South Side Irish

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

South Side Irish is the term that refers to the large Irish-American community on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois.

1 South Side Irish Parade
2 South Side Irish Song
3 Notable South Side Irish People
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] South Side Irish Parade

The South Side Irish Parade is the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. The South Side Irish Parade originally started in the early 1950s. The original parade route was on 79th Street from Ashland Avenue to Halsted Avenue in the St. Sabina Parish in Auburn Gresham. The year after Richard J. Daley was elected mayor in 1955, he brought the St. Patrick's Day Parade downtown and the South Side parade ended in 1960. In 1979, families on the 109th block of S. Washtenaw and Talman streets (known forever in parade lore as the "Wee Folks of Washtenaw and Talman") began their own parade, simply marching around the block. The South Side Irish Parade has grown since then and moved to its current route, down Western Avenue from 103rd Street to 115th Street through the Beverly and Morgan Park neighborhoods, in 1981. The parade, held on the Sunday before St. Patrick's Day every year, is considered to be one of the largest St. Patrick's Day community celebrations outside of Ireland. The 2007 parade will be their 29th annual parade. Of the two Chicago parades, the other being in downtown, it is the more ruckus occasion. Some interesting facts about this song is that the South Shore neighborhood, St. Sabina, St. Kilian's, St. Gall, St. Leo, Visitation, and Little Flower, are now all African-American areas and have been for at least 30 years.

[edit] South Side Irish Song

We're the Windy City Irish-where the good times are the best
Where every day is Paddy's Day and everyone's a guest
If you're Irish on the North Side or Irish on the West
Welcome to the South Side come join our Irish Fest!

Chorus We're the South Side Irish as our fathers were before
We come from the Windy City and we're Irish to the core
From Bridgeport to Beverly from Midway to South Shore
We're the South Side Irish-Let's sing it out once more!

Our parents came from Mayo, from Cork and Donegal.
We come from Sabina, St. Kilian's and St. Gall
St. Leo, Visitation, Little Flower and the rest.
The South Side parishes are mighty-they're the best!
Chorus

We live on the South Side-Mayor Daley lived here too
The Greatest Irish Leader that Chicago ever knew
and he was always so proud of his South Side Irish roots!
So here's to His Honor to his memory we'll be true.
Chorus

We sing the songs our fathers sang when they were growing up
Rebel songs of Erin's Isle in the South Side Irish Pubs
and when it comes to baseball-we have two favorite clubs
The Go-Go White Sox... and whoever plays the Cubs!