2026 Raleigh St. Patrick's Day Parade
I
Yeah
I
No
right there
Look look at that
That's a camera
Look at that camera
We're gonna put that on television
that
Come over here Peter
That's pretty neat isn't it The camera
You know we can't go there
It's probably a very expensive camera fee
We can't touch it
Definitely not something we can
We can't go that way
Let's go to Yeah see she's right
She said there's traffic on the right that says we
can't go past that
We can't go past that
That's right yeah
Should we go back to mom and Libby No
No
That's yeah that's right
So we can't go that way
All right let's go Pete
Have a good one
He
said he had
No nothing in the hallway
Come out
reason
Oh
You
Welcome to the Raleigh
So just to give you Production
My name is Kelly
I have been hosting this parade for about 19 years
and next to me is Willie
And we are live streaming on WIO
Coming out today and celebrating this St
Patrick's Day parade with us
This is the 42
This is dedicated to the
in bringing the party to what it is today which
is why I'm sitting up here
My dad first started this parade in around 1987
The parade was
much smaller And he decided hey we need a real
Saty Interstate parade so we got in touch with the
city
They didn't have
And it's been going on ever since
Shoot thank you
There we go
That might be better
So speaking of streaming on WREL I'd love to welcome
those who are watching on uh WREL.com
Thank you for watching and of course thank you to
our sponsors the Hibernian Pub right down the street Downtown
and Hibernian North locations
Join us for the official after party at the Downtown
Hibernian Pub on Glenwood Ave
There will be entertainment all afternoon directly after the parade
so definitely go down and have some fun on this
beautiful day
And uh thank you so much to Aer Lingus
They are a proud sponsor to the Raleigh Saint Patrick's
Day parade
And if you guys have been paying attention they have
announced a new direct service from Raleigh Durham Airport to
Dublin Ireland beginning April 13th
So we have a direct flight now to our homeland
And I'm glad you are
here
You may be aware of the parade changed routes this
year so we used to stop or at least our
stand the grandstand used to be right in front of
the Capitol Building and now we are here at Glenwood
and Hillsborough just that little bit closer to the Hibernian
Very I think I'm definitely hearing some bagpipes right now
In addition for sponsors I just have to give a
huge shout out to the Raleigh Ancient Order of Hibernians
of Wake County so I should say Wake County
They have given us continued and generous support of the
parade over the years and you'll see them marching in
this parade pretty early on as Willie mentioned
I hear the bagpipes and I see the flags of
the counties of Ireland so they are on their way
Yes You don't know
Let go
I
Yeah I
Hm
Mhm
I
I know it is
Is beautiful
Mm
Hm
Holler at me if I get
Please
Mommy
So everybody we have got our lead piper
Coming down Chris is an avid musician playing the traditional
Irish music at many locations throughout North Carolina
I have the pleasure of watching him perform many times
especially during this season
And Chris is surrounded by the Irish Wolfhounds Association of
the Carolinas
Wolfhounds are often referred to as the gentle giants and
they are the tallest dogs in the world
If they stand on their hind legs they're over 7
ft tall
They're not they are gentle
The fears have provoked
But we're we're gonna say they're always gentle
Happy Saint Patrick's Day guys
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
Thank you for being here
I Yeah
Such beautiful beautiful dogs
Mhm No OK
That's a big
like mine
I know you'll be the you'll be the first I
go
Oh you're
Oh good
I'll come say hi if you have time
Yay
Tell Patty hello
OK
And coming up here I see a familiar face
This is our Grand Marshal Mike Mays
We're honored to have Mike Mays here as the 2026
Grand Marshal
Mike is a trusted meteorologist at WRAL and Mike has
been a lifelong weather enthusiast and enjoys sharing his knowledge
of weather and forecasting with students of all ages
Let's give it up for Mike
Happy Saint Patrick's Saint Mike
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
Thanks for being our Grand Marshal
You got the ride
I think it's the first time I've seen him on
a Saturday
It's funny
No
All right guys and here comes Agua more memorial pipes
and drums
On Portamo means the great hunger in Irish so this
band works to fight hunger locally and commemorate the 1
million Irish that died in the famine
Thank you guys
Hi Karen
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
And right behind this group we have the AOH the
Ancient Order of Hibernian with County Division
Right now they're carrying those flags
Those flags represent the
The ancient order of Hibernians
fraternal organizations locally they promote Irish culture and participate in
various events
Work hard to raise money for a number of charities
Happy Saint Patrick's Day to our brothers in the AOH
Hi Jerry
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
As always said representing the 32 counties of Ireland 6
of which are in the North Happy Saint Patrick's Day
I
Hey girl
I
Hey Sean Happy Saint Patrick's Day
You may hear these guys without even me being on
the microphone but here come the Raleigh Gaelic Athletic Association
the GAA
It's a sporting and cultural organization based in the triangle
They play sports of Gaelic football
You Always Guys if you want to learn a new
sport reach out to the GAA
They are a lot of fun
guys
Raise that trico
Yeah
I
Mm
I
Right yeah definitely that
OK
I know right They do make it look easy
And coming up right now we've got the Oak City
Shamrocks Youth Gaelic Athletic Association the Gaelic Games Club catering
for youth players in the Triangle area
They endeavor to encourage the families of Raleigh to participate
in Irish culture in a joyful playground atmosphere keeping Irish
traditions alive while still getting some exercise
They cater for ages of 3 to 18 and all
skill levels are welcome
Yeah that's awesome
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
Happy Saint Patrick's Day guys
You're looking good
I have to say everybody in the crowd you guys
are all looking wonderful sporting your green
I love the hat
I love the enthusiasm
That
Woohoo And coming up next are my sisters
you County
It is named after my mother Catherine Martin Melled in
her memory and her honor
The motto of the LAOH is Friendship unity and Christian
charity
So these ladies my sisters promote Irish culture and participate
in various events and acts of charity
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day
Hey Kathy
And coming up right behind those lovely ladies you hear
this wonderful music
This is the Cardinal Gibbins High School Band and drum
line
Gibbons band and drumline perform yearly at the Raleigh St
Patrick's Day Parade with off-campus concerts and
And
music
If you hear the microphone shake that's me dancing
And of course who else is dancing but Patty
I The Leprechaun leprechaun The studio
And Patty is so different
Happy Saint Patrick's I've known Patty for many years and
he's the best leprechaun I've ever met
And coming up right behind Patty we have the Enfield
Irish Literary Society
They're bringing 15 marchers to this year's parade
This group meets monthly to discuss Irish authors playwrights poets
dancers and singers and they even visit Ireland
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
Happy Saint Patrick's Day to the Enfield Irish Literacy Society
We know Ireland came out with so many amazing poets
and playwrights
Of course they did
It's Ireland
They're the best storytellers in the world
Whoa
And now here comes the best Irish dancers
Innis Carter School of Irish Dance
It's in Raleigh
It's been dedicated to promoting and cultivating a love of
traditional Irish dancing music and culture since 1999
And look at those books
OK I could watch them all day
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
Oh look at the puppies
All right coming up we got the Triangle Westie clan
They're bringing 20 dogs and marchers
West Highland Terrier Wescue Group
This is the best way to describe this wee terrier
dog breed from Scotland and simply to say that they
are full of self-esteem and they think that they are
the best thing around
Clearly those pups
Clearly they are the best thing around
Happy Saint Patrick's Day to the West
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
I love how they are all
up for today
Amazing Carolina roller derby
This is the original women's flat Track Derby Association league
from Raleigh
They have two recreational teams the Dogwood Destroyers and the
Box Turtle Boozers
They are amazing athletes that strive to grow the sport
of roller derby in the triangle
They're awesome every year
I love it
All right let's give it up now for the Triangle
Pride Band
They are a marching band made up of LGBTQ plus
community members and allies of that community
They seek all interests in
Regardless of ability
I
to
And here comes North Carolina courage
Oh let me see that
Oh home opener tonight
North Carolina Courage home opener tonight
This is your National Women's Soccer League team and the
winningest club in the league with 7 league trophies
This is the mascot Rory
The lioness cheering on the team at Fort First Horizon
Stadium Wake Med Soccer Park
They're saying that's the place to be tonight
That is the place to be after the Hibernian after
the Hibernian of course
Coming up now we have the Kilpatrick Irish dance school
They're bringing out 50
Irish dancers in costume
The Kilpatrick Irish Dance School is from Dukewave Arena and
this school holds both recreational and competitive classes for ages
3 to 103 years old
They are proud of their Irish heritage and they love
to share that passion through dance with everyone that they
meet
Bye
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
Look at that
Uh let's give it up for those dancers
Happy Saint Patrick's Day for Patrick
Irish fan
Love it
And following our Irish dancers is the Noose River Golden
Retriever Rescue
This is a nonprofit organization run by volunteers who are
dedicated to helping unwanted golden retrievers through rescue rehab and
adoption
They cover the eastern part of North Carolina from the
triangle to the coast and you guys you may hear
me say this every year but I don't know how
a golden retriever would ever not be wanted
I was thinking the same thing
They are beautiful
Thank you for being here
An amazing addition to any family
I've got to give a quick shout out to Briar
Point retirement Community
I have some dear friends watching there especially Millie and
John so I wanna say a quick hello to them
if they're out there listening and Andrea and Rob and
Rob has this amazing new band called Order of the
One
It's an amazing band
So hi Millie
Hi John thanks for watching at Briar Point
All right
Coming up now we have Out the door Plumbing
They have some marchers and a small boat
I even see some people going in
I think there's a basketball hoop out there
Out the door Plumbing serves the entire Triangle area with
sewer water and plumbing needs
We love their creativity this year with this parade is
Happy Saint Patrick's Day y'all
Happy Saint Patrick's Day to outdoor plumbing locally owned and
operated
I love supporting local
Thanks for showing your Irish pride
OK
I
I'll go ahead and introduce Eastern Guilford High School marching
band now so that we get the pleasure of listening
when they come by
These are the Wildcats
They are the pride of Gibsonville North Carolina
The marching Wildcats are an award-winning ensemble so go Wildcats
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
100 years
on Organic and wildlife gardening
I
And coming up right after the Garden Club we have
the Triangle Academy of Irish dance
They brought out 50 dancers
I mean look at those costumes right there
The Triggle Academy sorry not
The Triggle Academy is a world champion dance school offering
classes in Carey and Chapel Hill
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
Happy Saint Patrick's
Hey
Let's give it up for Struggle Academy
That was awesome
Yes
That was amazing
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
And coming up next is Saint Baldrick's
You all may be familiar with Saint Baldrick's
The Saint Baldrick's Foundation is a volunteer and donor powered
charity committed to supporting the most promising research to find
cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy
lives
Their signature fundraising is done by head shaving events
One will be coming up in early April at the
Hibernian Pub
So come out and support everybody
Thank you to Saint Baldrick's
Oh
Oh you can't see
I've got a very
As you all may know Saint Patrick is the patron
saint of Ireland
He was actually not born in Ireland
He was born in Scotland but he came over to
Ireland to bring Christianity to the country and he taught
Christianity by using the shamrock
The three leaves on the shamrock represented the Father the
Son and the Holy Ghost
And I think you hear this music right now
This is the band Celtic Wind
They have 6 marchers this year and they are a
traditional Irish band and more
Let's give it up for Celtic Wind
And I recognize this tune from The Quiet Man
Thank you Celtic wind
The Quiet Man everybody is a John Wayne movie that
is not to be missed
It's an amazing Irish movie John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara
OK
Coming up next is Freedom Ride Rescue
We've got 125 marchers dogs and puppies
This is a foster-based rescue group that takes in dogs
of all sizes ages breeds
In 5.5 years they've rescued over 3400 dogs
Volunteers and fosters are always needed
Thank you Freedom Ride
I gave my first Freedom ride to a puppy a
couple of years ago
Oh
my gosh you guys
Oh Only the best
It was good to see you at the party last
weekend
This right here
And cabbage
Oh my God they're they're a package deal guys
I love the amount of dogs I'm
All right coming up we've got the Little German Band
and Dancers
The Little German Band and Dancers of Raleigh are an
all volunteer nonprofit group dedicated to having fun while promoting
barbarian and German music and dance
They are German but have a long tradition of appearing
at the Saint Patrick's Day parade and are lucky to
be joining us today
We always appreciate your support every year
I feel like you're in a chicken dance
No
And right by the little German band we've got the
Raleigh Oak Charter
Ben Elementary Webrook Charter Public School here in Raleigh a
nature-based school as you can tell with limited technology
The students play outside in all weather and have a
classical education through storytelling and songs
I love that
Devices
Let's get outside
Bye
I mean come
Society of Preservation and
It looks good
OK
Yeah All right
Coming up now we have the Society for the Preservation
of Historic Oakwood
Historic Oakwood own second line band and awesome Mets lead
our friends from the neighborhood and this is the oldest
neighborhood in Raleigh
Let's give it up for them
Thanks for coming out guys
Yeah
Happy Saint Patrick's Day is an awesome
Don't tell the others but you guys are my favorite
I feel like
Now I see
The fun fairy and her friends
Sunny the Fun Fairy also invited friends to join her
in this parade today and they all donated money to
the Autism Society of North Carolina
This is awesome
Sonny
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
That is awesome
Thank you for donating to the Autism Society of North
Carolina
Sonny the Fun Fairy
I want that name
I'll be the fun fairy fairy
We can all be fun fairies
And coming up next we've got the Scots the Scottish
cultural Organization of the Triangle
We've got 35 marchers and dancers
The Scott Organization is a nonprofit dedicated to sharing and
promoting knowledge of and appreciation for Scottish culture and history
with people in the Triangle and Central North Carolina accompanied
by Scottish dancers from Raleigh Monroe and Annandale Schools of
Highland dance
Where did that go OK
Thank you so much to our Highland dancers
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
And right behind those dancers we have Teamsters Local 391
They're representing around 7800 workers across the state from Winston-Salem
all the way to Wilmington
The local represents many including
State and city employees such as the Raleigh Police Department
and Wake County bus drivers
They are the largest local in the state and they're
proud to represent so many people to give them better
wages living standards healthcare and peace of mind
Thank you all for coming out
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
Happy Saint Patrick's Day guys
That's right it's a great day to be a teamster
And coming up next we've got our boxy
Meditations and yoga mantras are that are spreading peace and
joy
Thank you Boxy
We always appreciate it
I love seeing you year after year
Thank you
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
OK
No
Bringing peace and joy everywhere they go
Coming up right behind them we have more dogs
This is the Triangle Beagle Rescue of North Carolina
Triangle Beagle Rescue of North Carolina is a nonprofit organization
operating
This ensures that the Beatles
family members and they will be there forever
1000 beagles have been rescued in North Carolina since 1999
and they are committed to bringing
for a lifetime
Happy Saint Patrick's Day
Thanks for coming out
to our triangle
OK
Yeah
All right guys
You sit down
We want
now we Ow
35 dancers today
Dance It Out joins us
From Virginia
I was But also provide
And much much more
Give it up for dancing
I
Helping Hands mission just to let you guys know they
have been a part of the parade for many many
many many years
We're happy to have them and we're happy to have
Dancing out
Bye
Oh thank you so much diggy with it
And we are coming to the end of our parade
So coming up next is our Saint Patrick's Day parade
committee
Worked so very hard to bring the parade to Raleigh
This is an all volunteer group every year bringing the
parade to our fair city
Please thank Diane Enright Jerry Ryan Dan Danford Steven Sullivan
George McEvoy Cassie Young
Thank you all so much
Raleigh special thank you to the city of Raleigh and
the Raleigh Police Department
Thanks again to our sponsors
Join us at the after party at the Hibernian Pub
on Glenwood Avenue
Thank you all so very much for the forty-second annual
Raleigh Saint Patrick's Day
Ah long live
Technically Ireland forever
Thank you all so much for listening
Have a great afternoon and be safe
Thank you Patrick's Day
Facing
I know
Bye
Yeah you know they sell in Saint Patrick's Day around
here
I
I got a question
Brand new nonprofit
We have something here
a program but then we are located in Durham
How do we get Yeah Yeah OK wait no I'm
I'm recording but not recording
it's all one word
Wait do it one more time
Raleigh ST
ETS
and then on there they