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An early St. Patrick’s Day parade Saturday afternoon will mark Ottawa’s first such parade since 2019.<\/p>\n
Starting at noon Saturday outside the Supreme Court, it will travel east on Wellington Street before turning left on Sussex Drive and finishing on York Street in the ByWard Market around 1:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
Prior parades went from city hall to Lansdowne Park.<\/p>\n
Tom O\u2019Neill, president of the Irish Society of the National Capital Region, said the new route passes straight through the heart of Ottawa\u2019s Irish history.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose Parliament buildings were built by the Irish, the canal was dug by the Irish and they lived in the ByWard Market,\u201d O\u2019Neill said.<\/p>\n
He said this year\u2019s parade will include descendents of the Irish immigrants who helped construct the Rideau Canal. <\/p>\n
Prior to the parade, members of the city\u2019s Irish community will pour non-alcoholic Guinness into the canal Friday afternoon in honour of the builders.<\/p>\n
6-year gap<\/p>\n
COVID-19 cancelled the 2020, 2021 and 2022 parades. In 2023<\/a> the society said it couldn’t raise enough money to match rising costs, in 2024<\/a> the city said the society didn’t get its permit in order in time and last year<\/a> the society blamed new parade rules.<\/p>\n This year’s parade is being supported by a fundraising campaign, including a run along the route just before the parade.<\/p>\n For members of the local Irish community, the parade’s return is another step in the group’s evolving relationship with the city. <\/p>\n Last spring, the city designated a section of the ByWard Market as an official \u201cIrish Village.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere are several family crests that will be walking in the parade and just kind of representing Irish immigrants,\u201d said Shauna Bradley, CEO of the Heart & Crown Irish Pubs in Ottawa, and a past president of the Irish society.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bradley, who grew up in Ottawa, said she recalls being in the parade as a child and was part of the push to bring it back. <\/p>\n Saturday’s celebration will include roughly 50 floats and roughly 800 people walking in the parade, according to O\u2019Neill. In future parades, he hopes to have the centre line on Wellington Street painted green.<\/p>\n Wellington Street will be closed between Kent Street and Sussex Drive from about 10:45 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to the city<\/a>. Sussex closes up to York Street from 12:30 until 2 p.m. and York closes between William and Dalhousie streets from 12:30 until 3 p.m.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772820913_476_default.jpg\")
Someone plays a flute near Parliament Hill on St. Patrick’s Day 2021. (Brian Morris\/CBC)<\/p>\n