A Message From the Parade Committee Chairman,

Jimmy Green

“Top o' the mornin' to ya”, my fellow Pittsburghers. It's getting to be that time of year again when “everyone wants to be Irish on St. Patrick's Day.”

As Chairman of the Pittsburgh St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee, I greatly appreciate this opportunity to address the community-at-large on behalf of the committee. The purpose of this letter is twofold. The first is to explain who we are and why we volunteer our time to put together this wonderful parade. The other is to address some of the not-so-positive activities that have been happening recently around our parade route.

Our committee consists of 100 to 125 community volunteers from throughout the city and suburbs. Members of our committee are good, community-spirited people.

We're active in various Irish-American organizations such as the Men's and Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Knights of Equity, the Daughters of Erin, the Irish Center of Pittsburgh, the Ireland Institute and the Irish-American Unity Conference, to name a few.

We are justifiably proud of the historical contributions the Irish have made, along with other ethnic groups, in helping to build this city dating back to the founding of our nation.

We are proud of our ancestors who came here, in many cases, under horrible, oppressive conditions. Some of them, and their children, became historic city names such as Lawrence, O'Connor, Doyle, and others.

They also became police officers, firefighters, mill workers, teachers and laborers. They helped build the railroads and factories, and became part of the toughness and character that Pittsburgh is famously known for and of which it is so fiercely proud.

Our committee volunteers its time and energy from September until March to present a parade to the community which honors our Irish patron, St. Patrick, as well as to pay tribute to our ancestors and yours.

That is why we've always held our parade on a Saturday, so that families and working people can attend. The people we put our parade together for are mothers and fathers, elders and youngsters, brothers and sisters - families, yours and ours.

Also, despite misconceptions, the parade marchers are not restricted to individuals or groups representing only the Irish and Irish Americans in Pittsburgh , but instead are inclusive of the many ethnic heritages of our region. We've had estimates of 250,000 spectators when the weather cooperates. We believe it is the second largest St. Patrick's Day parade in America .

However, we have unhappily observed in recent years, as you may have, too, an increase in undesirable behavior with some of the people in our crowds. It is very troubling to us. We now hold our collective breaths each year because we fear that our beloved parade has started to become something else.

Our committee members can now identify with what Charles Dickens wrote in "A Tale of Two Cities" about it being the best of times and the worst of times.

For example, in the midst of our community celebration, there are far too many young people being attracted Downtown seemingly intent on celebrating "Spring Break" or "Mardi Gras." They arrive in huge numbers to early morning festivals and events which promote excessive alcohol consumption. These events are not supported or organized by our committee and have nothing to do with the parade, but they take advantage of our celebration.

By the time the parade begins at 10 a.m., many of these partygoers are beyond normal reason and control, which has led to negative consequences for the thousands of families, parade participants and other spectators there to enjoy the parade.

We Irish-Americans are certainly acutely aware of the alcohol-related stereotypes that follow people of our ancestry and the ridicule that dogs us to this day, especially on and around the feast of our patron, and the blame that inevitably follows in the papers and on television - that it was the “Irish” who were up to their old tricks.

So, besides telling you who we are, what we're about and welcoming you to join us, the other important purpose of this message is to convey to you that the public safety of our participants and spectators is of primary concern to us.

We are taking affirmative steps to try to correct these issues, and are working very hard with our city leadership, law enforcement and the business community to curb some of this undesirable activity. We are working together to increase security and police presence throughout our parade route, and to promote a positive atmosphere for all to enjoy. The police will be on alert for underage drinking, open containers and aggressive, antisocial behavior.

We invite you to come Downtown, and remind you that the parade begins at 10 a.m. March 15 at Mellon Arena, then travels from Grant Street to the Boulevard of the Allies, to the Reviewing Stand at Stanwix Street .

It is our hope that we can encourage all of our parade participants and spectators, families, college students - people young and old alike, to celebrate with us responsibly. We have a great parade tradition in Pittsburgh , dating to 1869, and we welcome you to enjoy it with us.

But this is a St. Patrick's Day celebration, not Mardi Gras or Spring Break, so let's all enjoy this together. Thank you!

Jim Green, Chairman,
Pittsburgh St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee