Vintage
Sunday
Parade
After two very long years, the Vintage Sunday Parade made its return on Sunday 31 July 2022.
The centre-piece of Birr Vintage Week and Arts Festival, it was sorely missed due to lockdowns and restrictions during the pandemic.
The last physical Vintage Sunday Parade was back in 2019!
Our next Vintage Sunday Parade will be on Sunday 6 August 2023.
So, get planning now if you would like to be part of!
Contact our Parade Coordinator on birrvintageweekparade@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Sunday 6 August | 2023
Contact vintageweekevents@gmail.com
About the 2022 Parade
This year's Vintage Sunday Parade was a local affair.
Emma Nee Haslam took over MC duties from the wonderful Mary Larkin who performed the role with great style over many years.
Birr Publican John Kelly delivered the opening address. John has been a great servant of the festival in many ways over the years.
Birr's highly-successful baritone John Molloy performed the National Anthem alongside one of Europe's top opera singers Sinéad Campbell Wallace while we will had x4 Parade Marshalls in the form of the Birr GAA Mayoral Campaign candidates; Brian Stephens, Deirdre Cashen, Dylan Murphy and Caroline Boyd.
This year's Parade Grand Marshall was the one and only Dan Coolahan.
About Dan
Shining cars for Birr Vintage Week started over 25 years ago when Dan Coolahan first started entering vintage cars into the parade. No other Mush in town had a passion so strong for the vintage scene as Dan.
His love for them turned into him often chauffeuring brides and bridemaids on their wedding day to make the church on time, with Dan always having a glass of bubbly ready and waiting in the car for the bride to be while he was elegantly suited and booted in his suit and tie. Nothing would be left out with Dan organising and shining the car, draping it in ribbons the colours of the bridemaids dresses and of course the all important number plate which he took great pleasure and pride in having named and dated for the bride and groom.
Anything Dan does he does in style, and a great honour over the years to bring many of his nieces and nephews and also his brother, to meet their bride or groom in a car of their choice, whether it be his 1916 army truck, his 1975 Daimler Sovereign Limousine, 1965 Rolls Royce, 1938 Aston Ascot, 1935 Vauxhall light, Dan has many a choice for Birr Vintage parade and weddings. Dan's oldest car being a 1927 Morris Minor.
One particular year Dan entered not 1 but 11 cars into Birr Vintage parade, on the 50th anniversary of Birr Vintage Dan took great pleasure in winning a cup for best over all car, it took pride of place for the year following on a shelf in his living room thronged with medals and trophies from the vintage scene.
Dan is known by everyone in Birr and everyone knows he really is the original Mush, he will always greet everyone " well Mush" a local Birr word that Dan uses frequently, even naming his cat Mush.
This year's Birr Vintage Parade is going to be the ultimate day for Dan as he not only has a car or several in the parade but he will be grand Marshall, Dan won't drive a car this year for the first time but he will be chauffeured in his pride and joy vintage car to lead out the parade, no doubt a smile will decend upon Dan's face as he takes the helm at this years parade,
Birr Vintage Parade is Dan Coolahan, Dan Coolahan is the top Mush this year.
