Top St. Patrick's Day Parades (Guest Post)

If there is one thing that the Irish
excel at is it celebrating and at no other time of year more than St.
Patrick’s Day do they know how to celebrate and party harder. I have
found that my children love the sights, sounds and colours of the
parades happening all over the world, whether live at our local
parade or watching the worldwide parades on TV, so to celebrate the
Festival of Saint Patrick we list our favourite Saint Patrick’s Day
parades.

• Dublin

Where else would you start with a list
of St. Patrick’s Day parades than the home of Guinness, leprechauns
and Riverdance – Dublin? The major point of celebration in Dublin is
the parade that winds its way through Dublin City Centre down
O’Connell Street all the way to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. As well as
this Dublin ran with a ‘Greening the City’ theme as many landmark
buildings around the capital were lit up in Irish Green colours,
including the GPO and Trinity College.

On top of this there were walking tours
around the ancient parts of the city with tour guides providing
history on the Patron Saint of Ireland and his influence on the city.
The highlight though is the parade that had a theme of ‘Past’ for
2014 and for anyone who celebrates this day of Irishness it is a must
see event as part of the four day festival put on by the city of
Dublin.

• New York

New York has always been a second home
to Ireland so it is no surprise to note that the Big Apple hosts the
largest Saint Patrick’s Day parade in the world. On average there are
more than 150,000 marchers involved in the parade that goes along a
1.5 mile route on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, while there are generally
around two million spectators in the heart of New York to watch the
parade.

On top of the parade, there is plenty
of Irish tradition happening around the Big Apple with the Irish New
York walking tours and Irish craft fairs in Central Park to keep
locals and tourists alike in the spirit of the day.

• Chicago

Chicago has a massive Irish population
and they are one of the largest ethnic groupings in the city so
you’re always guaranteed a great parade in the Windy City. Well, at
least when it’s allowed to run as it was suspended for 2010 and 2011
as the parade had gotten too large to handle safely, but due to local
businesses and the Catholic Church campaigning for it to be
reinstated the parade returned in 2012.

Chicago has one of the most visually
stunning sights anywhere in the world for Saint Patrick’s Day as the
Chicago River is dyed green. This spectacle alone, let alone the
colourful parade down Western Avenue from 103rd to 115th, makes
Chicago a must visit for Saint Patrick’s Day.

• Sydney

With the recent emigration trend from
Ireland to Australia, the parades Down Under have grown and grown in
popularity. This year saw massive amounts of rainfall in Sydney but,
in the usual Irish tradition the rain did not stop the celebrations,
as people lined the route from Sydney Town Hall all the way to Hyde
Park where more traditional Irish dancing and music completed a day
of enjoyment.

If you can make it all the way to
Australia for St. Patrick’s Day you will be in for a treat with so
many Irish people around to celebrate the day!

On top of the wonderful sights and
sounds of a St. Patrick’s Day parade for yourself and your children,
I’ve always found that the excitement and delight of the spectacle
tends to wear down children and allow them to have an early night.
This gives you the chance to celebrate like the Irish in the evening
with a few drinks, some gambling – such as sports betting, online
poker and online bingo – or by dressing in green and dancing the
night away! Check out some bingo
at Butlers Bingo, a great UK favourite. In the
meantime check out these great St
Patricks Day images!