It's another grand day for NYC Irish! [NBC-TV NOW!] Historically, The New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade began in 1762 where American Irish could flaunt wearin' of the green, without reprisals from the English. That's before Penal Laws, Easter 1916, and any RCs gleaned the right to vote...almost anywhere! http://www.nycstpatricksparade.org/about.html The original route was in lower Manhattan, closer to the original St. Pat's Cathedral (now Basilica) on Mulberry and Mott Streets. I figured that my earliest arriving Danny O'Connell heard the parade from Chrystie Street as he passed over in 1897.