The St. Patrick’s Day Parade: A Highlight Of The Irish Cultural And Religious Celebration

Photo by Lalin Swaris. John Kelly from Longford as St. Patrick

Time To Celebrate Again

For the first time since 2019, Ireland was able to celebrate the religious and public holiday with parades, dancing and music.

The country was given an extra-long weekend from Thursday, March 17 to Sunday, March 20. St Patrick’s Day was always a public holiday in Ireland, but this year the country had an additional one-off holiday on Friday, March 18; in recognition of the tough times during the Covid 19 pandemic.

‘This year’s festival is set to be the biggest ever, with more than half a million visitors expected to experience the national holiday in Ireland. Arts, culture and heritage are set to feature strongly over the course of the five day festival, with ‘Connections’ as the theme for this year’s gathering. Festival Director Anna McGowan explained: “The connection will be people coming into Dublin and being able to celebrate in person together, for the first time in three years.” ‘

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/st-patricks-day-ireland-2022

Photo by Lalin Swaris. Scoil Eimear taking part in the Longford parade.

The History Of St Patrick’s Day Parades in the USA

‘The first recorded parade honoring/honouring the Catholic feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is held in what is now St. Augustine, Florida.

Records show that a St. Patrick’s Day parade was held on March 17, 1601 in a Spanish colony under the direction of the colony’s Irish vicar, Ricardo Artur. More than a century later, homesick Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched in Boston in 1737 and in New York City on March 1762.’

‘Early Irish settlers to the American colonies, many of whom were indentured servants, brought the Irish tradition of celebrating St. Patrick’s feast day to America.

The first recorded St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York City was held in 1762, and with the dramatic increase of Irish immigrants to the United States in the mid-19th century, the March 17th celebration became widespread. Today, across the United States, millions of Americans of Irish ancestry celebrate their cultural identity and history by enjoying St. Patrick’s Day parades and engaging in general revelry.’

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-st-patricks-day-parade#:~:text=Records%20show%20that%20a%20St,York%20City%20on%20March%201762.

Parades Around The World

Wherever the Irish went parades were started and the Irish emigrated to many places around the world. Today you can find parades in these diverse places and many more around the world. https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/st-patricks-day-around-the-world