Westmounters represent Irish friends in parade

The banner read 'Friends of Celbridge' and the T-shirts said 'Ireland's largest town... with just one street.' Celbridge is a town of about 20,000 located about 22 kilometers outside of Dublin, and Friends of Celbridge were their official representation in the 183rd Montreal St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Friends of Celbridge was the brainchild of Westmounter Scott Bailey. In 2005, Bailey and his girlfriend Jane Davie were travelling in Eastern Australia when they met up with Celbridge native Melissa Phillips. The group became a tightly knit unit over the course of their travels and kept in contact after they had returned home. Last winter, Bailey traveled to Celbridge to visit Phillips and over a few pints, he got to discussing St. Patrick's Day with his new friends.

"I told them that we have North America's longest-running St. Patrick's Day parade in Montreal," said Bailey. "They couldn't believe it; they'd never heard of it.' Later on, after a viewing of the famous parade scene in Ferris Bueller'sDay Off an idea started to form in Bailey's head. "I kind of got to thinking that I wanted to be in the parade," he said. Bailey and Davie talked it over and decided that a great way to be part to the true spirit of the St. Patrick's parade would be to represent their friend Melissa's town of Celbridge. "One of the really nice things about St. Patrick's Day is that it's a celebration of a nationality that is enjoyed by all other nationalities," said Bailey. "The idea that St. Patrick's Day is enjoyed by all, and the idea that a group of people, none of us being Irish, would just be representing friends of ours that are Irish... seemed to sit in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, certainly in the spirit of the parade." Bailey contacted United Irish Societies of Montreal vice-president Ken Quinn to seek entry into the parade, and on her side of the pond, Phillips received permission from Celbridge Lord Mayor Kate Walsh to grant the group 'official' status. Bailey and Davie, with the help of fellow Westmounters Dan Reitman and Noah Bloom and friends Elad Schrieber and Frank Callele, made banners, buttons and T-shirts all with the hopes that, come parade time, people would notice Friends of Celbridge. As the Friends of Celbridge marched along Ste. Catherine Street on Sunday, one could see people in the crowd wondering what it was all about. When a confused face was spotted, someone from the group would run over and simply flash their t-shirt slogan or if there was time, give a little explanation of what Celbridge is. "I'd say that friends of Celbridge went over much better than I had anticipated," said Bailey. I think that the kind of person to person contact and the humble nature of our display won over some hearts for sure."

A call was placed to Melissa from the parade. She wished the group luck and said that Celbridge was buzzing with people wanting to know about these Canadians representing their town. "I would say based on the qualified success that was yesterday that yes, there most definitely is a future for Friends of Celbridge," said Bailey. "Participant growth would be high on the list of objectives and also, a moderate budget, and more permanent signage and potentially sponsorship."

"The thing about Friends of Celbridge that's nice is that it seems to be a very simple and nice sentiment that summarizes how people who aren't Irish feel about St. Patrick's Day," concluded Bailey.