1st St.Patrick's Day celebration in NYC

The Crown and Thistle was a tavern kept by John Thompson. Irish settlers first celebrated St.Patrick's Day at the Tavern. The first known reference to any commemoration of St. Patrick’s Day in NYC was in 1756 as a brief notice in the New York Gazette, or Weekly Post-Boy. There is no specific mention of a parade or procession, but the event was worthy of the governor’s attendance.

The first allusion to something resembling a pa­rade appears in the issue of the New-York Gazette, or Weekly Post-Boy. The newspaper account notes the playing of fifes and drums at dawn and festivities later in the evening, both organized by Irishmen serving in the British army.