SAVANNAH ― The St. Patrick’s Day Parade in this historic port city is equal parts religious observance, Irish heritage celebration and tailgate party.
The 2025 edition, led by Grand Marshal Jay Burke, kept up that tradition.
On Monday, tens of thousands of revelers crowded streets and squares along the 3-mile parade route through the downtown historic district. Marching bands, Alee Shriner troops and a steady stream of green-jacketed Savannahians entertained the throngs in a parade that featured nearly 300 units and lasted more than four hours from start to finish.
“It’s a blessing come true,” Burke said. “I feel the love of the whole city this time of year when everyone comes together.”
Credit: Justin Taylor for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Justin Taylor for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Savannah’s Irish heritage celebration dates to 1824, when a group of local Irishmen, the Hibernian Society, hosted a Roman Catholic bishop from Charleston for a religious service and dinner. The bishop led a short procession from the church to the dinner venue in what is considered the city’s first St. Patrick’s Day parade.
The Georgia port city welcomed tens of thousands of Irish immigrants between the 1730s and the early 1900s, and the parade has evolved from an intimate local celebration to the second largest in the United States behind only New York City.
Last year’s parade, held on a Saturday, marked the event’s 200th anniversary and drew a record 306 marching units and what longtime parade goers say was the largest attendance ever.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s the 200th anniversary parade on a Saturday or what we had here today, it’s a celebration of our community,” said Heath Moyer, who marched in Monday’s parade as a member of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee. “It’s a day we look forward to all year.”
Credit: Justin Taylor for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Justin Taylor for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The 2025 parade started with a church service — an 8 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, a Roman Catholic church located along the parade route. The church’s bishop, Stephen Parkes, encouraged attendees to live their lives in the missionary spirit of St. Patrick, a 5th century Englishman enslaved in Ireland early in his life who later returned to the island nation as a Christian evangelist.
Parkes blessed parade Burke, the grand marshal and a local small business owner, following the service before Burke headed off to lead the procession. The grand marshal is elected from among the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee, an 800-plus member group that has organized the celebration for more than a century.
Dignitaries in Monday’s march included U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who grew up in Savannah not far from the parade route. U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, a Savannah St. Patrick’s Day regular whose congressional district includes the city, also marched in the parade.
Credit: Justin Taylor for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Justin Taylor for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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