Generally Speaking: Pandemic virus knocks out St. Patrick’s Day parades
For a second straight year, Irish eyes won’t be smiling as St. Patrick’s Day approaches and parades here and around the country are canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These include the world’s largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Fifth Avenue in New York, and the Brooklyn and Bay Ridge parades.
The Manhattan march dates back to 1762 and is organized by the present-day St. Patrick’s Day Foundation, NYC. If you count the 2020 cancellation, this would be the 260th annual parade. However, the parade committee is hinting at possibly having a virtual parade.
In past years, the Brooklyn Irish-American Parade Committee held its St. Patrick’s march along Seventh Avenue, returning along Prospect Park West to the start point at 15th Street in Park Slope.