Marchers Old and New Eager To Participate In the 20th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade

It’s a tradition that goes through Peterborough and beyond but newcomers and veterans marching in the 20th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade are eager to get involved since the event was on a three-year hiatus.

Photo courtesy of Tim Burke.

The parade is taking place on March 12. A raising of the Irish flag at City Hall is occurring at 1 p.m. in honour of Irish week. The parade is scheduled for 2 p.m. with the route beginning on George Street at City Hall and ending at the Peterborough Memorial Centre.

Liz Shaughnessy and her family are first-time parade marchers for St. Patrick’s Day in Peterborough. She agreed after being reached out to by organizer Tim Burke.

Her family has been in Peterborough for generations and saw the parade as a way to honour the name.

“My grandpa is one of the dozen in this article and out of this photo there is only one brother left, Terry Shaughnessy,” said Liz. “As descendants of James and Loretta Shaughnessy, it’s time for us to gather and honour our ancestors so why not make the St. Patrick’s day parade a yearly gathering of our clan?”

Liz’s grandfater is featured in an old 1951 article that featured a dozen Shaughnessys. Terry Shaughnessy is the only surviving member. Photo courtesy of Liz Shaughnessy.

On Jan. 18, it was announced that former sports anchor and Peterborough’s Dan O’Toole was the grand marshall for the event. His family has been involved with the parade for several years.

“My other side of the family, the Crough’s, we’re in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade every year,” he explained in a prior interview. “We have one of the largest contingents, we have around 200 that show up to be in the parade so the fact that I get to lead the charge, that I get asked to lead the contingent, not just my family but all of Irish in Peterborough is a dream come true.”

TIM BURKE, ST. PATRICK’S DAY ORGANIZER (LEFT) WITH FORMER SPORTS ANCHOR DAN O’TOOLE (RIGHT). THE PARADE HAS NOT RUN FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. PHOTO BY DAVID TUAN BUI.

His cousin Derek Crough — O’Toole’s aforementioned family — says it’s a great feeling to be able to return to marching in the parade after missing out for the last three years.

“Our family has been involved since the parade started. Hearing that our cousin Dan O’Toole was asked to be the grand Marshall is great news,” he said. “We've missed the parade as I'm sure all the local Irish families have and are very excited to have it return.”

There are currently over 90 entries to date including 11 family floats for this year’s parade according to Burke.

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Hometown PTBO: Dan O'Toole Being Appointed the Grand Marshall of the St. Patrick's Day Parade and His Irish Heritage

This week on Hometown PTBO, Pete Dalliday talks with former sports anchor Dan O’Toole about being appointed the Grand Marshall of this year's St. Patrick's Day Parade, his Irish heritage and his podcast Boomsies.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Former Peterborough Sports Anchor Dan O'Toole Appointed Grand Marshall For 2023 St. Patrick's Day Parade

Former sports broadcaster and Peterborough’s Dan O’Toole has been named the Grand Marshall for the 20th Annual Peterborough St. Patrick's Day Parade announced at One Eighty on Wednesday.

Tim Burke, St. Patrick’s Day organizer (left) with former sports anchor Dan O’Toole (right). The parade has not run for the last three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The announcement was made by organizer Tim Burke who wanted to make the 20th edition of the parade memorable after coming off a three-year hiatus.

“I wanted to make sure that his parade is bigger and better,” he explained. “Adding Dan has just been awesome. His character, who he is will really help the parade this year and get people involved.”

There are a record number of floats and entries into the upcoming parade according to Burke saying ‘it’s the highest it’s ever been.’

O’Toole is of Irish heritage and his family has been a part of the parade for many years.

“My other side of the family, the Crough’s, we’re in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade every year,” he explained. “We have one of the largest contingents, we have around 200 that show up to be in the parade so the fact that I get to lead the charge, that I get asked to lead the contingent, not just my family but all of Irish in Peterborough is a dream come true.”

The parade is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Mar. 12 with the route beginning on George Street at City Hall and ending at the Peterborough Memorial Centre.

To register to be in the parade, visit the parade’s website to apply. For more information, contact Tim Burke at (705) 875-2542.

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Hometown PTBO: Dan O'Toole on His New Podcast Boomsies and Some of His Favourite Spots in Peterborough

This week on Hometown PTBO, Pete Dalliday speaks with former sports anchor Dan O'Toole about his new podcast Boomsies, his favourite spots in Peterborough and some of his experiences on the golf course.

Check out his podcast at any one of these platforms on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Youtube.

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Peterborough's Dan O'Toole Debut On Fox Sports 1

Peterborough's Dan O'Toole made his Fox Sports 1 debut on Saturday with his good pal Jay Onrait. Here's some of the highlights from the former TSN sports announcers' first episode:

And watch them read tweets from viewer response... 

—PTBOCanada's sports reporter Scott Arnold

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