CLE Irish

The event is also a significant fundraiser. Lowe-Chapman said proceeds support St. Malachi’s food ministries, including weekday meal service, the long-running Monday Night Meal, and Saturday morning breakfast. The race also helps fund rent and utility assistance and supports a YMCA youth diversity partnership, “We Run the City,” which brought 100 children into this year’s race at a reduced cost.

awarded each year to a man and a woman who do not seek the limelight but are always there willing and able to help in any way possible with their community. Mary Anne DeGrandis Baucco is an inaugural honoree.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget that first one. It was the year it hit 80 degrees, and we rolled in two party buses strong: one for the “adults” and one for the “kids.” We kicked things off at

Congratulations, to the 2026 St. Patrick's Day Honorees

The structure behind the parade reinforces this. The event is organized by the United Irish Societies of Greater Cleveland, which was formed in 1958 to coordinate parade planning and has managed the parade since. The parade’s long-running success is not accidental; it is maintained through volunteer systems, organizational memory, and the often-invisible work of people who understand that a tradition lasts only if people keep showing up to do the backstage work.