Crowds brave cold afternoon to celebrate the South Side Irish - Chicago Tribune

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Orland Hills resident Ed Smith remembers a time when his father, also named Ed, marched as a fireman in the downtown Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

So he wasn’t going to let some snow and cold weather stop him from showing up Sunday to the South Side Irish Parade to see his son, also named Ed, march with other Chicago fire cadets.

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He brought his grandchildren Gianna, Jayce and Sophia and got to 103rd Street and Western Avenue early enough to get a front row viewing area.

“Nothing stops us,” Smith said. “We’re here to celebrate the Irish. I’ve been coming to this since I was a kid. I grew up in Mount Greenwood.”

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Ed Smith and his grandchildren plus Megan Shaw and her children were early arrivals for the South Side Irish Parade. (Jeff Vorva / Daily Southtown)

The weather may have stopped some people as there were a few spots along the Western Avenue route that were thinner than usual. Organizers estimated the crowd at 75,000, lower than in pre-pandemic times.

But those who were there appeared to have a lot of fun.

Oak Park’s Megan Shaw brought her children, Oscar and Francis, for the second straight year.

Shaw, originally from Oklahoma, went to a St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin in 2004 and compared it with the South Side Irish event.

“This is better,” she said. “People are a little more tough and excited about this parade. You only get one chance. We take it seriously. We loved it so much last year that we had to come back again.”

The weather didn’t bother her at all.

“We don’t mind because we are strong Chicagoans,” she said. “We love this parade, and we have to honor our Irish heritage. The kids are half Indian and half Irish and this is my time to get my culture in.”

For the first time since 2020, there is a new parade queen.

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Nora Doyle, 23, earned the honor in February and took over for Bailey O’Connell who, due to COVID-19 canceling two parades, was the queen in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

South Side Irish Parade Queen Nora Doyle needs her mittens to wave to the crown during Sunday’s cold parade. (Jeff Vorva / Daily Southtown)

Doyle is a Morgan Park native who said she never entered a contest like this but thought it would be fun. She is a longtime parade participant dancing for Cross Keys Dance Academy, where she now teaches.

“I’ve seen the queens at the parades in the past and thought it would be great to be like them,” Doyle said. “But I never thought it would happen to me.”

The grand marshal honor went to the chaplains of Chicago’s police and fire departments.

The Rev. Daniel Brandt, representing the police chaplains, said he was honored his ministry was chosen.

Brandt has been a chaplain for 12 years but got his feet wet doing it on occasion for seven years prior, when the Rev. Tom Nangle was not available.

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“He couldn’t make a wake and I took it for him,” Brandt said. “The relationship continued on and I helped him here or there when he had a day off or needed a vacation.”

Police chaplains see a lot of heartbreak and misery and try to be as upbeat and positive as they can.

Recently fallen officer Andrés Mauricio Vásquez Lasso is honored by the police and fire chaplains, who were grand marshals. (Jeff Vorva / Daily Southtown)

“Our officers see more evil in one day than most people get to see in their lifetime,” Brandt said. “That wears on them and vicariously we experience some of that, too.

“Thank God we have the resources within and outside the department to help folks process it.”

Fire Department Chaplain Bill McFarlane has been doing it for two years.

“We see a lot of bad things and that’s an unfortunate part of the job,” McFarlane said. “We knew what we were getting into. But it’s important to be there for the families who are going through their problems.”

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He said he likes those periods when it is not busy because that means there has been no tragedies.

McFarlane has also worked as a bartender and 911 operator.

“When you are a bartender, you hear some confessions,” he said.

A man dressed a leprechaun lets the crowd know the parade is coming. (Jeff Vorva / Daily Southtown)

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The Beverly Area Planning Association, celebrating its 75th anniversary, was the honoree at the parade.

Some of the 100-plus entries in the parade included IHSA Class 7A state football champion Mount Carmel.

There was also an entry supporting officer Danny Golden, who was left paralyzed from the waist down following a July 8 shooting in the Beverly community.

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And, of course, politics. Before the parade, Ald. Matt O’Shea, 19th, announced he was endorsing former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas for mayor.

Both O’Shea and Vallas discussed the importance of public safety, with Vallas saying, “There are many issues in this campaign, but there is no greater issue than public safety. ... and it’s the government’s fundamental responsibility to make sure that all communities are safe and secure.”

Mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson did not attend the parade.

Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. Chicago Tribune reporter Alice Yin contributed.

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