Dean lines out to support St Patrick's Day parade

Dean works for Stewarts Care in Palmerstown and large crowds turned out to cheer on the local parade that has become an annual fixture in the calendar.

"The parade showcases all that is positive about Stewarts Care and the area of Palmerstown," said Dean.

"Service users, staff and people of the local community come together to take part in the wonderful event. It is an event that service users really look forward to each year and the number taking part has grown each year," he said.

Stewarts provides care for adults with intellectual disabilities. There is a school and pre-school on campus. The theme of this year's parade was "Irish Myths and Legends". Grand Marshal was Johnny Hennessy, and volunteers from the local Ulster Bank acted as marshals.

Work

"It was two months putting the floats together. A huge amount of work goes into it," said Dean.

He commended the standard of the floats, saying it was "a credit to the staff and the service users".

The parade, which featured up to 20 floats, lasted around an hour. It started at Stewarts Sports Centre where it was led out by the Garda Band. It was followed by a ceilidh in the great hall in Stewarts main building featuring a host of ukuleles and traditional music and dance.

Meanwhile, Dean is looking forward to a big sporting weekend, not least when the Dubs take on Kerry at Croke Park tomorrow afternoon.

"That's the big one, a week postponed because of the snow," he pointed out. He said the weather gave everyone an extra week to get their body ready.

"It's going to be a hugely physical game and they have obviously got some great young lads who will be playing one of their first games in Croke Park."

Dean will also be supporting the Boys in Green in their Six Nations clash with Scotland.