The COVID pandemic caused local "Saint Paddy's" parades ("Paddy" is the shortened form of Patrick, which itself comes from Pádraig) to be cancelled, but they are back in a big way. Hundreds of marchers, both Irish and "Irish for the Day" delighted the huge crowd which included Governor Ned Lamont, CT Attorney General William Tong and Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons, seen in a photo at the reviewing stand. They were joined by Grand Marshal Roger J. Fox and several previous Grand Marshals. Various other communities joined the festivities including representation from the Asian, Latin-X, and Gay communities. It was a chance for eager, and sometimes over-eager celebrants to enjoy a brief respite from the tragic news each day from the Ukraine and a chance to put COVID restrictions in the rear view mirror, or at least we all hope! Well known Irish bars on Summer Street saw lines to enter as in years past as the parade is just the beginning of our traditional St. Patricks celebrations. Other parades this year are in Hartford on Saturday, March 12, Greenwich on Sunday, March 20, and the state’s largest, the New Haven parade which says "Céad Míle Fáilte", (a thousand welcomes) this coming Sunday, March 13th.

Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com  Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.