Brisbane Irish Festival -St Patrick's Day Parade & Irish Fair 2012

On Saturday 10 March 2012 the 23^rd annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, proudly supported by the Brisbane City Council, will once again fill the streets of Brisbane with colour and festivity.  The Saint Patrick’s Day Parade committee would like to extend an invitation to your organisation to enter a float/group in the parade and join us in the celebrations.

The success of the Parade is largely due to the fantastic line up of floats that participate in the Parade each year.  The quality of floats continues to impress and entertain the people of Brisbane. The participation of diverse groups and a modern expression of St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations are greatly welcomed. The 2012 parade theme is ‘Ireland: Land of Legends’.

2012 will also see the launch of the Brisbane Irish Festival which will run from the 9-17 March 2012. The Festival events will aim to encompass the entire spectrum of Irish culture including music, dance, film, food etc. If you are interested in getting involved in the festival and/or holding an event in your area, please contact us today on (07) 3221 5699.

Available for download is a Nomination Form that you will need to complete and return to the address below as soon as possible. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact our Event Manager Susan McAndrew on (07) 3221 5699 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Please bear in mind that the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Association is a non-profit organization and the costs involved in staging this free community event increase annually, I would appreciate that you consider this when requesting a fee for participation.

Thank you for your time and consideration, and look forward to seeing you at the parade.

Yours sincerely

Éamon Gaffney – President

Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Committee

Please Download St Patrick's Parade Nomination Form 2012

Please Download St Patrick's Day Parade Route 2012

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITES

This fantastic event is staged by the St Patrick’s Day Parade Association Inc which is a non-profit organisation made up of volunteers within the Queensland Irish Community and has been funded for a number of years by the Queensland Government, Brisbane City Council and donations. The costs involved in staging this event are substantial and as the event grows in size and attendance each year, there is a relative increase in costs.

To continue to provide this free event to the community, The St Patrick’s Day Parade Association actively seek corporate sponsorship from the local business community.
As a sponsor of the Brisbane Irish Festival St Patrick’s Day Parade and Irish Fair you can achieve outstanding business exposure and create a highly desirable image throughout Brisbane CBD and the surrounding suburbs.

The details of the sponsorship opportunities available and their benefits are available for download here: Brisbane Irish Festival Sponsorship Package

St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2011

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade committee wishes to thank all those who contributed to the success of this year’s parade, especially given the disastrous  events that effected us all in the months preceding this year’s celebrations and the consequential reduction of financial support combined with the increased cost this year, to hold the Parade.
In particular the Parade committee wishes to thank the Brisbane City Council for their  support along with the Queensland State Government for their continued involvement.   
The corporate support we received this year from many Irish Companies is certainly very much appreciated.   Without such support this great display of the Irish contribution to Queensland would most certainly fail.

With estimated attendance in excess of 35 thousand with participants of 860 this year, it is anticipated that this annual parade will continue to increase both in participants and in attendance

Éamon Gaffney
President

Watch a Video of the 2011 St Patrick's Day Parade Brisbane!

St Patrick's Day 2011 Flyer

On Saturday 12 March 2011 the 22nd annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, proudly supported by the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council, will once again fill the streets of Brisbane with colour and festivity.  The Saint Patrick’s Day Parade committee would like to extend an invitation to your organisation to enter a float/group in the parade and join us in the celebrations.

With the recent flooding of Queensland bringing much devastation to our city, I encourage you to join us in providing the people of Brisbane with a spectacular, uplifting community event.

The success of the Parade is largely due to the fantastic line up of floats that participate in the Parade each year.  The quality of floats continues to impress and entertain the people of Brisbane. The participation of a variety of cultures and modern expression of St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations is greatly welcomed.

The History....

History indicates that the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade first started in Brisbane in the 1890’s and was a Brisbane annual event up until WWII.  Parade organisers of the 1890’s met to organise the Parade at what was then, the Valley Hotel.

In 1989 Jan Dooley, founder of Brisbane’s first Irish pub and an Irish descendant decided to re-establish the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade much to the delight of the Queensland Irish community and the thousands of people who turn up each year to cheer it on.  Today the Parade is administered by the The Irish Club (Queensland Irish Association), Queensland’s longest running national association.  The Club has been in existence for over 100 years and is the hub of Irish culture and activity in Brisbane, ensuring the relevance and cultural integrity of the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade.

A large percentage of Queenslanders have some Irish heritage thanks to our convict beginnings and our immigrant policy of last century.  Even if you’re not Irish or have no Irish roots it seems throughout Queensland there has always been a strong cross cultural affiliation with the Irish. Maybe it’s because Queensland has always been a place in which you may have been taught by an Irish brother or nun, your local policeman or publican was an Irishman or the local shopkeeper was Irish.  You may have cut cane or knew a farmer who was Irish or you may have worked the railroad, had a drink with or heard a great story from someone Irish.

Regardless of race or religion Saint Patrick’s Day has always been a popular day for celebration in Queensland.  The Parade’s main vision is to celebrate and honour the feast day of Saint Patrick. In doing so the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade also works to educate, promote and celebrate the contribution of Irish immigrants and their descendants to Queensland.  It is about fun, music and the craic and welcoming anyone and everyone to celebrate and enjoy a day of celebration.  It’s a way of sharing with the wider community a culture that has been a major influence in the development of our Queensland and Australian way of life.