, North Second Street. Mass was previously held at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church before its closure due to merger.
Other activities include Irish entertainment and the award ceremony at the Hibernian House. Food vendors and souvenirs will be available around the borough. The 2016 parade T-shirt featuring the names of the organizers of the 1916 Easter Rising and the local miners’ union movement of the 1870s will be on sale throughout the borough Saturday.
Maps of the parade route, scheduled activities and the parade lineup can be found at www.girardvilleirishparade.com.