Everything You Need To Know About The St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Boston

St. Patrick's Day is almost here, and here in Boston, that means the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. This year it will be held on Sunday, March 17th, the actual day it's celebrated. Of course people will be dressed in green, waving Irish flags, and celebrating in lots of different ways. Here's all the info you need to know to make sure you have a fun and safe day.

A little history lesson about the parade. So Boston was the first to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in North America. It was on March 17, 1737 that Boston's Irish community joined together with the city's new Irish Immigrants as a gesture of solidarity. There were festivities to honor their homeland and to honor the memory of the Patron Saint of Ireland. Boston's early St. Patrick's Day Parades were located downtown by the Ancient Order of Hibernians. The parade moved to South Boston in 1901. The neighborhood was home to a booming Irish community and it was also the site of Dorchester Heights. That's where the evacuation of British troops from Boston on March 17, 1776 happened and is commemorated. Because of both St. Patrick's Day and Evacuation Day, the parade honors both.

The parade starts at 1pm, starts at the Broadway "T" Station in South Boston and ends at Andrew Square. Here's the parade route from Meet Boston so you can find out where you want to watch from.

Public transportation is always recommended, and the MBTA usually runs rush hour service for the Red Line from 9am to 6pm. Just be advised that trains may bypass Broadway and/or Andrew Station if the crowds there get too big. Buses won't stop at either of those stations as well at 9:45am, and several routes will be detoured around the parade area. A free shuttle will run between the Summer Street side of South Station and East 1st Street in South Boston. Go to MBTA.com for additional details. And driving is not recommended because there's definitely limited parking, and street closures.

If you're looking for the best place to watch the parade, Caught in Southie has some great suggestions. They say that there really isn't a bad place to watch along the route. Their suggestions: Broadway MBTA Station where the parade starts, Anywhere on Broadway, M Street/Medal of Honor Park, Watch at P and Broadway, Dorchester Heights, and Dorchester Street. Check out their website for a more detailed explanation.

Massachusetts claims the highest percentage of Irish ancestry in the United States, coming in at right around 21.2%.

Saint Patrick's Day is coming up - the day where everybody is a little Irish. That got us thinking: but who is actually the most Irish. In a state full of Irish Pride this is sure to ruffle some feathers.

Quick side note - I actually thought I was heavily Polish in my genetic make-up. Enter 23 And Me to screw that all up! I took their test and as it turns out, despite what my family had believed and passed down for generations, we're actually mostly Irish. I guess Massachusetts finally rubbed off on me and changed my genes. I'm kidding. But I always loved St. Patrick's Day, listened to Black 47, enjoyed corned beef more than most year-round, and have an uncanny knack for step dancing after a couple cocktails... so it all makes sense.

So here's how we're going to do this: I'll count down the 5 "most Irish" towns in Massachusetts. I keep putting quote marks on "most Irish" because I feel like it's a misleading term but it's all we got. We'll use the latest census data available (it's dated, from 2010) to find the towns with the highest percentage of Irish residents. This is the same way it's been determined that Massachusetts is the "most Irish" state so I guess we'll follow suit with that game plan.

I'll include the town, the percentage of Irish residents who live in that town, and (if available) the best Irish Bar or Restaurant in that town. Sound good?

ALSO: Massachusetts was just named as one of THE BEST places to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Check out how high we rank RIGHT HERE!!

These are the 5 Most Irish towns in Massachusetts!

Avon is the 5th Most Irish town in Massachusetts. 44.9% of Avon's residents are Irish. Unfortunately I'm not coming up with ANY Irish restaurants or bars in Avon. Is that true?!?

Marshfield is the 4th Most Irish town in Massachusetts. 45.6% of the people who live in Marshfield are Irish. When searching for Marshfield's best Irish spot, Scituate kept coming up. It's a short drive from Marshfield to Scituate where you'll find the beloved The Voyage, which is a great Irish bar and restaurant.

Little ol' Hull is the third Most Irish town in Massachusetts. 45.8% of Hullonians are Irish. While there aren't any actual Irish Pubs in Hull, The Parrot is owned by Brian Hoolihan. He's Irish and owns the Tinker Son as well. That's good enough to make The Parrot the best Irish spot in Hull, for this article anyway.

Braintree is our runner-up! It's the 2nd Most Irish town in Massachusetts. In Braintree 46.5% of residents are Irish. Again, Yelp lists no Irish bars or restaurants in Braintree. The shortest drive for a good Irish spot would be McSwiggan's Pub, which gets pretty great reviews in Weymouth.

Scituate is the Most Irish town in Massachusetts! What big (and frankly surprising to me) news! I live in the South Shore and I know we have a ton of Irish residents - but - I didn't realize that Scituate has the highest percentage of Irish residents. 47.5% of Scituate residents are Irish.

Scituate isn't only the Most Irish town in Massachusetts. According to the 2010 census, Scituate is the Most Irish town in the entire United States!! Wow!

Go to The Voyage in Scituate. It's great.