Second Street Irish Society prepares for St. Patrick's Day Parade

PHILADELPHIA (FOX 29) - We all know the Mummers live for New Year's Day so they can strut! Well, The Second Street Irish Society lives for the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

"We're still trying to keep the Irish culture going. There's not a lot of places that are doing the Irish step dancing or doing bagpipe lessons," explained founder John Stevenson. "Trying to get them young, get them into it so it doesn't die off in a generation or two."

John Stevenson founded the organization back on March 17, 1995, with a bunch of friends.

"We were a group of kids hanging out on the corner in our early 20s and we wanted to start our own club," Stevenson said.

The club they started is an Irish Catholic club, based on the St. Patrick's Day Parade. There were 63 original members from the Second Street neighborhood in South Philly.

Twenty-four years later, they are a well-respected Catholic charitable organization, with their own clubhouse.

"We always say we're not Irish just the one day, St. Patrick's Day. We're Irish and community-oriented 365 days a year," Stevenson added.

FOX 29 is your home for the Saint Patrick's Day Parade. You can watch all the festivities live on Sunday, March 10, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The parade will also be rebroadcast on FOX 29 on Sunday, March 17, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.