Dundalk St. Patrick’s Day Parade returns

Sunny weather shined on Dundalk’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade last Saturday, March 16, as waves of green, tartan kilts, bagpipe music, and the sound of McShane bells filled the neighborhood with Irish pride.

It was a welcome return for the celebration, which braved 40-degree weather last March. In 2022, snow forced the organizers to cancel — but the tradition remains alive and well.

The local St. Patrick’s Day Parade was originally started by Lil Tirschman and Bill Thorpe, but is now organized by the Greater Dundalk Chamber of Commerce. Celebrating Dundalk’s uniquely Irish history, this year’s parade included the Baltimore City Pipe Band in traditional dress, community groups riding decorated floats, and a real representative from the Emerald Isle. Christopher Morash, an attaché from the Embassy of Ireland, rode in a place of honor along with Maryanne McShane.

As usual, the McShane family led the parade with a pair of huge antique bells from the old McShane Bell Foundry in tow.

‘Dundalk’s Founding Family,’ the McShanes are descended from Henry McShane, an Irish immigrant who established the foundry in 1895. When a railroad depot was built in the area, McShane named it Dundalk after his birthplace in County Louth, Ireland — and the rest is history.