Prime Minister Of Ireland Marches In Philly St. Patrick’s Day Parade
by Alex Lloyd Gross
Micheal Martin, the Taoiseach (or Prime Minister) of Ireland paid a visit to Philadelphia to March in the St.Paddy’s Day Parade. If you had no idea he was coming or what he looked like, you could miss him. He arrived at 16thand JFK Blvd just before 11:00 AM and took questions from the media. Martin has been Taoiseach since January 2025.
Alex Lloyd Gross Photo-Delaware Valley News.com The parade is in full swing along JFK Blvd.
After he was done with media Q&A, he then walked onto the parade route, and met some bystanders and well wishers that knew who he was and came up to him. Soon, it became a bit much and that stopped. He walked on foot the parade route, culminating at the end of the parade near 2nd and Market Streets.
Alex Lloyd Gross Photo Delaware Valley News.com Children dance during the parade.
There were a lot of unions represented, steamfitters, electrical workers, all wanted to show their support. Quite a few Irish dancing schools from the region made the trek to center city and children showed off what they have learned.
Some groups tossed candy to bystanders, that were in the 10’s of thousands for the parade route. Most wore green. This is the season for many communi8ties to celebrate with St. Patrick’s Day Parades. Levittown had theirs on Saturday.
Alex Lloyd Gross Photo
The parade lasted several hours. After it was over, several of the machers poured onto the area surrounding Penns Landing for additional festivities.