Run entirely by volunteers, the New York event was first held in 1762, making it the oldest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the world, according to its website. It’s also the largest, drawing about 150,000 marchers and nearly two million spectators each year, the site says.

St. Patrick’s Day parade and festival, which usually attracts more than 120,000 people, will take place on Saturday, March 15. The parade will happen between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. As a result, there will be full street closures along this route.

It’s my third time in New York but the first with my wife, Louise. The other visits were as a young photographer from the Longford Leader, covering the annual dinner dance of New York’s Longford Men’s Association in Woodside,