Published: Wednesday, 23rd June, 2010 5:00pm

More of the same, please

The success of last weekend's Cavan Summer Festival and International Hen Weekend is a credit to all of those involved in organising this wonderful event, that will hopefully become an annual event in the years to come. Thousands of visitors from all over the county, country and beyond, flocked to the county town last weekend to savour an action-packed programme of events.

It was a huge boost, not just for the general public, but for businesses in Cavan town with initial estimates putting the spin-off for the local economy at €1 million over the weekend.

And hats off to the publicans, it wasn't all about drinking and socialising but there was plenty to enjoy and engage in for young and old - all the family - whether it was the spectacular street pageant and fancy dress on Friday night, the golf ball challenge on Saturday or pig racing on Sunday.

Granted, the gods were on the festival organisers' sides, as the sun beamed down on the crowds all weekend. The weather, undoubtedly, was the crowning success of the festival. Revellers could be forgiven for thinking they were at a festival abroad somewhere and spirits remained high throughout the weekend with no festival-related anti-social behaviour detected.

The fallout earlier this year over the timing and style of the St. Patrick's Day parade in Cavan (where some business owners, mainly publicans it has to be said, believed that the parade should be on later and should be a more carnival-type event) wasn't far from the punters' minds as they lined the main street in Cavan for the street pageant on Friday evening.

And boy did the festival organisers prove their point. The colour and drama and life and soul that flowed through the town as the 50-something entries passed by was electrifying. It was in stark contrast to the St. Patrick's Day parade earlier this year, which was a little flat to say the least. Cavan town on Friday night truly did have a carnival atmosphere and the crowds turned out in there thousands to savour the atmosphere.

The current St. Patrick's Day committee will have to swallow its pride and talk with the Cavan Summer Festival organisers with a view to modernising the St. Patrick's Day parade for 2011. The traditional entries and marching bands should not be done away with, on the contrary. But Ireland is a much more culturally diverse country in the 21st century and it's time to find a little more balance in the parade - a little bit of carnival would be more than welcome.

And credit to the long-standing of the St. Patrick's Day committee, they have worked hard for the town over the years and certainly have Cavan's best interests at heart. But collaborating and co-operating with the festival organisers would indeed be in the best interest, not just of the business community, but of the general public too.

Once again, congratulations to all those involved in making the Cavan Summer Festival such a success. It just goes to show the enterprising minds that are busy at work in Cavan and how co-operation and a little bit of imagination can get things moving again for the benefit of one and all.