By noon on Sunday, March 23, they will begin to gather — young families tugging strollers into position, old-timers finding their usual spots along Greenwich Avenue, teenagers in hooded sweatshirts shoving hands into pockets against the creeping chill. The forecast predicts 49 degrees, though it will feel cooler in the shade. The clouds will thicken, but the air will stay dry—ideal conditions for a parade.
And this is a town that still loves parades.
At precisely 2 p.m., outside Greenwich Town Hall, a whistle will sound, sharp and unmistakable. It will signal the start of the 49th annual St. Patrick’s Parade, and from that moment, the town will move in step—marchers pressing forward, bagpipes keening, banners lifting into the breeze. The procession will follow its well-worn path: up Field Point Road, along the Post Road, down Greenwich Avenue, where shopkeepers will step onto sidewalks to catch a glimpse of the spectacle, where children will dart between legs for a better view, where some people, knowing exactly what’s coming, will still lean forward in anticipation.
The parade belongs to the bagpipes. Always has. Four pipe bands will take their turn filling the air with that unmistakable, mournful wail: Greenwich Pipe Band, Fairfield County Police Pipes and Drums, Westchester Firefighters Pipes and Drums, and Fairfield Gaelic Pipe Band. For those who grew up on these streets, the sound is tied to memory—the first deep drone of the pipes a signal that the parade has truly begun.
The music will keep coming, layered and bright. Ten bands in all, including the Port Chester High School Marching Band, the Tappan Zee Bridgemen, Nash Drum Corps, Wholly Brass Band, Sound Beach Community Band, and the Connecticut Patriot Fife and Drum Band. There will be the metallic snap of snare drums, the steady pulse of bass drums. The brass sections will cut through the afternoon air, polished horns gleaming under a gray sky.
There will be dancers, of course. Irish step dancers from two local schools—the Lynn Academy of Irish Dance and the Harney Pender Keady Academy of Irish Dance—leaping, kicking, landing hard on the pavement with the practiced precision of years spent mastering the form. They will move with the discipline of athletes and the grace of something older, something remembered.
The parade will bring together at least 75 marching groups—local schools, scouts, fire departments, police officers in pressed uniforms, civic organizations that have been sending delegations for decades.
The antique vehicles will roll through, each carrying a story. And then, the Pyramid Shriners Motor Patrol—always a favorite, their miniature cars weaving and spinning in tight formation. Children will clutch at coat sleeves, laughing, pointing. Parents will smile, knowing exactly what’s coming but enjoying it just the same.
This year, a new group will step onto the route—a contingent from the Wallace Center, formerly the Greenwich Senior Center, walking alongside members of the Friends of the Wallace Center. They will march together, a reminder that history is not only something to be celebrated but something to be carried forward.
Father Richard Murphy will walk at the front, wearing the green sash that marks him as this year’s Grand Marshal. A priest, a chaplain, a man whose name is now inked into the long history of this parade.
For parade details and updates, visit www.greenwichhibernians.org
