ST. LOUIS — To recognize the anniversary of the first Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) Saint Patrick's Day Parade the organizers are honoring the guys that made it all happen 40 years ago.
Three remaining founders of the parade, Jim Sheerin, Tim Wiese, and Jim Mohan, will be honored as Grand Marshals.
"I'm proud of what we accomplished. We set out to have a parade celebrating Irish heritage, history, and culture. We've done that," said Jim Mohan.
Mohan has led the parade's communications and public relations since the beginning. He joined the AOH thanks to an invite from his fellow Grand Marshal, Tim Weise.
The parade was originally held in Clayton and then Hazelwood until the AOH decided to move it to the original Irish neighborhood in Dogtown.
"The third year, which was the first year in Dogtown, you could walk up the street and hardly see anybody on the side. You'd have a big crowd in front of Seamus, you'd have a nice big crowd in front of Pat's place. Nice crowd in front of the church, but all in between it'd be almost empty, and now it's packed," Weise said.
That growth can be credited to the original 25 founders who put in the work to create one of the premiere events in the City of St. Louis.
"It's nice to walk up and down a route and see all the people who have been in the parade for years," Sheerin said.
But what comes next is what matters.
"We want to go another 20 generations and the only way to do that is to let new people come in take over and you know, support them as we can help them when we can but get out of the way and let them run the parade. We represent the 25 people that invested their time and efforts to get this parade launched, and it's been a labor of love for 40 years," Mohan said.
The three Grand Marshals hope to see the next generation take over and continue the tradition of celebrating Irish Heritage in our city.
The Dogtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade gets underway Sunday, March 17, at 11 a.m. 5 On Your Side will be streaming the event live on 5+.
Want more local lifestyle news delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the Show Me newsletter.