The Green Brigade Marching Band of the University of North Texas is preparing to perform overseas on St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin, Ireland.
Canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, the parade is back this year on March 17, and The Green Brigade Marching Band is happy to be a part of it, according to NBC 5.
“The Dublin St. Patrick’s Day parade… is one of the largest there is,” UNT Director of Athletic Bands Daniel Cook said. Cook also expressed expectations of about 500,000 people along the parade route “all cheering and celebrating.”
The Green Brigade Marching Band’s appearance in Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Day parade will mark the group’s first international trip.
Cook said the members of the band are especially proud of the feat because they had to submit an application to be chosen to perform, and the parade is an important celebration in Dublin.
“I believe in Ireland this is a national holiday. So it’s just going to be a really big deal,” Cook said.
The Green Brigade Marching Band formed in 1911 as a small pep band. It has since grown to an organization that now boasts 435 members. The band hopes that the parade in Dublin will expand its reach, as well as UNT’s, even further.
“It puts us literally on the world stage. It bolsters the group’s reputation and prowess, sort of prestige, among the world,” Cook said.
Senior Green Brigade flutist Hanna Chaisson had good things to say about the band’s recent accomplishment.
“Just knowing where we started whenever I got here and seeing how far we’ve come now, it’s just absolutely incredible,” Chaisson said.
Aside from the St. Patrick’s Day parade, the UNT Green Brigade Marching Band will also be performing two other shows during their spring break trip to Ireland.
