South Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade needs "major changes," Councilor says
A Boston politician is calling for "major changes" to the South Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade after this year's event.
“We must make major changes and im‐ plement a zero tolerance for public drinking, any form of violence, fighting and destruction of property and other quality of life issues,” Boston City Coun‐ cilor Ed Flynn said in a statement shared on social media on Monday, March 18, the day after the parade.
“If we are not able to meet basic stan‐ dards of decency and respect the South Boston neighborhood, the parade should be moved out of South Boston indefi‐ nitely.
“With almost a million visitors to South Boston for the parade, we can’t sustain an ‘anything goes’ attitude in the neigh‐ borhood.
“This is a neighborhood, and many of the spectators that come to the parade do not treat residents of South Boston with respect.”
We must make major changes and im‐ plement a zero tolerance for public drinking, any form of violence, fighting and...
Posted by Boston City Councilor Ed Fly‐ nn on Monday, March 18, 2024
The South Boston Allied War Veteran Council (SBAWVC), the organizers of the long-running parade, told IrishCentral on Tuesday that they had no comment when asked about Flynn's statement. Meanwhile, in a statement shared on so‐ cial media on Tuesday, Randy J. Greeley, Commander of the SBAWVC, said in part: "Yes, there are some things that need to be worked on and we will try to fix these things in the future." Officer Michael Torigian of the Boston Police Department told IrishCentral on Wednesday that there were 10 arrests - ranging from disorderly conduct to as‐ sault and battery - during Sunday's St. Patrick's Day parade.
All arrests have been arraigned in South Boston District Court, Torigian said. Elsewhere, MBTA Transit Police said on Monday they arrested "a highly intoxi‐ cated 26 y/o male armed with a firearm."
A Transit Police sergeant while monitor‐ ing large crowds at #MBTA Andrew Sq for the St Patrick Day Parade observed a highly intoxicated 26 y/o male armed with a firearm. The male was subse‐ quently arrested & transported to TPDHQ for processing. Excellent police work !! pic.twitter. com/Up4iWcOivN - MBTA Transit Police (@MBTATransit‐ PD) March 18, 2024
Boston's online 311 service shows sev‐ eral complaints, mainly relating to trash and debris left behind, after the parade. At least one complaint related to wit‐ nessing alleged underage drinking. On Monday, the day after the parade, the Boston Police Department thanked "all who came out and celebrated safely." The 1️⃣ 1️⃣ 9️⃣ th St. Patrick’s Day Parade is in the books
Our dedicated officers once again pa‐ trolled the parade route and spent the day with fellow Bostonians and visitors of the city.
Thank you to all who came out and cele‐ brated safely! pic.twit‐ ter.com/ahb3W7KVfi
- Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice)
March 18, 2024