Taoiseach Micheál Martin has praised the energy and strength of the Irish-American community in Philadelphia after participating in the city’s St Patrick’s Day parade as a guest of honour, reports Breaking News.
Mr Martin was welcomed by US Congressman Brendan Boyle at the start of the parade route on Sunday morning before joining other VIP guests to walk in the procession alongside his wife Mary, greeting spectators who lined the streets to celebrate the Irish contribution over the 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, reports Breaking News.
The parade itself predates the United States, taking place for the 255th time in 2026, with crowds estimated to number in the tens of thousands.
Along the route, the Taoiseach greeted many supporters and also stopped to sample products at a Kerrygold stand, reports Breaking News.
Mr Martin later stepped away from the main parade at Independence Hall, where he was given a tour of the historic building that includes the room where most delegates formally signed the Declaration of Independence on 2 August 1776.
Mr Boyle said he was “proud and honoured to have my friend the Taoiseach Micheál Martin” attend the Philadelphia parade, describing the city as the “birthplace of the US” and noting that St Patrick’s Day is a special occasion for people of Irish heritage – or those who wish they were – adding: “We are all Irish today”, reports Breaking News.
He presented Mr Martin with a congressional record statement that had been entered into the House of Representatives record a few days earlier, commemorating the role Irish Americans played in securing US independence.
“When you think of those years, and how unlikely American independence was, we can be proud that so many of Irish birth and Irish descent played a role in making the American revolution a success, lest anyone think I am exaggerating about the role of Irish Americans in achieving American independence, when the war was over in 1783, Lord Mountjoy, in front of Parliament, complained, ‘we just lost America because of the Irish’.
“His complaint is my proud boast,” reports Breaking News.
Responding, Mr Martin said the visit held special meaning for him as someone with a deep interest in history, particularly given the significance of the location.
“In particular, this visit this year is recognising the extraordinary contribution of the Irish to American independence, and over the last two days, a lot has been revealed to us, you can read so much in the history books, but you have to walk the streets of those great people who created, not just a template for American independence, but lit a flame that really lit up the rest of the world, that created other self determination movements across the world, and of course in our own country, the 1916 Proclamation, which takes inspiration from the ideals of the American Declaration of Independence.
“It reaffirms the connection and the relationship between the United States and Ireland, it’s foundational and it’s historic,” reports Breaking News.
Both men also laid a wreath at the base of a statue of Commodore John Barry, the US naval commander originally from Co Wexford who is celebrated for capturing British ships during battles at sea in the American Revolution and is widely regarded as the father of the American Navy.
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