Savannah, Georgia's oldest city, is planning a supersized celebration as it marks the 200th anniversary of its beloved St. Patrick's Day parade. City Manager Jay Melder says he's expecting historic crowds for the Irish-themed parade Saturday. More than 18,000 hotel rooms in the area are nearly sold out.
FILE - Participants carry flags past the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist while marching in the St. Patrick’s Day parade, March 17, 2023, in historic downtown Savannah, Ga. Savannah, Georgia’s oldest city, is planning a supersized celebration as it marks the 200th anniversary of its beloved St. Patrick’s Day parade. City Manager Jay Melder says he’s expecting historic crowds for the Irish-themed parade Saturday, March 16, 2024.
The Hibernians hosted England on St. Patrick’s Day during their morning meeting at the City Hotel near the bluff overlooking the Savannah River. Then they marched in procession, accompanied by a band and a flag-bearer whose banner was decorated with a symbolic Irish harp and shamrocks, to hear the bishop speak at noon at St. John the Baptist Church.
“They partied the night away, apparently,” said Keeley, who studies the history of Irish immigrants in Georgia. “It was a big celebration. The Hibernians had always had these celebrations since their founding in 1812. This one was just kind of amped up by the presence of the bishop.” In the decades following the Civil War, Savannah’s holiday started showing glimmers of the more commercially driven celebrations to come.
“They had no money; they had no resources,” Mahoney said. “But in true Irish leadership fashion they just rolled up their sleeves and said, `Heck, we’re going to make this parade happen.’”
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