South Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade starting early to curb ‘tomfoolery’

Kiss me, I’m Irish! – but you better behave.

Boston officials are hoping an earlier start time for this year’s iconic South Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade will tamp down on the “tomfoolery.”

The two-for-one celebration – a St. Patrick’s Day and Evacuation Day parade – is slated to kick off at 11:30 a.m. local time on Sunday, March 16. That’s an hour-and-a-half earlier than past years as politicians and parade organizers attempt to prevent bad behavior from revelers.

“The parade will be starting earlier this year in an attempt to get a better handle on the tomfoolery,” state Sen. Nick Collins said in a statement to local outlet, the Dorchester Reporter. “Last year, there were regrettable moments at the parade that we don’t want to see repeated this time around.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Collins, as well as City Councilor Ed Flynn, both of whom called for reforms to the parade after chaos ensued last year. 

“Operate under the golden rule, and if you wouldn’t do it back home – don’t do it here,” Flynn, a retired U.S. Navy veteran that served during Operation Enduring Freedom, told Fox News Digital.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox shared a similar message.

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“We ask anyone coming to treat this event, and the neighborhood, as if it was your home,” Cox said. “Boston is a welcoming city, but the fact is, we do not welcome unruly and unlawful behavior.”

“This is a family-friendly event. This is not a drinking fest,” Cox continued.

Cox said all liquor stores in South Boston will close at 4 p.m., taverns and restaurants will stop admitting people at 6 p.m. and they’ll stop serving alcohol at 7 p.m.

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Cox warned parents that children and teens should be accompanied, or not attend at all. 

“It’s not Mardi Gras, and it’s not meant to be that way,” Boston EMS Chief James Hooley said at the press conference.

South Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is one of the largest in the United States. Last year’s parade drew about a million people. 

Hooley said the parade was “not as well-behaved last year” and it was particularly driven by “young, intoxicated people in general and the fighting associated with it.”

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Multiple people were arrested at last year’s parade, according to local outlet Boston 25 News. Issues included disturbing incidents of violence, assaults that went viral, people on rooftops without a roof deck, and beer cans being thrown at parade marchers, the outlet reported.

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“If you are a guest, or in South Boston for the Evacuation Day Parade – show some common courtesy and respect for the residents, for our veterans and military families, our dedicated first responders, and our history,” Flynn said.

The parade is also a celebration of Evacuation Day – the evacuation of British troops from Boston on March 17, 1776.