Courtesy of Jeff Bresnahan
The Sunday of Mar. 24, 2024 marked the 19th annual Mystic Irish Parade – and the festivities that followed – throughout downtown Mystic, CT. Mystic has long had many strong connections with the Connecticut College community. The picturesque New England tourist destination is home to many restaurants, bars, shops, and more, that have long been favorites among the members of the Connecticut College community. The Mystic Irish Parade is no exception to this, as is represented by Conn’s Head Sailing Coach of 32 years, Jeff Bresnahan.
In this year’s edition of the parade, many Connecticut College students, staff and faculty were present in various aspects of the parade and the festivities that followed. This involvement ranged from observing and enjoying the parade to – in Bresnahan’s case – working for and walking in the parade itself. Bresnahan, who has been involved with the parade for twelve years, describes his official role within the parade as being the “Director and Recruiter for Volunteers and Groups that help run the Parade.”
This is an important role in connecting the Conn community with the parade, and with Mystic itself. Many of the Conn community members – staff and faculty in particular – are involved with the parade as volunteers helping to grow the local community here in Southeastern Connecticut.
When asked about the history of the parade, and why it started, Coach Bresnahan emphasized that the parade was founded with one of the primary goals being to grow the local economy, and to help Mystic become more of a tourist destination within the region. Bresnahan elaborates that “the Parade was started by a few small business owners to help stimulate the economy and foot traffic in downtown. Parade day is still the biggest revenue day for the local businesses. Mystic has become a destination, but the small businesses support the parade at a high level. The Parade costs about $70K to put on, and the funding comes mainly from local business donations. The rest is from the Irish Dinner and the raffle.”
The raffle Bresnahan references is one of the primary official contributions to the parade that is made by the Connecticut College community, in particular by the Athletic Department. Bresnahan states that “Over the Years the Athletic Department has donated raffle items for our Dinner Raffle . This is a big event and helps to support the parade. Coaches have donated tuition to camps for our silent auction. These camps have raised a lot of money at the auction,” and then continues, adding that “other coaches host gatherings on the day of the Parade and help us sell raffle tickets that also help fund the parade. We are seeing many Conn families come to the parade and participate.” Bresnahan further emphasized the support of the broader Conn community for the parade by firmly stating that “[Connecticut College] Staff and Faculty are supporting it more by volunteering with their families, and being fans of the parade.”
The Mystic Irish Parade is similar to many other Irish Parades around the country during March – honoring Irish Americans and the Irish holiday. One notable difference between the Mystic Parade and others around the country is the timing. While most Irish parades are hosted either on or directly before or after St. Patrick’s Day, the Mystic parade is a week later. This is by design. Bresnahan states that “We do our parade the week after St Patrick’s Day. This allows for pipe bands and other groups to support [their town’s local Irish parades and festivities] and then come and march in our parade a week later.”
Looking forward to the future of the Parade, Coach Bresnahan expressed excitement both for the Parade and for Connecticut College’s continued involvement with it, as well as with the broader community. “Our 20th year is next year, and it will continue to be a cultural event and a must go to event for southeastern Connecticut!”
Courtesy of Jeff Bresnahan
