45th Annual Abington St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Sunday

The never-ending stretch of overcast and rainy weather has the stage set for an authentically Irish St. Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday. 

For the 45th year, St. Patrick will make his way through Abington, celebrating the town’s Irish heritage and bringing thousands to the town’s sidewalks. 

The parade lines up in Abington Center before officially starting at 1 p.m. in St. Patrick’s Square (the intersections of Washington Street and Orange Street). It will make its way down Washington Street, up Adams Street, before finishing in North Abington Center. 

Showers are possible Sunday morning, but parade organizer Jack Bailey says St. Patrick will be ready to go regardless.

“He’s out there no matter what. He’s going to excite the crowd the best he can,” said Bailey, who bears a striking resemblance to the patron saint of Ireland. “He hopes everyone has fun and is yelling and screaming in the right way.”

Bailey is expecting more than 75 groups in this year’s parade, ranging from elected officials and political candidates to local businesses and musical bands. There are 11 bands expected, including traditional fife and drum bands, high school marching bands, a jazz quintet, and a military-style band. 

One new entry this year is the Amazing Grace Equine Rescue, which will show off some of the rescued horses available for adoption. Joe’s Crazzy Critters will also be showing off some of its animals, weather permitting. 

This year’s honorary parade marshal will be Abington Schools Superintendent Peter Schafer, who is retiring at the end of this school year. Bailey said Schafer will be walking the route with his wife and family – the first time a parade marshal has walked the route since John Walsh Sr. in the early 1980s.  

Former Abington HIgh School head football coach Jim Kelliher will also be honored during the parade. Kelliher, who stepped down last November after more than 500 games, 300 victories, and five state titles, will ride the route in a convertible. 

Roads along the parade route will start to shut down to thru traffic around Noon. 

Parade goers can park at Abington High School, or in public spaces on Railroad Street, and walk to the parade route. 

Abington is one of the most Irish towns in the region. According to data from the American Community Survey, Plymouth County is home to the second highest percentage of residents claiming Irish ancestry by county – 28.45 percent – behind only Cape May, New Jersey with 28.65 percent. Within Plymouth County, Abington has the 6th highest concentration of Irish descendents with 36 percent claiming Irish heritage. Hanover tops the list with just under 42 percent; Abington’s onetime south precinct, Whitman, is fifth with 39 percent.   

The first Abington St. Patrick’s Day Parade was held in 1979, featuring Bailey and friends driving around in decorated cars and trucks. It has since evolved into one of the region’s biggest parades. The parade was technically canceled during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, but St. Patrick still made the trip along the parade route to keep the tradition going.