NEW YORK, March 17 (UPI) -- Thousands of marchers, including pipe bands and school groups, headed up Fifth Avenue in New York Saturday for the 251st St. Patrick's Day Parade.
The parade kicked off at 11 a.m. on a route running for almost 2 miles from 44th Street to 79th Street. The TV news channel NY1 predicted 2 million people will watch the marchers go by before the festivities end in late afternoon.
Police were alert to another holiday tradition. All 62 counties in New York State were participating in a crackdown on drunk drivers, including checkpoints.
While the tradition of marching on March 17 to celebrate St. Patrick's Day began among Irish-Americans, it has taken root in Ireland. Belfast in Northern Ireland, Dublin in the Republic and other major cities held parades.
In Belfast, the parade celebrated the achievements of Irish golfers. It was the centerpiece of a day that also included concerts and a re-enactment of a Jacobite camp from the losing battle of King James II in 1689.
In Dublin, the theme was "How? What? Why?" to mark the city's designation as a City of Science 2012, The Irish Times said.
About 500,000 people lined the route from Parnell Square to St. Patrick's Cathedral, past the General Post Office where the Easter Rising of 1916 took place.
Enniskillen in Northern Ireland held what was billed as the only Water Parade to honor St. Patrick. The saint -- or someone representing him -- was brought in by seaplane.
