Dublin prepares for annual St. Patrick's Day parade despite weather concerns
DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) — The greenest and grandest parade of the year is back. The city of Dublin has been preparing for its annual St. Patrick's Day parade for months.
The City of Dublin's St. Patrick's Day preparations are in full swing. However, the weather is not shaping up to be as nice as it was this week. The parade typically happens rain or shine, but event organizers say they've been monitoring the weather all week and that safety is their top priority.
'St Patrick's Day in Dublin really is a tradition, and people come from all over the region to it. We've got, actually, tour buses coming in tomorrow, and it's just really a great place for families to get together,' said Alison LeRoy, the director of events for the City of Dublin.
The parade in Dublin originally started in the 80s.
'In 1980, a DJ from New York called our mayor and asked what we were doing for St Patrick's Day in Dublin. The mayor was so upset at the time that we weren't doing anything that in 1981, we started a whole bunch of celebrations, you know, to make sure that we were celebrating in Dublin,' said LeRoy.
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Since then, the parade has grown every year. Before the parade is the pancake breakfast at Sells Middle School, and it runs right up until the parade is set to begin at 11 a.m.
'We usually get about 15,000 people. Kind of depends on the weather, of course,' said LeRoy.
LeRoy says that they'll be keeping a close eye on the weather leading into the parade, as thunderstorms are on the way. However, LeRoy is hopeful the weather will cooperate enough for people to enjoy a nearly 2-hour-long parade.
'Over in Ireland, they call a misty like stream of rain, they call it a soft day. So that's what we're hoping for tomorrow. Feel really like we're in Ireland, just have a little bit of rain tomorrow and then clear up for the parade,' said LeRoy.
NBC4 spoke with quite a few people to see if they'd be going to the parade tomorrow. Most of them told me that it depends on the weather, but regardless, they're looking forward to it.
'They always have like tons of people, everyone's really excited. There's lots of local businesses, everybody's, you know, cheering. You know, we love seeing the big balloons and firetrucks and everything that comes through,' said Dublin resident Kayla Tober.
So far, LeRoy says they've already decided not to use helium balloons since they can't fly in winds over 25 miles per hour. Following the parade is the annual pub crawl. LeRoy says if you're planning on heading to Dublin, make sure you have plans in place to get home safely when the weather gets extreme.
'There's definitely spots along the parade route that they can take shelter in,' she said.
The city is partnering with Lyft to make sure you don't drink and drive. They have a discount code that is good now through the 17th. If you're interested, click here.
The roads will start to close at 8 a.m. Travel impacts can be found here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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