Saint Patrick's Day Parade marches through Boston

3/19/07Thousands of revelers packed the sidewalks of South Boston Sunday for the city's 106th annual Saint Patrick's Day parade.

The parade stepped off around 1 p.m. from the Broadway T stop and wound 3.2 miles to Andrew Square, passing through Boston's historically Irish neighborhood. Parades were also held on Sunday in Holyoke and Scituate, Massachusetts.

Participants in the parade included the traditional fire and police department units, as well as various local government officials. One group marched through the streets dressed as characters from the movie "Star Wars," some wearing festive shamrocks on their costumes.

South Boston native Damien Connolly came out to the parade with his wife and four children, ages 1 to 11. All the children except the one year old, who rested in a stroller, hopped excitedly on the sidewalk and stooped to grab candy thrown by the marchers. Their favorite parts of the parade, Connolly said, are the fire trucks and horses.

Connolly said he hasn't missed the parade in 41 years, except when it was cancelled after the blizzard of '76. The parade has become a tradition for his family and friends to come together and have a good time.

"Even if we move out we'll probably come back for the parade," Connolly said. "I don't think we'll ever miss it."

Connolly also said he likes that people from all different backgrounds, and not just of Irish descent, come out to celebrate.

"Everybody is Irish for the day, no matter your nationality," he said.

Some parade-goers noted that public drinking was not as noticeable as in past years. Though drinking was not entirely absent from the parade route, there was at least less of it, he said.

Deborah McKenna, 43, of Wilmington said she was pleased drinking was not as prevalent as in past years because the drinking, and the rowdiness it brought on, made watching the parade a potentially hazardous event.

"It's good that there's not as much drinking this year so the kids can come out and enjoy it," McKenna said.

The Boston Globe reported 12 people were arrested for alleged public drinking or disorderly conduct, a drop from the 30 arrests made last year.

The parade has not been without controversy, however, as a legal battle arose in the mid 1990s when organizers sought to keep those identified as gay Irish-Americans from marching. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court in 1995 where, in a unanimous decision, the court ruled the parade organizers had the right to exclude marchers with whose message the organizers disagreed.