The sound of bagpipes and drums filled the streets of downtown Montreal Sunday as the St. Patrick's Day parade graced the city's streets after a two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The 197th edition of the parade kicked off at 9:30 a.m., instead of in the afternoon like in previous years, and ran along Sainte-Catherine Street from Lambert-Closse Street to Union Street. 

While scaled down in size, with no parade floats and a sparser crowd, revellers sporting green hats and green plastic rain ponchos turned out in high spirits to watch the musicians and marchers make their way down the route. 

"It was fun to come out after two years of not coming out," said Katie McAuliffe, along with her young son Aziz.

"We always come every year so this was a nice parade," she said, despite the drizzling rain. 

The March celebration of Irish culture was among the first events to be cancelled in 2020 and then again in 2021 due to the pandemic. But as COVID-19 protocols are being lifted across Canada, the event was reintroduced this year with fewer participants.

Daniel Bonin has been coming out for the parade for 35 years straight, only missing the past two years due to the pandemic. 

"It's the way Montrealers say 'enough of winter,'" said the green-bearded man."St. Patrick's Day is our 'hello to spring' parade."

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante was also among the participants leading the parade.

"We are celebrating the Irish communities of Montreal today with the much-anticipated return of the traditional parade," Plante said on Twitter Sunday.

The United Irish Societies of Montreal had been rushing to prepare for the parade, finding out only three weeks prior from public health officials that they would be permitted to hold it, as restrictions started gradually lifting across the province. 

Spokesperson for the society Kevin Tracey says in a typical year, there can be up to 4,000 people taking part in the parade, something the society is hoping will be possible by next year.

"This year, we're limiting it to 500 people," he said, referring to an agreement the society made with the city prior to the lifting of some pandemic restrictions. 

Despite describing this year's parade "kind of like wearing your pants backwards," Tracey said a lot of people have been "really looking forward to this."

Montreal police said the parade ended peacefully and required no interventions.

A parade featuring Irish dancing and music was held in Hudson, Que, on Saturday afternoon and another in the Eastern Townships in Richmond, Que, was held Sunday. 

WATCH | Professor of Irish Studies reflects on meaning of St. Patrick's Day: 

With files from Rowan Kennedy and the Canadian Press

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