Celebrating his Irish heritage, President Joe Biden hosted a Saint Patrick’s Day brunch at the White House with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar — as the two joined millions across the United States celebrating 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, eggs Florentine and bacon, reported CYMA.
The President had a cheat sheet when he welcomed Varadkar on Friday. He was pictured holding a note card with a pronunciation guide on how to say 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 being Irish means being connected to the Catholic teaching that I grew up with. As long as you’re alive, you have an obligation to strive for. And you’re not done until you’ve seen God’s face. So keep moving.’
President Joe Biden celebrated his Irish heritage and hosted a Saint Patrick’s Day brunch at the White House
The North Lawn fountain is colored green for St. Patrick’s Day
Biden invited Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar (right), leaders of the Catholic Church and about 200 guests to celebrate the holiday
‘That was her expression in reality. And that faith inspired generations of the Irish to carry on even in the face of tremendous setbacks and to convince millions of Irish immigrants including my ancestors, many of you here, here today to leave their beloved homeland and start a new life in America, ‘ said Biden.
Biden made a trip to his ancestral homeland for the first time as president 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 at several large St. Patrick’s Day parades and parties.
The annual celebration of Ireland’s patron saint is traditionally held on March 17, but as it was on a Sunday this year, the party started early.
New York City held its St. Patrick’s Day parade for the 263rd year with 150,000 people marching 35 blocks of Fifth Avenue and 2 million watching from the street or on television on Saturday.
Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams joined the crowds and the parade was led by Grand Marshal Margaret Timoney, CEO of Heineken USA and Irish native.
Jim Fanucane, Mayor of Kerry County, Ireland, attended the parade and spoke CBS New York: ‘It is a special honor to be asked to be here. That bond between the Irish and the Americans is, it’s very important to us in Ireland.’
The parade has been held since 1762 – 14 years before the United States gained its independence – and the first reference to the holiday being celebrated in the city was in 1756.
‘This parade means, I think, so much to the city. Not just Irish Americans, but the whole city, the whole melting pot,” said Bridget O’Brien, part of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee. WABC.
‘It’s a welcoming, open community for everyone to come and celebrate with us.’
Photos show a group of young women smiling alongside NYPD officers as they peer into their patrol car
Lots of people wearing green beaded necklaces and shamrock shaped sunglasses were seen enjoying themselves at bars and drinking beer
After the parade, New Yorkers headed to their favorite Irish pubs to keep the festivities going
After the parade, New Yorkers headed to their favorite Irish pubs to keep the festivities going.
Lots of people wearing green beaded necklaces and shamrock sunglasses were seen enjoying themselves in bars and drinking beer. Others wore traditional Irish kilts, wore Irish flagpoles and scarves and some dressed as leprechauns.
Photos show a group of young women smiling alongside NYPD officers as they peer into their patrol car.
In Chicago, thousands of people gathered along the Chicago River to watch local plumbers union boats turn the water green on Saturday.
The Windy City held two additional parades Saturday, one on the city’s south side and one on the northwest side.
‘It is a tradition. It is also a major economic driver in the neighborhood. Not just for bars and restaurants, but for local businesses, sprucing up your house, getting paint, things like that,” said Marianne Rowan Leslie, president of the South Side Irish Parade. WGN.
Down south, in Savannah, Georgia, another very old parade took place, claiming to be in its 200th year, with 300 entries marching through the city’s Old Town.
The party started at 7 for some, with locals sharing their first beer opening earlier than almost any other day of the year.
In Chicago, thousands of people gathered along the Chicago River to watch local plumbers union boats turn the water green
Children watch the annual Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday
In Oklahoma City, hundreds lined the streets of Stockyard City — the nation’s largest warehouse operation — for a parade featuring longhorn cattle, clowns and a man dressed as St. Patrick.
‘We are all really excited. This is our 15th Saint Patrick’s Day celebration, said Katie McCormick, McNellie’s Pub bar manager in Oklahoma City. COCONUT.
‘We expect up to 100,000 people to come through the pub and the block party. It’s easily the biggest day of the year for us.’
In San Francisco, revelers wearing dark green T-shirts and lime green feather boa bands, floats and buses saw the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
‘This is San Francisco. Chinese, Irish and Latinos have walked arm in arm for 150 years in this fine city, says parade organizer James Quinn of the United Irish Societies. San Francisco Chronicle.
‘Everyone here came from somewhere. We have to help people out, to unite. This is a great place to live, to grow up, to raise children.’