There has been a continued Irish presence in Montréal since the time of the earliest European settlements in the 17th century. A large number of Irish people arrived in the 19th century, particularly in the wake of the Great Famine of 1845-47. As a growing ethnic community, the Irish created their own social and cultural institutions, including a St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Until the COVID-19 pandemic forced the organizers to cancel the parade in 2020 and 2021, it had taken place every year since 1824. There was a scaled-down parade with no floats in 2022. This year’s full-scale parade was anticipated with great excitement because of the 3-year hiatus.
The 198th Montréal St-Patrick’s Parade processed along Ste-Catherine Street on March 19th. As expected, it was a cheerful and very well attended event, despite the very cold and windy weather (-10° C with the wind chill). It was so cold that it caused the battery in our video camera to deplete rapidly. Despite that, we managed to capture the essence of the event.
The two-hour long parade was led by a Grand Marshal as well as a plethora of aficionados from the United Irish Societies of Montreal which gave the event an air of grandeur. These dignitaries made their way along the 1.2 km parade route to take their places on a reviewing stand.
The parade consisted of several colourful floats, many pipe bands, troupes of Irish dancers, representatives from a variety of sporting organizations, supporting businesses, and numerous community groups wanting to take part in the celebration.
The crowds lining the sidewalks on both sides of the street cheered and shouted approval and encouragement as each group reached them. Many in the crowd were wearing something green to add to the festive atmosphere. While some of the onlookers were of Irish ancestry, most were probably just “Irish for the day.”
Montréal has always been a diverse city. However, the five “founding peoples” are represented on the city flag: the French (fleur-de-lys), the English (rose), the Scottish (thistle), the Irish (shamrock) and Indigenous Peoples (the white pine in the centre).
In keeping with this symbolism, the parade included giant effigies of: Paul de Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve (founder of the city of Ville Marie), St. George, St. Andrew, St. Patrick, and an Indigenous woman in a traditional dress. These effigies feature in the short video that we have created for your enjoyment.
De beaux souvenirs me reviennent avec cette pacifique parade de la St-Patrick.
Encore une belle présentation, bien filmé et bien décrite.
Vous êtes d’excellents reporteurs!
Toujours un plaisir de vous suivre.
A huge Thank you for this amazing video. We enjoyed every moment of it.
We were particularly overjoyed so see the beautiful flag which portrayed the triumphant inclusiveness of the founding nationalities of Montreal. Thank you John and Lucie.