Saint Patrick's Day in Savannah

JC & Cairenn Sullivan



Six years had passed since we last visited Savannah. The occasion in 1995 was their Irish Cultural Festival, now in its ninth year. We went at that time to witness the event that was begun so the Irish of Savannah could show their children there is more than being Irish than being in a slight state of inebriation and wearing a green plastic hat That was then, this was now ….we were going to be a part of the green plastic hat crowd.

Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland all come to mind when one thinks about being Irish In America. But, the American South? Who would think of Savannah, Georgia, a town with about eleven Catholic churches in it?

The community here has a very long tradition of honoring Saint Patrick. In his book The Days We've Celebrated, the late William L. Fogarty discovered the first official invitation to a 'public observance' was found in the 1813 minutes of the Hibernian Society of Savannah

The closest we could get a room was at the Days Inn, Oglethorpe Mall. We took a bus downtown on the 16th to witness the service honoring Sgt William Jasper, an Irish American Revolutionary War hero who died defending Savannah against the British. The ceremony was very colorful, with speeches from military officers from Fort Stewart and Hunter Air Force Base being the highlight. The pipe band from the Irish Air Force, Dublin, Ireland, was present for the ceremony.

Knowing other Hibernians is a true blessing, We linked up with our friends Don & Patti Fallon, who we had initially met in Louisville, KY. Don is a Parade Marshal and is plugged into the hierarchy of Savannah's Irish community. We enjoyed a reception at the K of C Hall afterwards and were also invited to a private party at the Hilton. Hosted by Mr. It was here I got my first taste of Midleton Irish whiskey. The bottle comes in a wooden box and allegedly one cannot procure it in this country. One sip of it is enough to establish it as the finest and smoothest to ever cross these Irish lips!

Mass is celebrated early on Saint Patrick's Day - 8:30 a.m. - at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. Afterwards Savannah's Irish-born Bishop J. Kevin Boland joined the outdoor celebration and struck up a conversation with some Irish lads from County Cork, the band Natural Gas. Together they sang On the Banks Of My Own Lovely Lee. As reported in the Savannah Morning News, Tim O'Riordan said, "Whenever Cork people meet away from home that's the song we sing. It puts some strength into the soul." Boland, in Savannah for forty years, said, "How can you miss home with something like this? We are at home. All the Irish are at home in Savannah."

It would have been too difficult to get to the early Mass from the Oglethrope Mall so Saint Patrick's Day began for us with bus ride downtown. For a buck each way, the Chatham Area Regional Transit (CHART) folks moved busses from the Mall on a continual basis. Although the line was very long, they did a commendable job of moving the large crowd. Once downtown we began to walk towards the marshaling area for the early 10:30 a.m. start. We decided to park ourselves and wait for the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Ladies AOH to come by us. It wasn't long before they appeared and we joined them for the parade. What a great experience it was - all this and a temperature in the 70s!

The streets of Savannah being old, are also narrow, affording we marchers the opportunity to speak to the parade watchers without shouting. The crowd is lively and spirited, in town specifically for the parade. Official estimates later put it at 400-500,000. We had fun placing beads around the necks of small children, with Mom and Dad's permission, of course.

The young ladies of Savannah make a great sport of smooching parade walkers, especially the military. You see them on the sidelines, lipstick in hand, reloading their lips as they reconnoiter their target. Then, like hawks circling field mice, they spring into action and swoop down on the unsuspecting, planting a perfect red lip tattoo on a surprised cheek. It was charming to see an Army Ranger Platoon Leader hard-pressed to stifle a bemused smile.

At the end of the parade we went to the K of C Hall where a rock 'n roll band was just setting up. One of their tunes was the old hit by Jay and the Americans, This Magic Moment. I thought it aptly described Saint Patrick's Day everywhere, especially Savannah.

We partook of refreshments being offered and chatted with many people, including Savannah oncologist Dr. Jim Burke. His dad , also Dr. Jim, and mother, originally from Chicago, are now retired in Florida and were staying in town with son Jim. Much later, looking out the window, we were surprised to see the parade still going by. We estimate it was about four and a half hours long, the largest we've ever witnessed.

We had a return token on CHART and decided to take the return bus to Oglethorpe Mall, arriving back early evening. Our intent was to catch a little R & R but, alas, the spirit was willing but the flesh…….we didn't get back downtown that evening. Boy, are we dating ourselves?

The town of Savannah knows how to promote itself. The Savannah Morning News, for example, dedicated at least four and one-half pages to Saint Patrick's Day, two of which were full color photos. As well they should - the estimated revenue brought into the city by this event is 23 million buckaroos.