1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:09,760 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:12,200 Speaker 1: a show that will pinch you no matter what color 4 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 1: you're wearing. I'm Gabe Louzier, and in this episode we're 5 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:20,080 Speaker 1: tracking the route of n y C's St. Patrick's Day Parade, 6 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:24,279 Speaker 1: including the cathartic role it played for Irish American immigrants. 7 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:38,159 Speaker 1: The day was March seventeen, seventeen sixty two. One of 8 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:41,720 Speaker 1: New York City's oldest traditions began when the first St. 9 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:46,240 Speaker 1: Patrick's Day Parade was held in Lower Manhattan. The United 10 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: States was not yet the United States at the time, 11 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 1: with the signing of the Declaration of Independence still a 12 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: good fourteen years away. Instead, the parade was organized by 13 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: a group of homesick Irish soldiers sir ving in the 14 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:05,160 Speaker 1: British Army. In the century ahead, the event grew larger 15 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: and larger as more Irish immigrants came to New York. Eventually, 16 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:13,319 Speaker 1: the annual show of Irish pride was adopted by other 17 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:16,800 Speaker 1: U s cities and later by countries around the world. 18 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 1: St Patrick, the ostensible focus of the parade, was a 19 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:25,200 Speaker 1: Christian missionary born in Britain, in the late fourth century. 20 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:29,120 Speaker 1: A d after being ordained as a bishop, he traveled 21 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: to Ireland in the year four thirty three and spent 22 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:36,480 Speaker 1: the next three decades teaching, preaching and building churches around 23 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: the country. He passed away on March seventeenth, four sixty one, 24 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:45,240 Speaker 1: and although he was never officially canonized by the church, 25 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:49,080 Speaker 1: by the seventh century he was venerated by many as 26 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: the patron Saint of Ireland. That designation became more or 27 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: less official in the sixteen thirties, when the day of 28 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: his death, March seventeenth, was added to the calf like 29 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:04,480 Speaker 1: Breviary as the Feast of St. Patrick. By that point, 30 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 1: all kinds of legends that sprang up about St. Patrick. 31 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:11,519 Speaker 1: For instance, he said to have driven all the snakes 32 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 1: out of Ireland, and he supposedly liked to use a 33 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:19,560 Speaker 1: three leaf clover or shamrock to illustrate the Holy Trinity. 34 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: No word on how Patrick explained four leaf clovers, but 35 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,679 Speaker 1: I'm guessing he wasn't a fan. They just raised too 36 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:31,560 Speaker 1: many questions. But despite the colorful lore surrounding St. Patrick, 37 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 1: his big day was treated much like any other religious 38 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:39,320 Speaker 1: holiday in Ireland. Churchgoers would attend a special mass service 39 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 1: in the morning, and then have a small celebration with 40 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,640 Speaker 1: food and drink later in the day. The local pubs 41 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,800 Speaker 1: weren't even open. There was no citywide party and certainly 42 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:53,920 Speaker 1: no parade. In fact, for nearly a hundred and fifty years, 43 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:59,040 Speaker 1: St Patrick's Day parades were a strictly American affair. The 44 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: first one in New York City took place on March seventeenth, 45 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: seventeen sixty two. The proceedings began at dawn with a 46 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: performance by a fife and drum corps made up of 47 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:14,679 Speaker 1: Irish soldiers within the British Army. These military members then 48 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:18,600 Speaker 1: joined other Irish ex pats in marching through Bowling Green 49 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:22,239 Speaker 1: in Lower Manhattan, singing Irish folk songs as they went. 50 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: The stated reason for the parade was, of course, to 51 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: honor St. Patrick, but there was more going on than 52 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:33,480 Speaker 1: just reverence for a patron saint. The Irish residence of 53 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: New York City, those who had been stationed there by 54 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:39,760 Speaker 1: the British and those who had fled there from Ireland 55 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:43,920 Speaker 1: of their own accord, were homesick. They weren't longing simply 56 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: for a different place, but for the Ireland of a 57 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: different time. In the eighteenth century, British authorities had tightened 58 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: their grip on the island, even going so far as 59 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: to ban outward displays of Irish national pride. Something is 60 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: in not u s as the wearing of green ribbons 61 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 1: or handkerchiefs was suddenly ill advised lest it be interpreted 62 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:11,440 Speaker 1: as a emblem of affection for Ireland. So in many ways, 63 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: the St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York City was 64 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 1: a return to normalcy for its Irish community, a chance 65 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:22,160 Speaker 1: to reclaim their identity and to celebrate it openly without 66 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:26,919 Speaker 1: fear of government reprisal. And yes, the festivities that first 67 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: year did include a bit of drinking in the evening, 68 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: but nothing compared to what you might see today. It 69 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:37,800 Speaker 1: was still a religious holiday, after all. Irish military units 70 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:41,480 Speaker 1: in New York continued organizing the annual parade for many 71 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 1: of its early years. Following the War of eighteen twelve, 72 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: the duties of hosting the event were passed to various 73 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: Irish community groups in the city. In the early eighteen hundreds, 74 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:56,119 Speaker 1: processions set out from different parish churches throughout the city 75 00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 1: and marched to the original St. Patrick's Cathedral on Mott Street. However, 76 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:03,919 Speaker 1: by the end of the century, the parade route was 77 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 1: adjusted to follow Fifth Avenue up past St. Patrick's Cathedral, 78 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 1: just as it does today. Any listeners from Boston have 79 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:17,080 Speaker 1: probably been stewing this entire episode because that city has 80 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: long maintained that it, and not New York, was the 81 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 1: birthplace of St. Patrick's Day as we know it. Boston 82 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 1: held its own celebration of Irish solidarity on March seventeenth, 83 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: seventeen thirty seven. But a community festival isn't the same 84 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 1: as a parade. But don't worry, Boston Nights. New York 85 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:42,600 Speaker 1: City doesn't get credit for the first parade either. In reality, 86 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:46,240 Speaker 1: records show that the earliest known St. Patrick's Day parade 87 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:51,880 Speaker 1: was actually held and what is now St. Augustine, Florida. 88 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:56,159 Speaker 1: It took place on March seventeenth, sixteen o one, in 89 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: a Spanish colony that happened to have an Irish priest, 90 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:05,680 Speaker 1: a man named Ricardo Arturo. Technicalities like that aside, Many 91 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:08,719 Speaker 1: New Yorkers will tell you that their parade was the 92 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: one that led St. Patrick's Day to become the worldwide 93 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:16,320 Speaker 1: celebration it is today. But whether you consider St. Augustine, 94 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 1: Boston or New York City to be the true starting 95 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 1: point of St. Patrick's Day parades. One thing we can 96 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:27,760 Speaker 1: all agree on is that it definitely wasn't Ireland. In fact, 97 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:31,039 Speaker 1: all three of those US cities were at least a 98 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty years ahead of the Irish Homeland, which 99 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:39,520 Speaker 1: didn't hold its first parade in Waterford until nineteen oh three. 100 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 1: Talk about being late to your own party. I'm Gabelusier 101 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:49,160 Speaker 1: and hopefully you now know a little more about St. 102 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: Patrick's Day history today than you did yesterday. If you 103 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:57,279 Speaker 1: enjoyed today's show, why not follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 104 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t d i HC show. You could 105 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:04,919 Speaker 1: also leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, or you 106 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:07,680 Speaker 1: could write to us at This Day at I heart 107 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 1: media dot com. Heck, you could even do all of 108 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 1: the above. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 109 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:17,920 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 110 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another Day in History class.