Marching Monarchs Help Ireland Celebrate Iconic Festival in Dublin

March 17, 2016

Marching Monarchs band members are pictured on their way to Ireland to perform in Dublin's St. Patrick's Day parade.

Old Dominion's Marching Monarchs, with Irish green banners flying, helped Ireland celebrate St. Patrick's Day on Thursday by participating in the country's iconic annual celebration.

The Marching Monarchs were one of four American college bands to take to the streets of the capital city Dublin, lined by a half-million revelers, for the 2016 St. Patrick's Day Festival parade.

Wednesday evening, the band also performed at the official festival reception. The Marching Monarchs were among 14 bands from the U.S., Ireland and Great Britain to be invited to play in this year's parade.

The group, led by director Alex Treviño, will also perform Sunday at the International Band Championship in Limerick, before returning to the U.S.

"This is a monumental event for our program and for the University," Treviño said when the band, which was founded in 2008 for the return of Monarch football, received its invitation last March. "To be invited to perform internationally for a crowd of 500,000, and another 500,000 estimated to watch at home in Ireland alone, is an honor beyond description

About 140 ODU musicians took part in the parade, a gala 100th anniversary of seminal events that led to the founding of the Irish Republic. Video of the parade was streamed online around the world.

A report on the parade in the Irish Times can be found here.