O'Donovan Waste take part in the Lord Mayor's Show

View fullsize

O'Donovan Waste flew the flag for the waste sector this weekend after taking part in the fantastic spectacle that is the Lord Mayor’s Show. The annual event, took place in the City of London on Saturday and is one of the longest running and best established occasions of the year that celebrates the inauguration of the new Lord Mayor taking on the role. This longstanding procession is bursting with pomp and ceremony and is steeped in tradition and dates back more than 800 years. O'Donovan Waste displayed their green credentials showcasing one of their direct vision lorries, carrying a grass covered skip with grass animals and celebrating their Irish heritage as part of the parade that involves thousands of participants from city workers, liveries and charities, 128 floats and 20 marching bands. The O'Donovan procession was accompanied by members of their team who walked the route with crowds of people lining the City’s streets and cheering the participants on.

In the 13th century, the City of London was allowed by the King to elect its own mayor, with one major condition; each year the new mayor must travel from the City to Westminster to swear loyalty to the crown. And so, the Lord Mayor’s Show was born with the most famous post notoriously held three times in the 14th century by businessman Richard (Dick) Whittington.

The 693rd Lord Mayor of London has been announced as Vincent Keaveny, a partner in business law firm DLA Piper specialising in banking services and a graduate of both University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin. The Lord Mayor of the historic City of London has a more ceremonial role and acts as an ambassador for the financial services industry that dominates the so-called Square Mile. The Lord Mayor is elected by the City’s livery companies, trade groups rooted in the City’s medieval merchants' guilds of which Jacqueline O'Donovan is a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Carmen.

Although the parade was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the outgoing Lord Mayor William Russell didn't miss out on his inauguration day as he has served two years in office, and took part in the 2019 parade.

Jacqueline O'Donovan, managing director of O'Donovan Waste commented, “The parade was an absolutely fabulous occasion and we are so proud to have taken part in such a rich tradition. We wanted to particularly show our support for the Irish roots of the Lord Mayor Vincent Keaveny who will serve as a global ambassador for the UK-based financial and professional services industry. It was a joyous day for everyone taking part.”