On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
ema
I love parades! Assemble some marching bands and pipes and drums and I am right there to cheer them on.
My favorite parade is Tartan Day Parade, not for anything that happens during the parade but rather for the “after-party.” The parade marches down 6th Ave. and ends at 55th St. Once they reach the end, the bands break formation, go on 55th St. and start a “battle” of the bands. It’s a lovely and joyous impromptu pipes and drums street concert.
Back to this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It was 4 hours long (I condensed into 1 hr of pipes and drums and marching band music) and I enjoyed every minute of it. Here are some highlights:
The parade opened with the most gorgeous Irish Wolfhound you have ever seen. My only regret is that I wasn’t able to pet him.
The lovely doggy was followed by several army units, each signing their own song, some quite a bit odd if you ask me. For example, and I quote: Down by the river/Took a little walk/Ran into Charlie. Who is Charlie, why is he lurking by the river, and what’s his connection with the Army people? I don’t know.
Pipes and drums, enough said!
A group of Irish Roses. They also had some nicely dressed gentlemen in the group, the Irish Boy Roses, I guess.
There were quite a few marching bands, from across the country, all very good.
The FDNY band.
Here I am being shooed away by security, to insure I don’t interfere with the mayor’s magnificent management of the city.
They danced as they marched and all the spectators loved it.
This band was quite large and they played very well.
One more pipes and drums band to close the show.
Steeplejack
Nice pics of a nice parade! Thank you, ema.
I’m going to bed (again).
eclare
I love your various parade photos! Thank you.
Donatellonerd
I’m confused (i lived in NYC for 23 years — 12 in Manhattan — but have never been to a St Patrick’s Day parade, in fact actively avoided it). but I definitely thought that kilts and also tartans were Scottish and not Irish?
sab
Irish wolfhounds are very sweet dogs but I would never say they are gorgeous. Most homely breed ever, and I say that as a pitbull owner.
sab
@Donatellonerd: Scots and Irish have pretty much all the same cultural things because they are very closely related. The two islands are very close so they travelled back and forth a lot. Kilts, tartans, bagpipes, whisk(e)y, freckles, red hair.
Scuffletuffle
I so wish I could hear the bagpipes!
WendyBinFL
Fabulous photos, ema, thanks! As a former New Yorker now retired in Florida, I always enjoy your vibrant views of The City!
WendyBinFL
@sab: A fun bit of trivia — my red-haired Irish grandmother used to say, “Show me a red-headed Irishman and I’ll show you a place where the Vikings landed.” Indeed, according to my DNA test, my genes are more Scandinavian than Irish!
Spanky
Raven will be along to tell you all about Charlie.
Chris T.
@WendyBinFL: That’s likely where my childhood-era red hair came from (Vikings invading Ireland, on my mother’s side of the family). It all faded away over time though.
I still have the extreme-pale Irish/German complexion though, like that meme of the Irish girl on a beach…
Quantum man
We have had four wolfhounds. Wonderful dogs. They are true gentle giants. Sadly they tend to not live very long. I am still not over having had to take our last wolfhound, Faith, to the vet to be euthanized. She was in the final stages of kidney failure. The hound in this picture looks so much like her.
raven
@Spanky: The actual lyrics are
Down By The River
Down by the river
I took a little walk
Ran into the enemy
We had a little talk
I didn’t like their attitude
Didn’t like the way they walked
So I pushed em
I shoved em
I threw em in the river
laughed as they drowned
We don’t need the enemy
Hangin, hangin, hangin around
(chorus)
Heyyyy, don’t be a fool
Somebody said we we number two
We’re number one
Noooo, not number five
Not number four number three, number two
We’er number one
raven
raven
@WendyBinFL: Me too, we took over the Isles and then gave em back!
sab
@WendyBinFL: Ha ha and very true. Lithuania is also very high on the red haired Viking landing list.
Also, Irish surnames starting with Fitz (French ‘fils’ meaning son of are Norman French and thus also more Viking than French or Irish.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Great–though long!–parade
ema
@Steeplejack:
Thank you and sleep well!
ema
@eclare:
Thank you!
ema
@Donatellonerd:
They are both Irish and Scottish, with some differences, especially the dancers. (here is this year’s Tartan Day parade for comparison) [9:44 min YT video]
ema
@sab:
No, they’re beautiful, all goofy looking and sweet. And so are pitbulls!
bbleh
@sab: dialects of Gaelic (both utterly incomprehensible, of course)
ema
@Scuffletuffle:
Here are some options:
2024 Tartan Day Parade (9:44 min YT video)
2024 St. Patrick’s Day Parade (1:01: 40 hr YT video)
FDNY Pipe and Drums (16s YT short)
ema
@WendyBinFL:
Thank you! (Forget Florida, come back to the city!)
Donatellonerd
@ema: so the Tartan Day parade (which i never heard of… is it new ?—by which i mean the last 40 years since I moved to Paris) is both Scottish & Irish. I knew both were Celtic and similar, but i’ve never seen kilts related to Ireland before. Learn something new every day);
ema
@raven:
Thank you, that makes much more sense.
Donatellonerd
@ema: totally agree. My boyfriend from the summer before i went to college adored Irish wolfhounds and took me to dog shows to show them to me. He actually ended up breeding them upstate, according to a Google search some years ago). they’re lovely.
ema
@Donatellonerd:
No, Tartan Day parade (started in 1999) is only Scottish and St. Patrick’s Day parade is only Irish. And while the kilts and music are somewhat similar, the dances are quite different.
Ol_Froth
My reenactment unit (116th PA, Company I) marches in Pittsburgh’s St. Patrick’s Day parade every year. We often win the award for the best marching unit, and won it again this year!
Raven
@ema: Oh, Charlie is what we called the Viet Cong.
Raven
@Ol_Froth: You should explain more about the unit.
JAFD
Thanks for the pictures and the report. Mayhaps we could hold a mini BJ meetup on 3/17/25 ?
WaterGirl
A 4-hour parade? Wish I could have seen the dancers! And love their costumes.
Torrey
@Scuffletuffle:
Wonderful photos, and I too want to hear the bagpipes.
ema
@Raven:
Oh, I get it now, thank you.
ema
@Torrey:
Thank you!
ema
@WaterGirl:
Most parades last for about one hour or so, this one is the exception.
WaterGirl
@sab: I think the Irish wolfhound is gorgeous!
ema
@JAFD:
Thank you!
WaterGirl
@WendyBinFL: I laughed out loud.
WaterGirl
@ema: I do love your getting to see NYC through your eyes!
Note to everyone else – you don’t have to travel to some exotic pace in order to have your pics in On the Road.
If you live out in the country, I would love to see photos of what you see as you head to town to shop. If you live in France, I would love to see your favorite hangouts. If you’re taking a trip to see your grandma, what are the site you see along the way.
You get the idea. Right?
Anyway
Lovely! Always enjoy your NYC pics
suzcamoo
I miss parades! These are terrific, Ema – thanks!
Ol_Froth
@Raven: The 116th was part of the Army of the Potomac’s Irish Brigade during the American Civil War, specifically, the fifth of five regiments. Joined the Irish Brigade shortly before the Battle of Fredericksburg.