Back in 1842, five years before the Diocese of Cleveland was established, Father Peter McLaughlin organized the earliest-known St. Patrick?s Day Parade in the city. Father McLaughlin, a proponent of temperance (abstaining from alcohol), was Cleveland?s third resident priest. The celebration began with Mass at St. Mary?s on the Flats, the only Catholic church in the city limits at that time, continued with a parade of the Catholic Temperance Society and ended with a banquet attended by family and friends.
As the United Irish Societies, an umbrella organization of Irish organizations, prepares to sponsor the 2017 parade, the day?s festivities follow the same formula: Mass, parade and a banquet. Shannon Corcoran of St. Patrick Parish in the West Park neighborhood of Cleveland, is the UIS executive director.
Margaret Lynch, executive director of the Irish American Archives Society, who is compiling a history of the parade, said the committee was preparing for what it thought would be the 150th parade this year. ?But now the Irish American Archives Society is assisting the parade committee in commemorating the parade?s 175th anniversary.?
She said several years of intensive research into old newspapers and archives revealed that the public celebration of St. Patrick?s Day in Cleveland ?has a longer history than we once thought.? Lynch said researchers checked scanned copies of The Plain Dealer that date back to 1845, 19th century membership rosters from the Ancient Order of Hibernians that are housed at Western Reserve Historical Society, and books of minutes from a group called the Irish Literary and Benevolent Association that are part of Cleveland Public Library?s Special Collections, as well as the diocesan archives.
Margaret said William Manning, a telegraph operator, kept a diary 1867-1873 that references events in the Irish community. In 1903, he wrote a history of St. Patrick Parish on Bridge Avenue in Cleveland describing early St. Patrick?s Day celebrations. The parish was established in 1853 and served a predominantly Irish population in its early years. Also, documents from Raymond ?Rip? Reilly, a longtime parade director and publicist, that are stored at WRHS provided additional information.
One thing has remained constant through the years: St. Patrick?s Day observances begin with Mass for many people.
The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, which has stood at the corner of East Ninth Street and Superior Avenue since 1852, was the location for many early St. Patrick?s Day Masses, Margaret said.
