Sporting a special St. Patrick's Day ballcap, Cincinnati Reds starter Elemer Dessens works in Grapefruit League action against the Kansas City Royals Sunday. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        'Twas rainy, cool and very green, like a one-day trip to the Emerald Isle herself.

        On Sunday, thousands of St. Patrick's Day celebrators participated in special Masses, watched a two-hour parade downtown and tipped back a few Guinnesses across the Tristate.

        At the 36th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, vendors sold green cotton candy as the crowd got a dose of Irish dances, floats, and a chorus of bagpipes and drums.

        “We used to come down before we had kids. We love parades,” said Ann Jette, whose uncle, Jim Murphy, helped start the first parade in 1966.

        Mrs. Jette and her husband, William of Price Hill, brought their three sons, Luke, 5; Jack, 3; and Frank, 5 months.

        With a parade theme of “America ... United As One,” the crowd cheered firefighters and police officers.

        Ten-year-old Taryn Young of Covington watched with Patti Higgins of Covington, her volunteer big sister through the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America program.

        “I like watching the girls do the Irish dance,” Taryn said.

        Two blocks away, Nathaniel Bias of Fairmount spent his 14th birthday at the parade. He and his family were on their way home from a birthday breakfast when they decided to stop. His favorite part was the marching bands.

        Hours earlier, students at McAuley High School in College Hill celebrated St. Pat's with the school's first Grandparents' Day.

        About 730 people, including more than 450 grandparents, attended Mass and brunch. The school is sponsored by a religious order founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin.

        “It's a special honor for grandparents and granddaughters to be together,” said Alice Bucheit, who attended with her husband, William, of Glendale. Their granddaughter, Clare Bucheit, is a junior.

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