Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
James Mohan helped launch Dogtown's Ancient Order of Hibernians parade in 1984. He shared what it's like to be such an essential part of a beloved St. Louis tradition:
• My wife says I have more skirts than she does. The plaid one is for the honor guard, and then I have a saffron kilt. I have a St. Patrick’s one, an Emerald Society one, and a solid green one that I wear sometimes. The Aran sweater, I got in Ireland in 1977—it’s held up pretty well.
• In the parade, I carry my grandpa’s blackthorn walking stick—it’s over 100 years old. Everyone wants me to give it to them, so I have to keep an eye on it.
• In my childhood, there wasn’t a St. Patrick’s Day parade. Celebrating mostly took place in homes or taverns.
• When the Ancient Order of Hibernians started the parade, we wanted to do it for the Irish and by the Irish. We wanted Irish families to march with their banners and crests. We wanted to march on St. Paddy’s Day.
• Some people said we’d never be able to march on St. Patrick’s Day, but that’s how you get an Irishman to do something: You tell him, “You can’t do it.”
• We modeled the parade after one from the 1800s. We march through the town, end up at the church, and have a big festival.
• It’s really a homemade parade. People are inventive with the themes for their floats. Many of the Irish people have moved away from Dogtown, but the parade brings them all back together each year. Those who used to come to the parade as kids are now bringing their own kids.
• Last year, my wife got me a DNA kit. We would always tease each other about who was more Irish. It turns out that I’m 97 percent Irish, which is more than most native Irish people.
• All of my grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from County Mayo when they were children but didn’t meet until arriving here.
• Each March 17, I hit the ground around 5:30 or 6 a.m. I march with my family, holding a family clan banner. Someone will say, “Hey, Mohan!” and 40 heads will turn. That’s what I like about the parade: all the Irish families. It’s the touchstone of remembering where we all came from.
This year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dogtown steps off at 10 a.m. March 17.
