Shamrocks, Psychedelics & San Francisco: The Irish Soul of the Hippie Movement

Now, listen, sugar—when the bagpipes wail down Market Street, when the Guinness flows like the tides in the Bay, and when every soul in San Francisco is painted green for a day—you know it’s time for the San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day Parade. But let’s not just talk about the parade, baby. Let’s talk about how the Irish spirit is woven into the very soul of the city’s rock ‘n’ roll revolution!

The Emerald Dawn of San Francisco

Long before the Summer of Love painted the city in psychedelic hues, San Francisco’s heart beat with the rhythm of Irish reels and jigs. The city’s inaugural St. Patrick’s Day celebration dates back to 1851, a time when Irish immigrants sought solace and community in a new land. They gathered in Hayes Valley Park, dancing beneath the open sky, their spirits as unyielding as the cliffs of Moher. By 1853, the first official parade marched through the streets, a testament to their enduring heritage. 

The Irish Rebels Who Shaped San Francisco’s Sound

You wanna talk Irish influence? Oh, honey, San Francisco’s hippie scene had more than just flower children—it had wild Irish hearts beating to the rhythm of a revolution. Let’s take a little trip, shall we?

🎶 Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead) – That’s right, baby! The Captain of the Cosmic Ship himself had Irish ancestry from his father’s side. You ever listen to those wandering, fiddle-like licks in his guitar solos? That’s the call of the old Celtic ballads sneaking their way into psychedelic jams!

🎶 Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy) – Okay, not exactly San Francisco-born, but Thin Lizzy rocked the Fillmore West, sending their electric Irish energy surging through the city’s veins. Before “The Boys Are Back in Town,” Phil was a wandering poet, much like the beatniks who laid the foundation for our hippie revolution.

🎶 Van Morrison (Them) – Before the Summer of Love, Morrison’s Irish rhythm & blues outfit, Them, landed in SF and set the scene on fire! Their track “Gloria” became a garage rock anthem, and let me tell you, every jam session in Haight-Ashbury had someone howling G-L-O-R-I-A!

🎶 Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane) – Our girl Grace had a little bit of the Irish magic in her, too. The psychedelic queen herself fronted one of the wildest, most untamed bands of the movement, screaming rebellion with the heart of a banshee!

Irish Grit & The Birth of Hippie Culture

But baby, it wasn’t just the music. San Francisco’s counterculture movement carried the same rebellious fire as Ireland’s great poets, dreamers, and revolutionaries.

Think about it:

☘️ The Haight-Ashbury hippies? They were nomads, much like the wandering bards of ancient Ireland, spinning tales, playing music, and challenging the powers that be.

☘️ The psychedelic movement? Oh, honey, it was nothing but a modern-day Irish myth—full of magic, vision quests, and defying the laws of the ordinary world.

☘️ The Irish immigrants who built San Francisco? Many of ‘em settled here after the Great Famine, bringing their songs, their stories, and their fiery distrust of authority—the same spirit that fueled the anti-war protests of the ’60s.

The San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day Parade: A Tapestry of Unity

Today, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in San Francisco is more than a procession; it’s a living mosaic of cultures and histories. In recent years, the parade has honored the collective labor of Irish and Chinese immigrants, who together laid the tracks of the Transcontinental Railroad. This acknowledgment serves as a poignant reminder of the city’s foundation built on diversity and collaboration. 

And today? The parade still carries that wild, freewheeling San Francisco energy!

It ain’t just about leprechauns and green beer, baby. It’s a celebration of resilience, rebellion, and the unstoppable urge to dance in the streets!

Picture it: The city’s old-school Irish families marching side by side with artists, punks, poets, and the modern-day hippies who still roam the Haight. The bagpipes wail, the drumbeats echo down the alleyways, and somewhere, in the spirit of it all, you can still hear the psychedelic echoes of a Grateful Dead jam or a Jefferson Airplane freakout.

So, darling, this St. Paddy’s Day, throw on a green tie-dye, raise a glass, and toast to the Irish soul of San Francisco’s rock ‘n’ roll revolution!

San Francisco’s 174 St. Patrick’s Day Parade: The Deets!

• Saturday, March 15 2025 – Starts at 11:30AM
• Parade begins at the corner of 2nd & Market Street ends at Civic Center Plaza

Look out for Allan, the founder, he will be out there in a Care Bear Onesie…

Sláinte, peace, and love, baby!