Under a clear blue sky in chilly weather Sunday, Delaware Avenue in Buffalo was a sea of green as the Saint Patrick's Parade kicked off on Saint Patrick's Day. WBFO'S Mike Desmond was there for the annual celebration.
As the Gordon Highlanders of the Buffalo City Guard led the music of the parade, they were marching into a sea of green all the way to North Street.
There were Irish dancers and Irish setters and lots and lots of Saint Patrick's on that day when it's said everyone is Irish, something visible on sweatshirts along Delaware.
Congressman Brian Higgins says the parade is proof of the long Irish heritage in Buffalo.
"In the mid-19 Century because of famine and troubles at home, thousand of immigrants came to Buffalo and settled in the Old First Ward of Buffalo along the water. At that time...150-years ago, the closer you lived to the water, the poorer you were because of cholera and two epidemics almost wiped out the Irish population in 1847 and 1849," said Congressman Higgins.
There was further proof of the Irish power, with Bishop Richard Malone nearby, marching in his first Saint Patrick's Parade in Buffalo after experiencing the legendary parades of South Boston.
Further up Delaware, Senator Charles Schumer was waving an Irish flag and announcing it was a great day for Buffalo.
Schumer was coming from a New York City news conference calling for changes in the way cruise ship passengers are treated.
"There are a lot of Buffalonians who go on cruises. And, they have no rights, the passengers. So we have seen what's happened. The generator goes out. The plumbing goes out. Everything becomes a mess. They don't get their money back. They don't have adequate health care on the cruises. So, we want a health care bill of rights for cruise ship passengers just like we have it for airline passengers," said Sentor Schumer.
Schumer also noted that the .Sequester in federal spending may be eased this week by a budget deal.
