Officials Urge Respectful Behavior Ahead of South Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade
In other words, no shenanigans.
With the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade coming up on Sunday, local and state leaders are reminding visitors to celebrate responsibly this year.
According to the Boston Globe, officials recently sent a letter to local schools, colleges, and universities asking them to encourage students to behave respectfully during parade weekend and avoid the kind of disruptive behavior that made headlines in recent years.
The parade draws hundreds of thousands of people to South Boston every year, making it one of the largest events held in a residential neighborhood in the city. But leaders say last year’s celebration saw issues with public drinking, fights, overcrowded roof decks, and other incidents that negatively impacted residents.
Back in 2024 and 2025, there were several violent assaults, public drinking and fighting, and on parade day, a task force was created by City Councilor Ed Flynn, Senator Nick Collins, and other elected and public safety officials and parade organizers to make the parade safer and more family-friendly, in addition to quality of life issues in the neighborhood. Here is our recap from the 2024 parade, and you can read about the trouble at the 2025 parade here.
City and state officials emphasized that parade day should be about honoring Irish heritage and the neighborhood’s strong veterans community, not turning Southie into a giant party.
Police, fire officials, and licensing authorities are expected to have an increased presence throughout the day, with a focus on preventing underage drinking, enforcing safety rules on roof decks, and maintaining order along the parade route.
As always, the message from neighborhood leaders is simple: come celebrate, enjoy the parade — and remember you’re visiting someone’s neighborhood. Nobody likes a jerk. ☘️
You can read the letter below:
Letter to Prez McCarron & Director Bourque
PS here’s a video that we recorded 7 years ago for NBC10 Boston – Parade Day Dos + Don’ts – keep in mind this year, the parade is going in reverse direction for the 250th Birthday of America and update – there are SOME portapotties on the route now.
