Irish-Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day

BOSTON - Gaelic cheer and patriotic pride mixed together Sunday as Irish-Americans celebrated their heritage and heroes on St. Patrick&#39;s Day.<br> <br> Boston parade marchers waived Irish flags and donned NYPD hats, honoring the police officers and firefighters who died in the World Trade Center attacks.<br> <br> &#34;Every year we all get together for the parade but this year, we&#39;re here for the New York firefighters too,&#34; said Sue Morrissey, whose brother and husband are Boston-area firefighters.<br> <br> Spectators lined the sidewalks wearing shamrock sunglasses, green hats and - in some cases - green hair. Some 23 percent of Boston residents report Irish ancestry - the highest percentage in the nation according to the census.<br> <br> &#34;I just really like seeing the police officers having such a good time,&#34; said Dean Maki Maki, of Hull, Mass., who attended the parade with his wife and son.<br> <br> Festivities began with the annual South Boston political breakfast, where politicians skewer each other to the delight of a raucous crowd packed in the ironworkers union hall.<br> <br> The green-clad crowd was surprised when President Bush called in.<br> <br> &#34;This is a fabulous country,&#34; Bush said. &#34;We&#39;re lucky to be Americans.&#34;<br> <br> In Kansas City, Mo., the official theme of the parade was &#34;There&#39;s no Place Like Home.&#34; The unofficial theme, however, was patriotism.<br> <br> A contingent of New York police, firefighters and Port Authority officers walked in the parade as special guests. An estimated 300,000 people were on hand to cheer them on.<br> <br> About a half-mile into the 2-mile parade route, a group of friends stood on the sidewalk, drinking beer and trying to make sure all passers-by were wearing green.<br> <br> &#34;If it&#39;s not going to be green, it had better be red, white and blue,&#34; said Adam Schwery, 21, of Overland Park, Kan.<br> <br> Despite the somber overtones, Lynne Greenamyre said, St. Patrick&#39;s day is still one big party.<br> <br> &#34;You can&#39;t pass it up when a conservative town like Kansas City allows it patrons to carry around open containers, and when normally whitewashed citizens paint their hair green, put tinsel on their heads and stagger downtown with their children in tow,&#34; said Greenamyre.<br> <br> Following Saturday&#39;s march down Fifth Ave., New York City celebrated again Sunday with two small St. Patrick&#39;s Day Parades in Staten Island and Brooklyn.<br> <br> Before joining in the Brooklyn parade, Mayor Michael Bloomberg laid a wreath in front of Park Slope&#39;s Squad Co. 1, a fire house that lost 12 members on Sept. 11.<br> <br> &#34;This year&#39;s parade is a tribute to our city&#39;s uniformed services,&#34; Bloomberg said. &#34;They made the supreme sacrifice in saving thousands of lives on Sept. 11.&#34;<br> <br> In Philadelphia, bagpipers played &#34;God Bless America&#34; while marchers hoisted the Stars and Stripes during the St. Patrick&#39;s Day parade.<br> <br> Hundreds braved dismal weather to line the streets as marching bands, dancers, school and church groups, beauty queens, and police, fire and military units filed past.<br> <br> Organizers called the 51st annual event, dedicated to the fallen heroes of Sept. 11, the largest St. Patrick&#39;s Day parade in Philadelphia history, with thousands of marchers representing 150 groups. <br> <br>

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