The parade itself it like the Dublin St Patrick's Day Parade circa 1985, all fire engines and people on flat-bed trucks waving, except that it is not in the city center (it's in the Irish enclave of South Boston), and it includes a lot of military content.
Last year I skipped this parade, and spent St Patrick's Day in Ireland - in Oldcastle, County Meath, watching the local town parade there. Much warmer than Boston, and without any discrimination about who could march in the parade. Although it was in a small town in Ireland, it was also more multicultural than the South Boston parade, including Eastern Europeans and Brazilians. I was also pleased not to have to deal with the crush at the Broadway T station, or the biting winds.
This year I'll also be skipping the South Boston parade, but I won't be in Ireland. It's a pity there is no other St Patrick's Day parade in Boston to compete with it...
[ Added: Here are some photos from the 2008 Oldcastle St Patrick's Day Parade, which I think capture some of the spirit of a rural Irish St Patrick's Day parade:
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3 comments:
That's a good way to describe it, like the 1985 parade in Dublin. I was actually at that one, (usually spend Paddy's day down in Donegal) and talk about lame, and we thought all the Americans wearing green were funny.
Now I go home and everyone's wearing friggin' green & tacky shamrocks on Paddy's Day! What happened?
>It's a pity there is no other St Patrick's Day parade
We could always start our own parade? Get all the GAA teams out, a few fire engines, any Paddy's who are in the National Guard or military and it'll be like 1985 all over again! ;)
I'm fairly sure I was at that 1985 parade too.
A second parade is not a bad idea - I'd be on for that. If it took off, then logically the mayor would have to take part in it.
I've added a couple of picture from the Oldcastle parade last year - lads on tractors with green hats.
I also loved the way that in smaller towns where I grew up in Westmeath, the parade would go around the route twice, in order to give the impression of a bigger parade. I don't think they were fooling anyone!
>the parade would go around the route twice, in order to give the impression of a bigger parade.
Same thing in Donegal, if you were cute it meant it was time to rush to the pub for a pinta or six before the crowd hit. ;)
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