Silky Sullivan St. Patrick’s Parade
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Beale Street strikes gold with Silky Sullivan St. Patrick’s Parade
Memphis’ historic Home of the Blues hosts 53rd edition of family-friendly St. Patrick’s Day celebration on March 14
The Silky Sullivan St. Patrick’s Parade will return to Memphis’ historic Beale Street for its 53rd edition this year on Saturday, March 14. The free parade kicks off at 2 p.m. and will be followed by the traditional Raising of the Goat at Beale at legendary Beale venue Silky O’Sullivan’s (183 Beale St.) at 5 p.m. Open to the public, spectators are invited to wear green and bring their families to the city’s largest St. Patrick’s parade with bands, cars, dancers, floats, and more.
Traditionally held on the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), the Silky Sullivan St.Patrick’s Day Parade has developed a distinctly Memphis character over its half-century, encompassing a wide array of groups and individuals reflecting the city’s diverse makeup. Organizations that regularly participate include the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department, the Memphis Fire Department, Carnival Memphis, the Shriners, area schools, the Memphis Redbirds, and the senior women’s dance squad the Sassy Seniors. Applications for organizations wishing to participate are being accepted through March 6. The application can be downloaded at bealestreet.com/st-patricks-day-parade.
The Silky Sullivan St.Patrick’s Day Parade is presented by the Beale Street Merchants Association and sponsored by the social organization, the Irish Eyes of Memphis (MemphisIrish.com). Originally founded by, among others, the late politician Mark Flanagan and bar owners Thomas Boggs (Huey’s) and Thomas “Silky” Sullivan (Silky O’Sullivans), the Irish Eyes have led the way in marking St. Patrick’s Day in the Mid-South since 1969. The parade started in Midtown Memphis but has been held on Beale Street for the past 33 years. When Sullivan, Memphis’ “King of the Irish,” passed in 2013, the Beale Street merchants renamed the event in his honor. Boggs passed away in 2008, and Flanagan died in 2022.
This year’s parade harkens back to the event’s early days with Alex Boggs, the oldest son of Thomas and Wight Boggs, serving as king of the parade court. Alex is the Marketing Director and an Area Director of the family’s chain of Huey’s restaurants. Joining him on the court are Grand Marshall Tyler Gilles, the Memphis Redbirds director of corporate sponsorships; Queen of All Western Appalachia Katie Keene, vice president of operations for Junior Achievement USA; and Irish American of the Year Patrick McDevitt. Rounding out the court are a number of annual participants: Africa In April festival organizer and parade Grand Marshall Emeritus Dr. David Acey, and visiting Irish dignitaries Clarence Connery, who holds the court title of Grand Poo Pah, and the “World Famous Irish Piano Man” Gerald McLaughlan. Ben McClellan serves as the court’s Official Flag Bearer.
The Silky Sullivan St.Patrick’s Day Parade is the public highlight of a full week of Irish-related festivities, including a motor caravan to pick up visiting dignitaries on March 12 and the Africa in April Salutes Ireland luncheon and Beale Street Merchants dinner on March 13. The celebration culminates on St. Patrick’s Day itself with another Raising of the Goat at Silky O’Sullivan’s at 5 p.m., the Blessing of the Kegs in Handy Park at 5:30, and a pub crawl along Beale at 6 p.m.
HISTORY OF THE PARADE:
The roots of the annual Silky Sullivan St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the oldest continuously running parade in Memphis, lie with the Irish Eyes of Memphis, a group led by politician Mark Flanagan and late bar owners Thomas Boggs and Thomas “Silky” Sullivan. The group started in 1969 when Flanagan began hosting St. Patty’s Day barbecues at his home. By 1973, the year from which the current event marks its beginning, the barbecue had grown so big, it was a multi-venue event.
In 1977, the Irish Eyes came up with the idea of having a pub crawl, a four-mile, 19-stop parade of as many as 50,000 colorfully costumed revelers that started downtown and ended in the Midtown entertainment district of Overton Square. Organizers invited guests from Ireland to take part in the pub crawl, parade, and other activities. They even selected an “American Irishman of the Year.” Memphis was one of the few cities in the nation with an official St. Patrick’s Day celebration, and the pub crawl was noted by such national news outlets as The New York Times.
Nevertheless, the sheer size of the crowds worried civic leaders and by 1987 permits and regulations had greatly reduced the size of the pub crawl. The next year, Irish Eyes of Memphis discontinued the pub crawl altogether. Sullivan kept the celebrations going at his Overton Square bar, the now-gone Silky Sullivan’s, and expanded them to Beale Street when he opened his second bar, Silky O’Sullivan’s, in the famous entertainment district in 1992.
Today’s parade grew out of those Silky O’Sullivan’s celebrations, with Sullivan himself serving as king of the event until his death in 2013. Boggs passed away in 2008. Flanagan died in 2022. The parade has changed from the old pub crawl days, with organizers focusing on the Irish community in Memphis, celebrating Irish culture, and raising money for community organizations.
ABOUT THE BEALE STREET MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION:
Beale Street Merchants Association is composed of 30 businesses located in the Beale Street Historic District. It is the association’s mission to promote Beale Street in its capacity as the number one tourist attraction in Tennessee as well as educate residents in the surrounding region of the importance of the Beale Street Historic District’s heritage. The Beale Street Historic District employs approximately 700 people.
