2014 NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade: Date, Time, Venue, History

In this Mar. 16, 2013, file photo, members of the New York City Fire Department's Emerald Society Pipes and Drums make their way up New York's Fifth Avenue as they take part in the St. Patrick's Day Parade. New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014, that the council won't have an official presence at the 2014 St. Patrick's Day Parade because of rules by the parade's organizers that prevent gay and lesbian groups from identifying themselves while marching. AP Photo/Tina Fineberg, File

The 2014 New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade is set for Monday, March 17, at 11 a.m. local time.

The Parade will start at 44^th Street, and will proceed up Fifth Avenue past St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 50^th Street, 79^th Street, and the Irish Historical Society.

The Parade is expected to finish anywhere between 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Parade Grand Marshall for 2014 is John T. Ahern, Business Manager and Financial Secretary of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 30.

Reviewing the parade is Archbishop of New York Timothy Cardinal Dolan.

With a history of more than 250 years, the NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade is the United States’s oldest Irish tradition.

The first parade was held in 1762, when shamrock-wearing Irish soldiers serving in the British military marched through Lower Broadway. It became tradition for a unit of soldiers to escort the parade ever since.

Later parades would march past the Old Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Greenwich Village, Lower Manhattan, and were reviewed by the Archbishop of New York.

Every year, about 150,000 to 200,000 people march in the parade, with approximately 2 million spectators lining 5^th Avenue.

The 2002 parade is the biggest to date, with 300,000 participants and 3 millions spectators.