On the morning of the 198th Savannah St. Patrick's Day Parade, Grand Marshal Danny Powers rose before the sun.
Thursday marks the most important day of the year for Savannah's Irish community, and this year, Powers was elected as the top Irishman. Despite the packed schedule Powers has managed for the last few weeks, including everything from state Capitol appearances to Irish society meetings to TV station coloring contests, he said he woke up ready, feeling light-footed, a pep in his step.
"My feet have been hurting for the last three days,” said Powers. “I don't know if it's divine intervention or what, but I feel like I could run a marathon today."
Credit: Will Peebles
Credit: Will Peebles
As he put on his suit, his sash, his medals and, this year, a blue-and-yellow ribbon to signify his support of Ukraine, he already was thinking about the day ahead of him.
All the ceremony and tradition and work involved in planning the St. Patrick's Day parade was over. Now, it was here. And the only thing standing between Powers and the 10:15 a.m. parade start was time.
And five Irish society breakfasts.
By 5:30 a.m., Powers stood on Liberty Street in front of the DeSoto with two Chatham County Sheriff's Office escort vans waiting outside, smiling and talking to his fellow parade committee members.
Credit: Will Peebles
Credit: Will Peebles
A few tourists staying at the DeSoto stopped to take a photo with Powers and other parade committee members outside the hotel.
Eventually, General Chairman John Fogarty — the scheduling and planning powerhouse who has carried the committee through two of its COVID years — corralled Powers and his aides into the vans, and they were off to breakfast number one.
His series of pre-parade events started with a breakfast at the Mansion on Forsyth, the first of five for the morning. Next, he traveled around the city to speak to the Sinn Fein Society, the Fenian Society, Clan Na Erin and the Fine Gael Society.
On the bus ride there, Powers was accompanied by his aides and a few members of the executive committee. In the early morning haze, one said, "I feel like we all just took a brief nap, not really a full sleep."
Breakfasts
The first breakfast of the day also served as a day-of debriefing for the parade committee. Fogarty went over a few last-minute reminders with the parade committee's adjutant staff. Adjutants, the white-jacketed, behind-the-scenes folks who are involved with the process from planning to parade day, are a critical part of the process.
The parade committee's adjutants handle everything inside the barriers of the parade. The city handles everything outside of it.
For instance, this year, adjutants were instructed to assign politicians in this year's parade to one of four different trolleys, riding together instead of individually. It's a downsizing that reflects the smaller-scale changes to the parade itself this year — fewer floats and marching groups, only 170 entries in total. The parade usually has around 200 floats, up to as many as 250 some years.
Their breakfast of sausage, eggs, fruit and, of course, green grits, was scarfed down quickly.
Credit: Will Peebles
Credit: Will Peebles
During breakfast, Powers sat with 2020 Grand Marshal Mike Roush, the most recent Irishman to hold the title. Roush was elected to the position in 2020, and while he was able to serve as the face of the parade committee for most of Irish season that year, the parade itself was canceled due to COVID, and Roush didn’t get to march.
Credit: Will Peebles
Credit: Will Peebles
But this year, Roush and his family will walk near the head of the parade, a way of somewhat rectifying the once-in-a-lifetime chance he was forced to miss because of COVID two years ago.
Credit: Will Peebles
Credit: Will Peebles
With a gentle pat on Roush's shoulder, Powers rose to address the committee. "There’s a lot of eyes on us today, and I know in my heart, you are the folks that will get us through today. I appreciate yall's energy and dedication to what we do."
The next four breakfasts were a whirlwind. Powers and his aides were dropped off at each spot, and Powers gave each Irish society a brief address. They varied from place to place, but one note remained constant: "After three years, we're back," Powers said.
Credit: Will Peebles
Credit: Will Peebles
He said the society visits were his favorite part of the morning.
"This morning has been amazing, going to these different societies' breakfasts, being able to see people I haven’t seen in a while. A lot of these societies, they have folks from out of town come down. And this is the third year since we’ve had a parade, so I haven’t been able to see a lot of those folks in a while," Powers said. "It’s really been like a family reunion all morning. "
By 7:45 a.m., the vans dropped Powers and company off outside the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, 15 minutes before mass began.
Credit: Will Peebles
Credit: Will Peebles
If there was any moment for Powers to catch his breath, it was this one.
The clouds he had worried might bring rain dissipated. Under the shadow of the Cathedral Basilica's twin spires, Lafayette Square was buzzing. Tents were already up. Folks were turning beers to the sky. A crowd Savannah hadn't seen in years was forming.
And Powers's blood was pumping.
"It’s starting now,” Power said with a wide grin. “The adrenaline has definitely kicked in. It’s going right now. When that parade starts, I think that’s when it’s really gonna kick in. That and the mass. And that’s how they’ve told me it goes."
Credit: Will Peebles
Credit: Will Peebles
Mass
Inside the Cathedral Basilica, the light flooded in through the eastern windows, the green-clad masses flooded in from the western entrance, taking their seat as the organist played.
Then the city officials, led by Mayor Van Johnson and County Commission Chairman Chester Ellis, arrived.
When they took their seats, the final group to enter — to standing applause — was Powers, his family and his aides. Powers gave a big thumbs up to the congregation.
Led by the Rev. Stephen Parkes, the 15th Bishop of the Diocese of Savannah, the morning mass remained solemn and reverent, a momentary religious calm in an otherwise high-energy day.
Parkes offered the congregation an Irish blessing at the start of the sermon and repeated it at the end of mass: "May you have the hindsight to know where you have been; may you have the foresight to know where you are going; may you have the insight to know when you have gone too far."
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Following mass, the Grand Marshal and his aides gathered for a private breakfast before heading to the start of the parade.
For Powers, it all came down to 10:15 a.m., when took his place at the head of the 198th Savannah St. Patrick's Day Parade, what he called the "highest honor" attainable for a Savannah Irishman.
As Powers waved to the sea of green along the parade route, he smiled ear to ear.
Will Peebles is the enterprise reporter for Savannah Morning News. He can be reached at wpeebles@gannett.com and @willpeeblessmn on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: 'Lots of eyes on us today': A day with the Savannah St. Patrick's Day Parade Grand Marshal
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