A motion proposed by Independent Councillor Declan Power that Louth County Council would actively support and promote ‘National Services Day’ in September was passed at Monday’s Borough Council meeting,.
National Services Day is marked annually on the first Saturday in September with several parades across the Country to recognise the work of frontline staff in emergency, health, security, and volunteer services.
The parades are organised to include Gardaí, the Defence forces, the National Ambulance Service, the fire services, the Coast Guard, RNLI Lifeboat, Civil Defence teams and many others. Last year parades were held in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Castlebar, Castleblayney, Kilkenny and Wexford.
“I hope we can replicate the same concept in Drogheda, Ireland’s biggest and most significant town and include frontline staff in emergency, health, security, and volunteer services from all over Louth,” Cllr. Power said.
The first Saturday in September was designated as National Services Day by then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in 2018 as a day of recognising and thanking those who serve their communities throughout the Country, service personnel who are the lifeblood of civic engagement when danger presents to any of our citizens, and to whom so many across the Country are indebted.
“Living in Clogherhead, I constantly see how invaluable the RNLI lifeboat and the Coast Guard service are” said Cllr. Power.
National Service Day is a day of remembrance and celebration. I’m asking the public to come out in their droves and acknowledge our frontline, emergency and security staff’s unbelievable sacrifices.
“In addition, we never really got to say ‘Thank You’ properly to our service people for the work carried out during the covid years. This is our opportunity for the people of Drogheda and the County of Louth to stand tall, shine, show gratitude, and say ‘Thank You’ to the Service men and women for having our backs and doing all they do,”
“The day of the celebration will have approximately 350-400 members from the ‘National Service Day Organisation’, with the parade running similar to the Paddy’s Day parade with several pipe bands to lead the way, setting the tone and creating an atmosphere for the event.
“I have been liaising with the National Service organisation, Drogheda Bids and the Drogheda Festivals Committee to get their support and to help make this happen.
“We all can embrace this inaugural event which can be an annual one with a family atmosphere and an economic spin-off for the local traders.” Cllr. Power concluded.
