President Biden joins with Ireland PM and Americans to celebrate ‘bond’ between two countries and revel in St. Patrick’s Day fun

President Joe Biden celebrated his Irish heritage and hosted a Saint Patrick’s Day brunch at the White House with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar – as the two joined millions of people in the US to celebrate the holiday.

Biden and Varadkar were joined by Catholic Church leaders and about 200 guests to dine on a menu of traditional Irish dishes including colcannon, Irish soda bread, eggs Florentine and bacon. KYMA.

The president used a cheat sheet when he welcomed Varadkar on Friday. He was pictured holding a note card with a pronunciation guide on how to pronounce the name of the Irish leader’s title, ‘Taoiseach’.

During his brunch speech, Biden said, “You know this has always been a special day for the Biden family and the Biden household. It’s not just about heritage, but it’s really about faith.

“So much of it being Irish means I’m connected to the Catholic teachings I grew up with. As long as you live, you have a duty to strive. And you’re not done until you’ve seen the face of God. So keep moving.’

“That was really her expression. And that faith inspired generations of Irish to persevere, even in the face of enormous adversity, and to convince millions of Irish immigrants, including my ancestors, many of you here, here today, to leave your beloved homeland and start a new life in America . Biden said.

Biden made his first trip as president to his ancestral homeland last spring and said he hoped to return the hospitality shown to him there to Varadkar.

People across the United States began celebrating the Irish holiday early Saturday during several major St. Patrick’s Day parades and celebrations.

The annual celebration of Ireland’s patron saint is traditionally held on March 17, but as it fell on a Sunday this year, the celebrations started early.

New York City held its St. Patrick’s Day parade for the 263rd year, with 150,000 people marching through 35 blocks of Fifth Avenue and 2 million watching from the streets or on TV on Saturday.

Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams joined the crowd and the parade was led by Grand Marshal Margaret Timoney, CEO of Heineken USA and of Irish descent.

Jim Fanucane, Mayor of Kerry County, Ireland, attended the parade and narrated CBS New York: ‘It is a special honor to be here. That bond between the Irish and the Americans is very important to us in Ireland.’

The parade has been held since 1762 – 14 years before the US gained independence – and the first reference to the holiday being celebrated in the city was in 1756.

‘I think this parade means a lot to the city. Not just Irish Americans, but the entire city, the entire melting pot,” said Bridget O’Brien, part of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee. WABC.

“It’s a welcoming, open community where anyone can come and celebrate with us.”

After the parade, New Yorkers headed to their favorite Irish pubs to keep the festivities going.

Crowds of people were seen wearing green beaded necklaces and shamrock-shaped sunglasses as they enjoyed themselves in bars and drank beer. Others wore traditional Irish kilts, wore Irish flag sashes and scarves and some dressed up as leprechauns.

Photos show a group of young women laughing with New York City police officers as they look into their patrol car.

In Chicago, thousands of people gathered along the Chicago River to watch local plumber boats turn the water green on Saturday.

The Windy City held two additional parades on Saturday, one on the south side of the city and one on the northwest side.

‘It’s a tradition. It is also a huge economic driver in the area. Not just for bars and restaurants, but for local businesses, fixing up your house, getting paint, things like that,” said Marianne Rowan Leslie, president of the South Side Irish Parade. WGN.

To the south, in Savannah, Georgia, another very old parade took place, reportedly entering its 200th year, with 300 entries marching through the city’s Old Town.

For some, the party started at 7am, with locals sharing their first beer and breaking open earlier than almost any other day of the year.

In Oklahoma City, hundreds of people lined the streets of Stockyard City – the nation’s largest cattle station – for a parade featuring buckhorn cattle, clowns and a man dressed as St. Patrick.

‘We are all very excited. It’s our 15th celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day,” said Katie McCormick, bar manager at McNellie’s Pub in Oklahoma City KOCO.

‘We expect more than 100,000 people through the pub and the neighborhood party. It is without a doubt the most important day of the year for us.’

In San Francisco, partygoers in dark green T-shirts and lime green feather boas watched bands, floats and buses during the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade.

‘This is San Francisco. Chinese, Irish and Latinos have been walking arm in arm in this beautiful city of ours for 150 years,” parade organizer James Quinn of the United Irish Societies told the newspaper. San Francisco Chronicle.

‘Everyone here came from somewhere. We have to help people, unite. This is a great place to live, grow up and raise children.”