South Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade — What You Need To Know

BOSTON, MA — Boston was the first city to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in America and the tradition continues Sunday with the South Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade.

"On March 17, 1737, as a gesture of solidarity among the city’s new Irish immigrants, Boston’s Irish community joined together in festivities of their homeland and to honor the memory of the ... Patron Saint of Ireland," according to the Allied War Veterans Council of South Boston.

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The parade also honors Evacuation Day, commemorating the evacuation of British forces from Boston following the siege of Boston in 1776.

The parade steps off at 11:30 a.m.

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"The route will be Dorchester Street to Telegraph Street to Thomas Park (southerly arm), to G Street, to East Sixth Street, to K Street to East Fourth Street to P Street to East Broadway to West Broadway," according to the city, which issued parking restrictions for Sunday.

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The parade moved to South Boston in 1901, per the Allied War Veterans Council, recognizing it as a "neighborhood that was not only home to a robust Irish community, but was the site of Dorchester Heights, where the evacuation of British troops from Boston on March 17, 1776 was made possible and is commemorated."

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The parade's Chief Marshal is Army Col. Tim Murphy, who was born and raised in South Boston, and lives there now with his family.

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