March 11, 2017 was my first year attending the St. Patrick’s day parade downtown Chicago. Many people would think that I would attend the annual dying of the River, watch the parade as they marched down Columbus Drive and then proceed to spend my day walking around the streets of Chicago celebrating with those who hold much pride for their Irish heritage. My experience was the furthest thing from such and much different that of those who usually attend the Parade; I spent March 11th traveling with The Shannon Rovers, an Irish pipe Band, marching in the parade behind the Mayor and going to different bars with this Irish Band spreading pride.
The Shannon Rovers are an Irish Pipe band that travel around the Chicagoland area performing at different venues. Their most recent event was the St. Patrick’s day parade, and I was given the opportunity to travel around town with them performing at different bars and such.
The first performance they had was at St. Michael’s church located in uptown. The band met in the church to practice before their first event of the day, and hearing big pipes for the first time was mesmerizing because the band members had such grace while performing. The band was a mixture of men and women ranging in ages. There were new members in their early 20’s and a handful of people that had been in the band fors 20+ years. Oak Park resident, Katie Iannitelli had been part of the band for twenty-two years. “My first few years in the band, I met a man who said he had been playing for twenty-eight years. My first thought was ‘wow I can’t imagine doing this for that long,’ but here I am, twenty-two years later.” The band is full of vibrant Irish folk who invited me in to spend the day with them.
We traveled by bus in order to get from venue to venue. Our second stop was kitty o’sheas where the band performed for a older crowd in the middle of the bar. There was a pleasant vibe throughout the bar as young and older people sipped their Guinness and danced along with pride. The celebrating didn’t stop there; our joyous bus ride took us to the parade where we saw thousands of people decked on in green, waiting for the parade to begin. The people on the bus were all screaming and tossing around beers much like the “Irish experience” one of them called it. I felt lucky to be a part of this day and to be able to celebrate with such upbeat people who were proud of their culture.
The Shannon Rovers took their positions at the front of the parade and began marching. The members of the band grew as the different sects all met up to perform together at the parade. I was able to march behind them with amazement and I watched the people in the crowd shouting, taking videos and cheering for the parade. After the march Iannitelli took her kids and I down to say hello to Rahm Emanuel who makes his way across the parade each year to say hello to her six year old son. “I bet that beats any parade experience you’ve ever had in the past, huh?” Compared to little experience I had with celebrating St. Patrick’s day, I could easily say it is the best experience I’ve had thus far, but the day wasn’t over for the Shannon Rovers. They still had to perform for four more events; this was going to be a long day.
The bar scenes were pretty much one in the same. As we got to each bar, we socialized with different groups of people. Some of the bars were more family oriented while some were wild and full of young adults drinking to their friend’s cousin’s brothers’ Irish heritage – nonetheless, there were great vibes each place we went. Iannitelli ran into loads of friends as we traveled around the city. “I often run into my friends during the parade and they straggle on the bus and travel with us all day.” I met so many different and interesting people this day; everyone had a smile on their face – much thanks to Guinness I suppose.
The crowds were dying down as late afternoon hit. People were making their way home to get ready for the night celebration. The Shannon Rovers had one last performance at the Hilton Chicago. They ran into another pipe band after their performance and decided to get together and play for the people in the lobby. The band members were excited, “wasn’t that cool? We hardly play with outside bands; we just ran into them and decided to play something together,” Iannitelli voiced with excitement. The band members were then given a two hour break before they were scheduled to perform again. Iannitelli and I decided to grab some dinner with the kids before relaxing. The rest of the night was exhausting for Iannitelli and the band she tells me since I would no longer be joining them for the night performances.
Iannitelli has been a member of the Shannon Rovers for years now, and I can say that I completely understand why. This Irish pipe band allows the members to meet exciting new people, while spreading their Irish culture with the Chicago area. The thrill of traveling of traveling around the streets of Chicago while everyone is filled with such pride and excitement is honestly heartwarming. My experience with them was one for the books; it was a day to remember.
