Nothing is as quintisentially Irish as the St Patrick’s day parade, and we have the Americans to thank for starting off this Irish tradition.
When the Guinness is flowing, the leprechauns are dancing and the bands are marching this continues a tradition dating back to 1601. On the 17th March 1601 a Spanish colony that was located in St Augustine near modern day Florida held the first recorded St Patrick’s day parade. St Augustine was the first permanent European colony in the Americas established by a Spanish soldier named Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. As was common at the time, the Spanish brought Irish slaves with them. These brought with them the tradition of celebrating St Patrick’s day.
In 1737 homesick Irish soldiers in Boston decided to hold a St Patrick’s day parade.
It wasn’t until 1920 that Ireland started having a significant celebration with a military parade. Inthe 1950s the emphasis shifted from military to civilian industries. Until the 1970s most pubs were closed for the day, however it soon shifted to an entertaining parade.