Delhi St. Patrick's Day parade set for Saturday

Vicky Klukkert, The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
·2 min read

Mar. 18—The Delhi St. Patrick's Day parade will return at noon Saturday, March 23.

Leading the parade will be Grand Marshal Bill Cairns. Cairns has been a member of the Delhi Fire Department for 38 years and is its current chief. He was a member of town council for 10 years and is one of Santa's helpers every year. He is also the vice president of the county Crisis Intervention and Stress Debriefing team, which helps firefighters and emergency service technicians after responding to tough calls.

"I was actually quite surprised and pleased," he said of his selection. "It was not something I thought about or expected. I thank the parade committee for selecting me."

Cairns said his Irish roots come from his mother's side of the family, while his father's side of the family is Scottish. He has many fond memories of attending St. Paddy's Days celebrations at the Hamden Inn in the late 1980s. "We always had a great time," he said.

Cairns said he is still undecided on what he'll wear to Saturday's parade but looks forward to the parade each year. "It signifies the beginning of spring in the area," he said. "It allows people to get out a do something. I can't wait to hear the bagpipe bands."

Two bagpipe bands are scheduled to participate this year — the Oneonta-based Leatherstocking District Pipe Band and the Schenectady Pipe Band. After the parade, the bands will perform at O'Neill's Shire Pub. In addition to the bands, several local businesses, fire departments, clubs and groups are scheduled to participate in the parade.

Parade line up will be in the lower parking lot at SUNY Delhi beginning at 11 a.m., and people can sign up until just before the parade starts to participate in the parade, a Daily Star archive said.

The parade is scheduled to begin at noon and will start at SUNY Delhi's main entrance on Main Street, march up Main Street, and will end at Bridge Street. Daily Star Editor Robert Cairns will be the parade's announcer again this year. The parade is held the Saturday after St. Patrick's Day to allow pipe bands a chance to participate.

Robert Cairns, Glenn Nealis and Ed O'Neill, owner of O'Neill's Shire Pub in Delhi, started the parade after enjoying a pint in the restaurant and discussing their Celtic heritage, an archived article said. The first parade was 2011. There were no parades in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.