NYC Saint Patrick’s Day: Parade plus Politics
One hundred years ago today … New York City’s annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade had a particularly political bent, what with the Irish War for Independence raging. The NYC population was 20% of Irish descent, meaning over one million New Yorkers claimed Irish heritage. According to the Tribune of March 17, 1920, the parade drew 12,000 marchers.
The parade route started at 44th Street and extended up 5th Avenue to 120th Street, before winding its way to 126th Street and 2nd Avenue. (East Harlem was at the time sire of a significant Irish enclave.) The viewing stand, in front of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral at 53rd Street, hosted the President of the Irish Republic (unrecognized, like his nation), Eamon de Valera, pictured below left, along with Archbishop Patrick J. Hayes and New York Governor Al Smith.
The Daily News 18 Mar. 1920, p. 11.
Here’s a 1920 glimpse of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, which had officially opened in 1879:
Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. "Fifth Avenue - East 52nd Street" The New York Public Library Digital Collections.
New York chapters of Irish organizations celebrated that day:
“25,000 to March in St. Patrick’s Honor,” The Sun and New York Herald 17 Mar. 1920, p. 7. Newspapers.com.
In honor of the day, Mayor John Hyland signed into law a resolution that gave all city employees a half-day off to see the parade. The bill had been introduced by Fiorello LaGuardia, President of the Board of Alderman. (“City Employees Get Half Holiday,” The Evening World 17 March, 1920, p. 1.)
And at Reisenweber’s at Columbus Circle, a special Saint Patrick’s Day buffet cost $1.15, with other entertainments available.
The Sun and New York Herald 17 Mar. 1920, p. 7. Newspapers.com.