o the great surprise and disappointment of many, in 2009 the South Side Irish Parade Committee decided to end the traditional Chicago South Side Irish St. Patrick's Day Parade, which had been held every year for the previous 31 years. The organizers, fed up with the increasing problems with public drunkenness, violence and general debauchery during the parade, decided to end the parade part of the festival, and instead focus on promoting a new, more family-focused event called the South Side Irish Parade Family Fest. (Learn More...)

was a beautiful day in downtown Chicago, and the pride of the Irish was on display. Hundreds of thousands of proud Irishmen crammed the sidewalks across several blocks of Columbus Ave., south of Grant Park, to see Chicago's famous St. Patrick's Day Parade, one of the largest in the world. Marching bands, local radio stations, the Ancient Order of the Hibernians and numerous other Irish associations took their place in this low-key but enjoyable event. And yes, there was a giant, inflatable leprechaun. (Learn More...)

esearch carried out in September 2005 for the Heritage Council by Lansdowne Market Research shows continuing dramatic increases in the importance people place on protecting heritage in Ireland. The study was carried out with a nationally representative sample of adults and benchmarked against Heritage Council/Lansdowne studies carried out in 2004 and 1999. The study found 76% of the population agree that more should be done in Ireland to protect our urban and rural heritage while just 2% of the population thought that enough was already being done to protect our heritage. (Learn More...)

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