They've made a big call.
The Sligo St. Patrick's Day Committee has officially confirmed that the town's St. Patrick's Day parade will not go ahead, over fears related to the spread of coronavirus.
Speaking to
Ocean FM on Monday morning, the parade's grand marshal Finbar Filan said that the parade had to be called off for the well-being of the community.
Filan thanked all the parade entries, who began work on their floats and presentations as early as January of this year.
"However, the health and the wellbeing of our communities is our first priority and having reviewed the guidelines for mass gatherings issued by the HSE over the weekend, and the continued uncertainty over COVID-19, we as a committee feel that it is appropriate to cancel this year's event, unfortunately," Filan said.
This year's celebration was set to be Sligo's 50th annual St. Patrick's Day parade, and roughly 40 volunteers are involved in the planning and execution of the event.
As of Tuesday afternoon, no final decision has yet been made on whether the Dublin parade will go ahead. There are currently 33 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the island of Ireland.
