Green crowds and flowing drinks at St. Patrick’s Day parade, but crowds say celebration felt more controlled this year
But the day also delivered family-friendly scenes: marching bands, floats with cannons, children scrambling for tossed candy, and neighbors leaning out of apartment windows to throw green bead necklaces like a Mardi Gras celebration.
This year’s parade followed a new route, marching in the opposite direction from recent years. Organizers said the route mirrors the path used during the first Evacuation Day celebration, though it was unclear whether the change would continue in future years. This year, St. Patrick’s Day fell on the 250th anniversary of Evacuation Day, the day the British army fled the city of Boston on March 17, 1776.
Starting from Andrew Square, the parade kicked off at 11:30 a.m. with the Boston Police Honor Guard carrying the American, Irish, and Massachusetts flags onto Dorchester Street. Behind them came the Boston Police Gaelic Column, as bagpipes and drums echoed across the neighborhood.
A woman pours champagne into the mouth of a member of the El Segundo Fire Department during the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe StaffMiss Boston rides in a car during the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe StaffWomen blow bubbles from their second story window during the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Children tossed candy to cheering spectators, while riders on horseback dressed as historical generals and marching troops followed behind.
Serena Murray gripped a metal barricade as the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Honor Guard marched past, cheering and clapping alongside her friends. The crowd, she said, felt calmer than in previous years, when drunken revelers pushed through packed sidewalks and made it “impossible” to move.
“It’s not as bad as last year,” said Murray, 19, a student at Massasoit Community College. “Hopefully, there’s a lot less illegal drugs going around afterwards, too.”
Her friend, Calice Morton, 19, a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, agreed.
“It’s overwhelming,” Morton said, “but it’s fun.”
Across the neighborhood, children blasted high-pitched horns, friends posed for photos along barricades, and spectators leaned from second-floor windows tossing green beads to the crowds below.
Wu walked behind the troops with other city officials and children, holding hands and waving to spectators as the parade turned onto Telegraph Street.
Emmet Chisholm, 3, watches the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe StaffSOUTH BOSTON, MA —MARCH 15 – Reenactors march during the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in South Boston, MA March 15, 2026. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)
Jessica Rinaldi/Globe StaffScott Poce of East Bridgewater had his eyes on the right color for the day.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Earlier in the morning, crowds decked out in shamrock apparel and green bead necklaces spilled out of Broadway Station and poured onto West Broadway Street, chanting the sports anthem “Kernkraft 400.”
For a moment, it seemed Saint Patrick himself had joined the parade.
Konnor Mason arrived dressed for the part in a shiny green robe with gold detailing, a tall green hat, and a white beard. The costume drew plenty of attention, though not always the recognition he expected.
“All morning, people have called me Albus Dumbledore, Santa Claus, and Gandalf,” laughed Mason, 22. Still, “everyone’s loved it.”
Mason said he embraced the chance to celebrate his Irish heritage.
“I’m part Irish, so I find a bit of pride in this day,” he said.
A historic artillery display rolled past with Crain’s Artillery, which presented a float featuring a small reproduction of a two-pounder cannon pulled by oxen and a larger cannon cast in the 1790s by Paul Revere.
Ellie Hutchinson, 75, the group’s commanding officer, has participated in the parade for more than 20 years.
“We’re gonna work hard today,” Hutchinson said, dressed as a colonial officer.
Leaning against a barricade railing, Bryce Russo, 27, and Delilah Boucher, 29, embraced one another, both draped in shamrock-beaded necklaces as they watched the parade.
Russo said the event was one of several Boston traditions he wanted to introduce to Boucher, who is from Webster and attended the parade for the first time.
“I’ve been to a few of these now, and it’s just a really good tradition to come out here to see the crowds and the goodness of the community,” said Russo, of Somerville.
Street musician Cassandra Michael walked the parade route playing Irish favorites like “Molly Malone,” “Danny Boy,” and “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” on her saxophone. She traveled from Rhode Island wearing a bright green coat and a tall leprechaun-style hat with a gold buckle, carrying a shoulder bag labeled “TIPS.”
A Fascinator from Tampa Bay wore furry leg warmers during the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe StaffParade goers sing along to the song, “Mr. Brightside” during the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe StaffThe Fascinators of Tampa Bay march in the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
“I’m walking up and down the crowds before the parade starts so I can get some money to pay my rent,” said Michael, 37.
The parade, which has marched through South Boston for more than a century, attracts as many as a million attendees annually, according to the MBTA.
Boston was the first city in North America to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. In 1737, Irish immigrants gathered to honor Ireland’s patron saint, launching a tradition of banquets and parades later organized by groups like the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
Even today, some longtime spectators say the celebration retains its famously rowdy edge.
“The people are very interesting, and it seems they got an early start on the drinking this morning,” said Declan Flattery, 66, a retiree from Dublin who now lives in Quincy.
The city has also cracked down on “BORGs” — gallon-sized mixed drinks popular among college students at large gatherings. The so-called BORGs, an acronym for “Blackout Rage Gallons,” are typically filled with alcohol mixed with water and caffeine or electrolyte mixes.
Students often decorate the containers with pun-filled names such as “Star Borgs,” “Borgalicious,” and “Ruth Bader Ginsborg.”
Officers seized many of the containers during last year’s parade, the Globe reported, and police again warned that public drinking would not be tolerated.
A woman wore earrings in the shape of pints of beer during the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe StaffDancers with Caporales San Simon take part in the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe StaffA man climbs up to get a better view of the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
As the parade wound down along Dorchester Street, Boston Public Works crews began clearing heavily littered streets scattered with crushed cans, plastic cups, mini liquor bottles, and shamrock necklaces.
Lines formed outside nearby pubs, including Small Victories and Lincoln Tavern & Restaurant.
On the steps of a nearby house, a group of children offered Irish jokes for $1, while farther down the street some revelers — unsteady from the day’s festivities — became sick.
After nearly two decades living in Cambridge, Sunday marked Greg Cabana’s first time attending the parade. As crowds squeezed into his Red Line train car after the event, he said his only mistake was not leaving earlier.
“It’s definitely more extreme than I expected,” he said. “I’ve got claustrophobia, and this is taking everything from me.”
Watching drinks slosh from open cups on the crowded train, Cabana said the celebration reminded him of another famously raucous festival.
“This is the type of crowd that you see at Carnival in Rio,” he said.
His wife agreed.
“I’ve spent St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin,” she said. “It’s more chaotic here than it was there.”
Sarah Rahal can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @SarahRahal_ or Instagram @sarah.rahal. Aayushi Datta can be reached at [email protected]. Lauren Albano can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @LaurenAlbano_. Adam Sennott can be reached at [email protected].
