There’s nothing like a New York City holiday celebrations including the famed annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. St. Patrick’s Day is already known as one of the best holidays to celebrate the Irish, and me being Irish, what better way to celebrate my heritage than with a frolic through the streets and Irish bars of the Big Apple. Here are 5 ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in New York City.
East 44th Street to East 79th Street
March 17th 11:00 AM
The New York City's St. Patrick's Day Parade along 5th Avenue is wonderful. I've been to many St. Patrick's Day parades in various cities but NYC, by far, has the most respectable and tradition parade that I've ever seen.
The first St. Patrick's Day parade was not in Ireland but in New York City on March 17, 1762 and it was a band of homesick, Irish ex-patriots and Irish military members serving with the British Army and stationed in the colonies in New York. They loved the freedom to speak Irish, wear green, sing Irish songs and play the pipes to Irish tunes that were meaningful to the Irish immigrants.
The parade is held annually on March 17th at 11:00 AM in honor of St. Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland and of the Archdiocese of New York. The parade route goes up Fifth Avenue beginning at East 44th Street and ending at East 79th Street where the Irish flags will be flying proudly. The green color on the flag represents the native people of Ireland, the Roman Catholics. The gold or orange color represents the British supporters, of William of Orange, who settled in Northern Ireland, the Protestants. The white in the center of the flag represents peace between these two groups of people.
29 East Fourth Street, New York, NY 10003
212 777 1089
Considered one of the finest surviving examples of architecture from the period, the Merchant’s House has been recognized as a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Learn about the many Irish servants that lived in this house.
103 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002
877.975.3786
Learn more on the "Irish Outsiders" tour at the Lower East Side’s Tenement Museum, which recalls the experience of a typical 19th-century Irish immigrant family. They tell the story of Irish immigrants who started their lives anew on Manhattan's Lower East Side between the 19th and 21st centuries through the recreated apartment and businesses in the tenement buildings.
290 Vesey Street, New York, NY 10285
The Irish Hunger Memorial serves as a reminder about the Irish people that were forced to emigrate during "The Great Hunger". It began in 1845 when blight and disease destroyed the Irish potato crop, depriving Ireland of its staple food. Between 1847 and 1852 hundreds of thousands of Irish immigrated to New York where they arrived at South Street Seaport and Castle Clinton. The memorial has stones from each of Ireland's 32 counties and there are bands of texts on the history of the Great Famine.
St. Patrick’s Day is the unofficial time when New Yorkers ring in the spring season with some cheer. There are St. Patrick's Day Pub Crawls in the heart of New York City. What better way to enjoy the revelry than to dress in green attire, meeting new people and drink green beer?
YouTube Video of St. Patrick's Day in New York City
