London: Irish Chaplaincy in St Patrick's Day parade

Saint Patrick

The Irish Chaplaincy of Britain broke new ground last week by taking part in the London Saint Patrick's Day parade on 13 March.

Staff and supporters of the Chaplaincy's work, walked the parade's route from Green park to Trafalgar square to highlight the three projects run by the ICB, which deal with some of the most vulnerable Irish people in Britain, specifically highlighting the charities work with travellers, elderly people and prisoners.

A crowd in excess of ten thousand people lined the route to celebrate all things Irish, and with almost every Irish cultural and welfare organisation represented, it was an important opportunity for the ICB to showcase its work.

Volunteers and supporters of ICB distributed leaflets highlighting the various projects, and promoting the charity's Cairde scheme, which encourages members of e Irish community to become regular supporters of the ICB's work.

Philomena Cullen: Director of the Irish Chaplaincy in Britain, which is run under the auspices of the Irish Bishops Council said:

"The St. Patrick's day parade is always a major event for the Irish Community in London. There are many lessons to be learnt from the life of St. Patrick, who was an emigrant to Ireland, and who worked and ministered to everyone in the country, regardless of their social status . He worked with the most vulnerable, and treated everyone in the same way, in these tough economic times, and with a new wave of emigrants from Ireland likely to arrive in Britain, its a message that is still relevant today".