Excitement is building in Tipperary Town for visit of Marching Mizzou Band from USA

Excitement is building in Tipperary Town for the visit of the 300 strong Marching Mizzou Band from Missouri to Tipperary Town on Saturday next, March 16th. The Band will participate in the St. Patrick's Day Parade, which is taking place a day early to accommodate the Band's visit to Tipperary.

The town has certainly entered into the spirit of the occasion with most of the business community windows decorated in our national colours. There is a great touch to the USA in some of the windows, welcoming the marching band from Missouri with a nod to 'It's a Long Way to Tipperary' in the window of Shane Kelly Pharmacy. The business community have certainly helped to 'paint the town green' in what is sure to be a wonderful occasion for young and elderly alike. The Parade will get underway at 11am and anyone taking part in the Parade should meet at The Plan (Bandstand) Redmond Square, at 10:30am.

The Parade will be led by the CJ Kickham Brass and Reed Band, who have extended a warm, Tipperary fáilte to the University of Missouri Marching Mizzou band on their visit to the town. In a statement by the Band they say that they are beyond excited to welcome their American colleagues to our band hall and our town.

"As a local band dedicated to fostering the musical and cultural traditions of Tipperary Town and its surrounds, we feel this is an unmissable opportunity to enrich our community, developing bonds of friendship through the universal language of music. Having developed close links with bands in Tewkesbury, Ipswich and elsewhere, we now look to the far side of the Atlantic Ocean and hope that this visit will be the first engagement of a musical connection that will last through the years.

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Nellie O'Brien's Pub

"As a band ourselves steeped in the tradition of marching bands, we eagerly await the opportunity to share in the joy of music-making with the Marching Mizzou, and we are confident that their performance in our town will be one for the ages and leave a lasting impression on all those who experience it. We thank the University of Missouri Marching Mizzou for choosing to visit Tipperary Town and hope that their visit here, however fleeting, will be filled with memorable moments and warm hospitality. We are privileged to be invited to play with them and look forward to adding another unforgettable moment to our own history, which dates back as far as 1882.

"We would also like to thank Tipperary Town Revitalisation, Tipperary County Council and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee, for their work in coordinating this event, and for their ongoing dedication to furthering our town and providing opportunities and experiences for the townspeople.

"We look forward to tuning up and entertaining the townspeople on the 16th of March, and hope to see many faces, familiar and new, lining the streets of our town to experience the colour and excitement of what promises to be an unforgettable event", concludes the statement.