NEW YORK — (AP) — St. Patrick’s Day, the annual celebration of all things Irish, was marked across the United States on Monday with boisterous parades and festivities.
School marching bands and traditional Irish pipe and drum ensembles ambled down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue with uniformed delegations from the police and fire departments in New York City, which hosts one of the nation's largest and oldest parades.
Mayor Eric Adams donned a green cap and scarf and waved an Irish flag while Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan greeted marchers wearing a green, white and orange sash -- the national colors of the Emerald Isle.
As a light morning rain fell, the rolling celebration made its way north past designer shops and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a stunning Neo Gothic landmark that’s the seat of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York.
“It’s fantastic to be here,” said Ryan Hanlon, vice chairman of the parade’s board of directors. “We’re getting a little bit of rain at the moment, but as we Irish call it, it’s just liquid sunshine."
The Manhattan parade lasts through the afternoon, ending on the east side of Central Park, about 35 blocks from where it started.
Organizers said some 150,000 marchers are expected to participate. The festivities, which are now in its 264th year, date to 1762 — 14 years before the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
Major celebrations also kicked off Monday morning in Savannah, Georgia, and other American communities, though some of the cities most transformed by Irish immigration held festivities over the weekend.
Chicago 's St. Patrick's Day celebration, which is punctuated by turning its namesake river bright green with dye, happened Saturday. Boston and Philadelphia marked the occasion Sunday.
Across the pond, the Irish capital of Dublin culminated its three-day festival with a parade. Cities such as Liverpool, England, another city transformed by Irish immigration, also hosted celebrations on St. Patrick's feast day.
Festivities on March 17 were popularized by Irish immigrant communities, who in the 19th century faced discrimination and opposition in the U.S.
The parades are meant to commemorate Ireland's patron saint but have become a celebration of Irish heritage globally.
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