Hooping the Town Green

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit!

In 2023, I performed for the first time in the Brisbane St. Patrick’s Day Parade, alongside 700 participants and 40 floats in the centre of Brisbane City.  

The Brisbane parade is held on the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day, as part of the Brisbane Irish Festival, a long-standing annual event that promotes and celebrates St Patrick’s Day, Irish culture, and its contribution to the state of Queensland.

I was invited back to perform again in 2024. I missed the 2025 parade because I was IN Ireland, Dingle to be exact. I enjoyed being a spectator at that parade, which featured local dancers, musicians, and floats driven by local businesses and community groups. This was my second time in Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day; my first was back in 2017, in Kinvara, a small town outside Galway City.

Having returned from my year living in Ireland, I participated in the Brisbane parade again this year. In 2026, the parade embraced the theme ‘Gaeilge – The language of Ireland (Teanga na hÉireann)’.

Performing in the 2026 parade was different for me. This year, I brought with me the experience of living in Ireland. Travelling all over the country for twelve months, and all the memories I gathered along the way. Experiencing the place not as a tourist but as a resident. Seeing beyond the myths, legends, and breathtaking landscape. Living like the Irish. Staying with real Irish families in their homes. Learning their daily routines, what their children learned at school, what sports they played. Shopping at Tesco and getting a Clubcard. Practicing Gaeilge from the signage in the supermarket aisles.

Participating in this parade is a highlight of my experience as a performer. It has been an opportunity to combine my love of hula hooping with my affection for Ireland, and to share both with the audience lining the streets of inner-city Brisbane. It is telling my Irish story.