Cindy O’Brien, and Her Husband, Joe, Watched the Parade from a Window Seat at Gilbert’s Chowder House on Commercial Street, Portland.

The Wearin’ of the Green Dominated the Parade This Afternoon in Portland – Under Blue Skies.

The Colorful Iish Flag Dominated the Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade This Afternoon Along the Portland Waterfront on Commercial Street.

There was a Long Line Outside of RiRa Irish Pub, Commercial Street, Most of the Afternoon.  According to a Security Guard, the Popular Pub has Seating for 369 People, making the Waot a Short Ona  It has a “Limited” Menu.

“We’ve started a tradition here.  We’ve come to Gilbert’s Chowder House for the past three years,” said Cindy O’Brien this afternoon.   She and her husband Joe were watching the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade from a window tabfe following their drive up from Wrenham, Massachusetts this morning.  Cindy said she is “Irish by marriage”; she comes from an English background.

When asked how does this year’s Parade compare to last year’s, Cindy acknowledged that this is the first Parade we’ve seen.  “I guess that we usually arrive in Portland too late to see the Parade,  But we come here because we really like the clam chowder they serve here.”  Gilbert’s, at 92 Commercial Street, is well-known for its chowders and for its full-menu – with an emphasis on seafood.

“This is like a homecoming for me,” said Joe who was sitting across the small table from Cindy.  “I’m from Freeport, just up the roed.”  He said that when the two leave Gilbert’s, they would go down to Three Dollar Deweys, 241 Commercial Street,  for a pint before returning home to Massachusetts.

With the closure of three of Portland’s popular Irish pubs in recent years, RiRa Irish Pub. the headquarters for all things Irish, may have been busier than usual. A security employee at the popular Irish Pub was unable to confirm that, however.  He did say that RiRa does seat 369 people. The Snug on Munjoy Hill closed late last year after 21 years at 223 Congress Street. It is now a sports bar.   Brian Boru closed in 2019 and the building remains empty.  And ironically Bull Feeney’s closed March 26, of last year – just a year ago.  That popular bar has been repurposed as well.  Whether or not those closures resulted in longer lines at RiRa Irish Pub is unknowable.

As the luck of the Irish would have it, the sun emerged from a rainy sky just moments before noon when the Parade was scheduled to begin.  That improvement in the weather may have accounted for the large crowds with young children that lined the Parade route on Commercial Street  – many of them dressed in Irish bling for the occasion. The sun disappeared again behind rain clouds shortly after the Parade ended almost  an hour later.

The Luck of the Irish on St. Paddy’s Day!

Please visit previous post herein for more information on Munjoy Hill’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration.