The annual West of England St Patrick’s Day parade won’t be taking place this year, due to lack of funds, the team behind it has announced. Taking to the official W.E. Irish website, an official announcement on the homepage reads: “Organising the St. Patrick’s Day parade takes an enormous amount of time, planning, and resources to ensure that it is visually spectacular, inclusive, and above all, safe.
“After careful consideration and many discussions as a volunteer group, we have made the decision to pause the parade for this year and instead focus on delivering an even bigger and better event for 2026. Find out more information and how you can support us below.”
The team have launched a crowdfunder to raise money to ensure that there will be a parade and Fleadh Cheoil (traditional music festival) celebrations in 2026. At time of writing, the fundraiser has raised just over £2,100 of its £40,000 target.
In the fundraiser, the team behind the event says: “The festival and parade is one of the last existing free independently run festivals left in the UK and is put on for the people of Bristol and the Southwest. The event is not funded by big business and has always been free to attend.
“It attracts over 10,000 visitors to enjoy Irish culture, sport, food, comedy, film, history, dance and music for free from many local acts and across multiple Bristol locations, and includes free children’s activities, and celebrates local community groups. The festival will provide an opportunity to those Irish who have served the city and the region, to share their culture with pride.
“The St Patrick’s Day Parade has been going for over 30 years – but like many other events in the current economic climate, the festival and parade is struggling financially and is unable to carry on in its present form without additional funding.”
The Crowdfunder details how any and all money raised will be spent. It will be used to fund the St Patrick’s Day parade, Fleadh Cheoil and Culture Fest, support the event’s education programme, run community-based workshops with opportunities to share stories about the Irish diaspora, help pay local artists, performers, dance schools, and crafts people, promote and market the event, and provide funding for health and safety and infrastructure for security, road closures, and ways to make the parade safe for the public.
The team goes on to say: “If everyone in Bristol and the surrounding area who has been to the Parade and loved it were able to make a donation no matter how small, we could secure the future of this wonderful event for another year. We would really appreciate your support in this endeavour.”
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Events taking place in 2025
Organisers confirmed via the official website: “While there won’t be a parade this year, we’re excited to share that we will still be celebrating St. Patrick’s Weekend in style! We’re hosting two events on Sunday 16th March 2025.”
St. Patrick’s Indoor Fleadh Cheoil at Revolution Bar – Sunday, March 16, 12-7pm
Organisers say: “We’re thrilled to announce that our much-loved music and dance event will be taking place at Revolution Bar on St Stephen Street. It promises to be a fantastic event filled with live music, traditional Irish dancing, and plenty of craic.” Tickets can be found here (but they sell out fast).
St. Patrick’s Outdoor Event at St. Nicholas Market – Sunday, March 16, 12-7pm (FREE EVENT)
The team says: “We’ve been granted permission by Bristol City Council to host our very first St. Patrick’s Fleadh Cheoil at the Glass Arcade in St Nicholas Market. A Fleadh Cheoil is a traditional Irish music and dance gathering, and we’re incredibly excited about the prospect of bringing this to the heart of Bristol again.”
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