I grew up in Boston Massachusetts in an Irish community. My grandmother Helen was an immigrant from County Cork and when she came by ship to Boston to work as a servant of some kind for a rich family she wasn’t quite 20 years old. I don’t know if any other family members came with her but from what she and my mother told me as a child prejudice against immigrants is nothing new to our country. They had it tough in Boston. Grandmother Helen ended up married to a great Irish guy who owned two saloons and they had seven kids. When it came time to buy a house for her expanding brood in a working-class neighborhood of Jamaica Plains, because she was Irish she had to pay a protestant woman to buy the house for her-then resell it to her. 

We grew up hearing these stories of tough discriminating times for the Irish and we clung as hard as possible to our proud heritage. For us St. Patrick’s Day was the most important secular holiday of the year and my family went all out. The day always started with a Catholic Mass at St Columbkille’s Church (our local parish) followed by a breakfast in the Parish Center across the street with Irish music and Step Dancing. Then everyone went to the Parade in South Boston which will be celebrating its 286th Parade this year. It’s a little-known fact that the St Patricks Day Parade in Boston was founded by a group of Irish veterans and is also held in honor of Evacuation Day-which marks the day in 1776 when the British troops left Boston during the American Revolutionary War (boy do we ever know how to hold a grudge!) So, for a variety of reasons, celebrating St Patricks Day is tattooed onto my psyche.

Since the Town of Highland along with the Marion Oneill Culture Club has successfully revived the Yulan St. Patrick’s Day Parade last year, I am happy to report the final Parade details. First the St Patricks Day Parade will take place on Sunday, March 16th from 1-5pm. It will step off in front of the Yulan Fire Department on Airport Road at 1pm but the lineup starts assembling at 12:30. The Parade works its way down to Beaver Brook Road where the main stage will be located. 

The Main Stage will be featuring live Parade commentary and music by the Black Radish Band. The Parade will then pass The Crossroads Bar and Lounge which is the official venue for the event. If you want to have your float in the Parade, just show up at 12:30 lineup at the Firehouse (it may be a grand notion to first contact the Town Supervisor John Patrick Pizzolato with a general description of your float for the purposes of the line-up.) The Parade then works its way down to the Yulan Ball Field where it ends. This year’s Grand Marshall is Shane Pearson whose grandmother Marion O’Neill was one of the founders of the original Yulan St. Patricks Day Parade. Shane, along with Matt Nelson, Tom Migliorino and Roswell Hamrick will begin the Parade step off by carrying the antique statue of St. Patrick which was beautifully restored last year by Andrew Valenti. Then there will be emergency services vehicles, fire trucks from several towns, bands and floats representing local businesses, families, and organizations. 

This year there will be some incredible prizes awarded for the best group float and business/organization float. The Parade is a fun family event  and kids are welcome to get their faces painted by Ruth’s Face Painting in front of the Collective which is next to the Crossroads. After the Parade, The Crossroads is ready to welcome you and your family with very friendly service, wonderful food of all kinds (with an extensive kids menu) and including authentic Irish corned beef and cabbage dinners and great drinks.(cash only) All things considered the Yulan St. Patricks Day Parade is a great time-whether you are of Irish descent or not. “Eire go Brach” and see you there!