Thousands turn out for St. Patrick’s parade
Though the turnout was smaller than usual thanks to Saturday morning’s rain, thousands watched the 172nd annual St. Patrick’s Day parade through downtown San Francisco, a celebration of the city’s Irish community.
The parade, organized by the San Francisco United Irish Societies, is one of the city’s largest annual parades and one of the longest-running ones nationwide, according to San Francisco Travel. This year, it included more than 100 floats showcasing Irish dancers, bagpipe players, and police and fire departments.
Several local politicians were in attendance, including Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who rode in a white convertible with a personal green logo, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, Assembly Member Matt Haney and state Sen. Scott Wiener.
Mayor London Breed, who marched in the parade with a personalized sash the colors of the Irish flag, wrote on Instagram that she was thankful to the community for keeping the tradition alive for so long.
“What a great turnout!” she wrote. “Thanks to the luck of the Irish, the rain couldn’t keep us from celebrating today’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade from Market Street all the way down to Civic Center Plaza.”
Brothers Shane and Ryan Callan marched at the front of the parade holding flags for each county of Ireland, along with their father, Sean Callan, cousin Jack Callan and uncle Brian Callan.
“It was a good showing, all things considered,” Shane, 28, said, adding that he’s been in the parade for four years and has attended it as long as he can remember. “It’s a great opportunity for us to go out and carry on something our grandparents started when they moved here from Ireland. I’m very proud to carry on this tradition.”
“It didn’t have the biggest turnout I’ve seen, but the Irish spirit was out in full force,” Ryan, 24, added.
Their cousin Jack, 25, who recently moved to San Francisco from Australia, said that it was his first time marching in the parade, and that despite the weather, it was a great experience.
“There’s a great atmosphere out here, and an awesome sense of community,” he said.
Sean, 59, said that, having marched in the parade with his father, who immigrated to San Francisco from Ireland in the 1950s and still lives in West Portal, marching with his brother, sons and nephew brought the experience full circle.
“I’ve been marching for 45 years, since high school. I used to go when I was a kid too,” he said. “Now, I see friends and family. It’s a tradition.”
Mitchell Cabral, 23, who came up from Menlo Park to see the parade, said he loved seeing participants of various ages marching and celebrating together.
“It was fascinating. They really put a lot of effort into it,” he said. “The Irish dancing was phenomenal.”
“The Murphy Irish Dancers outperformed, as always,” added Kim Callan, Sean’s wife, who was watching the parade along with Cabral.
Cabral said he hopes to attend the parade again next year.
“I’m not Irish,” he said, “but I really felt the Irish spirit today.”