Ireland: Parade? What Parade?

Though unofficial St. Patrick's Day parades were held throughout Ireland in the 19th century, and despite the fact that the day was declared a public holiday in 1903, the first official celebration in Dublin did not occur until 1931. The city of Belfast didn't have its first St. Patrick's Day parade until 1998 because of Protestant hostility toward the display of Irish national symbols. Recent parades in the region have required that people wave the more neutral shamrock flag, not the Irish one.

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