OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
1:11 PM – Monday, March 17, 2025
Across the U.S. and abroad, communities have enjoyed taking part in St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, the annual festival of everything Irish—with raucous parades and other festivities on Monday and earlier, during this past weekend.
Advertisement
One of the largest and most historic St. Patty’s Day parades in the U.S. takes place in New York City.
Now in its 264th year, the rolling festival is happening along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The organizers estimate that 150,000 are participating in the march.
While some of the cities most influenced by Irish settlers had already enjoyed celebrations over the weekend, major celebrations are also scheduled for Monday in places like Savannah, Georgia. Chicago celebrated St. Patrick’s Day on Saturday, which is marked by the dyeing of its namesake river a vibrant green, while Philadelphia and Boston publicly commemorated the holiday on Sunday.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world in Dublin, the capital of Ireland, a rowdy parade commemorating its people’s Irish heritage also took place on Monday — rounding out its three-day celebration.
Although the parades are intended to honor Ireland’s patron saint, they have evolved into a worldwide celebration of Irish heritage in general.
Irish immigrant groups, who suffered prejudice and hostility in the United States along with Italians during the late 19th century, popularized March 17th celebrations.
Fourteen years before the U.S. Declaration of Independence, in 1762, the New York parade first took place.
“Run entirely by volunteers, the New York event was first held in 1762, making it the oldest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the world, according to its website. It’s also the largest, drawing about 150,000 marchers and nearly two million spectators each year,” The New York Times reported.
However, many historians dispute the New York parade being the first, maintaining that the first St. Patrick’s Day parade “on record was held in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1601. Not, as some might assume, on the Emerald Isle,” according to CBS News.
At 11 a.m., the party kicked off, as marchers and performers in Manhattan made their way north down Fifth Avenue from East 44th Street to East 79th Street. Along with school marching bands, traditional Irish pipe and drum ensembles, representatives from the New York Police Department, and a plethora of local officials, ranging from the mayor to the governor — walked the crowded route.
Michael Benn, the longstanding chairman of the Queens County St. Patrick’s march at Rockaway Beach, is this year’s grand marshal of the march in New York City.
Meanwhile, social media users highlighted how Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) star Conor McGregor, who hails from Ireland, met with President Donald Trump in order to discuss political matters transpiring in his own native country — while also celebrating the Irish holiday with the American commander-in-chief.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
Advertisements below
