Pittsburgh's Saint Patrick’s Day Parade

Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania maintain a strong Irish legacy dating back to the 18th century. Currently, nearly 15% of Pittsburgh residents have Irish roots. In the early 1800's, Irish Catholics began to settle in Pittsburgh. The Great Irish Potato Famine brought even m Irish immigrants, doubling the population of Allegheny County over a ten year period. An entire community of Irish sprung up calling themselves "Little Ireland." Other Irish communities grew in the South Side, Strip District, North Side, Oakland and Lawrenceville. Most of these settlements were crowded and poor, leading Pittsburgh politicians to encourage suspicion of the Irish immigrants. Many factories even hung "Irish Need Not Apply" signs on their doors. Eventually, fraternal groups such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians helped to bring about change in people's attitudes to the Irish settlers and civic leaders rallied against low wages and poor working conditions.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians is a Catholic, Irish American Fraternal Organization founded in New York City on May 4, 1836. The Order traces its roots back to a parent organization, of the same name, which has existed in Ireland for over 300 years. Membership in the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Inc. is confined to men 16 Years and older who are practicing Roman Catholics of Irish birth or descent and who are citizens of United States of America, or who have declared their intentions to become citizens of the United States of America. The motto of the organization is "Friendship, Unity, and Christian Charity". The Ancient Order of Hibernians help organize the Pittsburgh's Saint Patrick’s Day Parade and are represented in the parade as well as the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, Daughters of Erin, Knights of Equity and several others. The organization claims they work to promote peace with justice and unity for Ireland, foster ideals and perpetuate the history and traditions of the Irish people in the United States, encourage and promote equitable U.S. immigration laws for Ireland, and cooperate with other groups for a fair and just immigration policy in the United States.

Pittsburgh's Saint Patrick’s Day Parade was first held on March 17, 1869 and according to parade officials is among the five largest parades in the country with over 20,000 participants and an audience of as much as 200,000. The annual Pittsburgh St. Patrick's Day parade is held each year on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day at 10 am. The parade route winds along the downtown streets and usually lasts around four hours. Folks line up along the parade route to watch the bands, floats, clowns, dance troupes and other parade participants. The five and six floor parking garages are crammed full of people enjoying the parade. The parade is sponsored by The Irish Society of Education and Charity Inc. and produced by the Pittsburgh St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee. The Pittsburgh St. Patrick's Day Parade kicks off an entire week of Irish-heritage events in and around Pittsburgh, featuring artists, musicians and community groups.

• Seton LaSalle High School
• South Fayette HS Little Green Machine
• Western PA Firefighters Memorial Honor Guard
• Edinboro University of PA Pipes and Drums
• Oliver Bears Marching Band
• Brigadoon Highlanders Pipes and Drums
• Carrick High School Pipes and Drums
• Pittsburgh Central Catholic HS Band
• City of Pittsburgh Firefighters Memorial Pipe Band
• Frazier Commodore Marching Band
• International Button Box Band
• Macdonald Pipe Band
• Perry Traditional Academy
• Pittsburgh Police Emerald Society Pipes and Drums
• Steel City Ambassadors
• Steel Thistle Pipes and Drums
• Alderdice High School
• Westinghouse Marching Band

Every year a young woman is picked to reign as queen over the annual Pittsburgh St. Patrick's Day Parade as Miss Smiling Irish Eyes. The wearing of the crown is a symbol of the strength, beauty and vitality of Allegheny County's large Irish community according to the selection committee. To qualify for Miss Smiling Irish Eyes, an entrant must be a single woman, age 17 through 22, Irish by birth or descent, be of good moral character, be an active promoter of her Irish ancestry, and be available for ceremonial functions.

On March 13, 1993 Pittsburgh experienced its worst snow storm in over 100 years. It will forever be known as the year of "The great St. Patrick's Parade Blizzard.” Despite the snow the parade went on as scheduled. Some accounts of the event say that the weather forecasts called for a big blizzard for a week before the parade. As each day passed with no sign of snow everyone laughed it off. But by 7 am on parade day, a light snow was falling. By 8 am there were already several inches of snow. Most folks in Pittsburgh are pretty hardy and a little snow was not going to keep them from going to the parade. The snow kept coming and by 10 am all the roads were impassable but the city snow ploughs kept the parade route fairly clean. The usual four hour parade was over in less than an hour. Many folks ended up stuck downtown. Although it may have been quite an experience, most remember the event in good humor.