“Pittsburgh has the most concentrated population of Irish descent in the USA!” I’ve heard this sentiment many times from Uber and Lyft drivers after we began chatting. I’m not sure just how statistically true that declaration is, but if you look at the statistics from Pittsburgh’s St Patrick’s Day parade, you can easily see that it ranks as one of the greenest cities in the USA.

As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recounts, the St Patrick’s Day parade has been a staple of the city since 1869 with over 25,000 people participating, including dignitaries, pipe bands, Irish dancers, high school bands and members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Remember, 25,000 was just the figure for parade participants; 350,000 people show up to spectate and revel in the jolly, green atmosphere!

So beloved is the Irish heritage of the city that in 1991 a Pittsburgh Irish Festival was launched, which is held every September – exactly six months after St Patrick’s Day. In fact, in its inaugural year it booked Irish music legend Tommy Makem, and now more than 25,000 people attend annually. As the appetite for Irish culture grew, the Irish festival developed the Pittsburgh Irish Partnership; a nonprofit that holds outreach events and lectures to promote Irish culture.

This Partnership may be particularly interesting for Northern Slant readers as it now works with the Friends of St. Patrick. This is a chapter of a Northern-Ireland based service organisation which aims to promote peace and reconciliation.

Speaking of Pittsburghers enthusiasm for the Irish, the president of this Northern Irish chapter said, “there’s something about the Irish themselves… They are very open people, they are very welcoming people, and Pittsburgh certainly has that tradition.” This Northern Irish transplant to the ‘burgh couldn’t agree more!