All about Birmingham’s Historical Celebrations, that is the world’s 3rd largest Saint Patrick’s Day Parade:
Did you know that Birmingham UK has the 3rd biggest Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in the world? New York City has the biggest Saint Patrick’s Day parade & then the second largest is Ireland’s own parade in Dublin. Birmingham was actually the first city in Britain to hold a Saint Patrick’s Day Parade and it dates back to 1952.
Playing a large part in that is because here in Birmingham, we also have Britain’s only ‘Irish Quarter’; with 10 Irish pubs, Irish Centre, Irish Catholic Church St Anne’s and a meeting point for Irish community, business, food, music and culture.
The Irish Quarter is in a buzzing area called ‘Digbeth’ that delights with buildings old & new and graffiti art in the most creative of places. Captured here below, in a few photos from the Irish Quarter and at the ‘St Pat’s Rocks’ open air stage playing live music to the crowds after the parade and into the night: π»
Click HERE to go to the official Birmingham Parade website to read all about it and HERE to see a collection of photos from the parade itself from dancers, musicians to county flags, etc. But also parade dancers and musicians from other cultures too. The official explanation for this below is beautifully inclusive:
“Whilst being unmistakably Irish at the core, the Parade increasingly mirrors the fantastic diversity and multicultural nature of Birmingham, as we welcome guest appearances from other communities. What could be more Irish than extending hospitality?“
– Quote from the official St Patrick’s Day Birmingham Parade Website
I have friends from a mix of cultural heritage that come out with me and join in celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day even though they don’t have any Irish heritage. From the quote above you can see that it really is a celebration open to all and a great way to share Irish culture and hospitality outside of Ireland itself.
Everyone can be Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day & join in the celebrations!
Even Birmingham’s famous Bull statue outside of ‘The Birmingham Bullring’ was dressed up for the occasion:
On Saint Patrick’s Day I naturally miss my Irish Grandad Mac who died in 2016 & miss all the St Patrick’s Day fun we used to have – with him singing Irish songs, reciting poetry, humming a jig, eating Irish food together & him raising a whiskey or too. Although I still miss him so much, I know we were so blessed to of spent so many St Patrick’s Day’s with him & those are cherished memories! π
I am also grateful he brought me up knowing all about my Irish roots & taking me back to his hometown in Ireland regularly throughout my life. My Irish family & the place not just the people, will forever have a special place in my heart as it’s 1 of the remaining connections to Grandad I still have. GBNF π
Do you have a special place in the world like that, that has a special place in your heart for sentimental reasons?
Saint Patrick’s Day is one of my favourite days of the year for good fun, having a jig, a sing-song and the only day I continually drink pints (Irish cider not Guinness though for me lol.) I have a collection of hats, green wigs and other memorabilia that add to the laid back atmosphere of the day.
So, I will always celebrate each year & raise a toast for the legend that was my GRANDAD MAC aka Bernard (Brian) McMahon π Click HERE to read a poem I wrote all about him & the man that he was, as part of my blog post all about “MAKING FRIENDS WITH GRIEF” & how grief can sometimes be met in a more soothing way by making comforting choices.
So Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to all who celebrate from Helen’s Journey!π» You never know, maybe one day you will make it Birmingham to join in the famous fun…
β Can’t get out and about due to chronic pain or other reasons or just want some entertainment? Then why not travel virtually – read my blog post The ULTIMATE Guide to using online βVirtual Toursβ to visit Famous Places, Landmarks and Tourist Attractions! An EPIC list of links to take you all over the World!
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Oh wow, I never knew Brum had the 3rd largest celebrations in the world, that’s amazing!! xx
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Right Hun, what a claim to fame for England’s 2nd City ππ
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Weirdly enough during all my travels to Brum Iβve managed to miss out on the St Paddyβs celebrations. Iβve seen the German market, the Caribbean festival, but not this. Something to look forward to next time. Thanks
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Hi there, yeah those are some other great highlights for Birmingham’s annual calendar that you have made which is great as I love my city! Really glad the post gave you another great celebration day to visit Birmingham for next year too π You’ll have a craic-ing time ππ
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Wow I didn’t know this before. I’ve never been a huge St. Patrick’s Day person but this looks like so much fun! Thanks for sharing β€
xoxox
Amanda
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I love this post is acting as a piece of awareness. The day is so friendly & welcoming, I’m sure you’d have a blast if you decided to join in on the celebrations one year π
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This looks like so much fun! I love that the famous Bull dressed up for the occasion too. I hope you had a wonderful day Helen, thanks for sharing! β€ xx
Bexa | http://www.hellobexa.com
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Thanks Bexa! I really did – it was great fun. Right the bull looked so cute π€© lol xx
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Hey great post, Birmingham is a truly amazing place. I did some posts about 6 instagram photo locations in Birmingham would be great if you could share that video in any future posts?. Would be great to collab,
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Great, thanks for sending link on Instagram. I’m defo going to check it out & see if it’s places I would of thought of or not too ππ
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Wow! I didn’t know that Birmingham had the 3rd largest St Patricks Day celebrations. I often see them on TV and would love to experience one but didn’t think I could as I’m not Irish.
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Hi Sarah, the Birmingham Parade has dancers & musicians from other cultures too to celebrate Birmingham being so multicultural. So it really is a mix of so many different nationalities celebrating together.
I was there with Irish descendants, English, a Greek & an Italian – everyone had a blast!
I really hope you get to experience the fun in the future – let me know what fun you had if you do π
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It is something I would love to experience I will definitely think about visiting next year! π
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