St. Patrick’s Day Walking Parade starts at 9:30 a.m.

St. Patrick’s Day Walking Parade starts at 9:30 a.m.

Long time grand marshall Bill “Papa Rocco’’ McGinnes will be there in spirit

By Fran Thompson

Although he passed from earth on July 16 of last year, Bill “Papa Rocco’’ McGinnes will be there in spirit when the bagpipers begin to pipe and the throng begins to migrate north towards Mudbugs and The Ice House Taproom around 9:30 or so on St. Patrick’s Day morning (March 17) for the annual St. Paddy’s Walking Parade around downtown Gulf Shores.
McGinnes, who assumed his role of grand marshall of the annual parade soon after opening Papa Rocco’s (Hwy. 59 – 1.5 blocks north of the beach) in 1985, will not only be there in spirit. He will also be remembered on his year’s T-shirt, which will read “Papa may be gone – But His Legacy Crawls On.’’
The t-shirt slogan was submitted by Dawn Davis Gentry in a slogan contest initiated by current Papa Rocco’s owner Kenneth Jones, who had taken over day-to-day operations of the famed “Warm Beer & Lousy Pizza’’ bistro well before medical issues prevented Papa from leading the gathered greenies last year.
Kenneth said he hopes to actually join the merry walk through downtown Gulf Shores in search of alcohol laden beverages and good times, if he can get away from the restaurant, which opens at 8 a.m. and will have live music with Platinum Premier beginning at 10 a.m.
a recent medical procedure will keep him from leading the green throng of soon-to-be good friends on its grand marshall Bill McGinnes hopes to be hanging at Papa Rocco’s greeting pals old and new all day.
At the very least, Kenneth will call the bagpipers to order and send them on their way.
“I’ll be the grand marshall as long as I am alive. I just can’t make the walk this year. That is not going to take away from the fun,’’ McGinnes said before last year’s parade. “I’ll leave it to the bagpipers and Ken to handle things. This is not about me anyway. This is about people getting together and having fun.’’
This year’s stops will also include Mikees, The Steamer, Desoto’s, The Hangout and The Pink Pony. The pied-pipers leading the revelers will include Papa’s nephew, Neil McGinnes and Malcolm McLean.
The crawl ends around 2 p.m. But by then most of the crowd will have stopped along the way to eat a meal or sip an extra libation.
The Walking St. Patrick’s Parade of pubs has been a Gulf Shores tradition since the mid-1970’s when then Pink Pony Pub owner Vince Murphy recruited the late bagpiper Jocko McLain and a few friends to visit a list of bars that mostly no longer exist.
Murphy passed the baton to local character John Kelliher, who led the swarm behind Jocko into Papa Rocco’s just after McGinnes opened his restaurant in 1985. Kelliher, The Colonel to his friends, deemed McGinnes worthy of the grand marshal’s position around 1989.
“This started as a way to give the local restaurants a jump on the season,’’ McGinnes said last year. “We really didn’t have a spring break back then. It’s gotten a lot bigger, obviously. I’m expecting the biggest crowd yet.
“People come from all over Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Our snowbirds love it. And we get some spring breakers. We even have grandkids of some of the originals coming out with us,’’ he added.
The parade has a permit from Gulf Shores City Hall, and GSPD will provide safety patrol during the parade. Police only ask that all participants drink from plastic cups (available at Papa Rocco’s beginning at 8 a.m.) between stops, stay on the sidewalks, obey traffic signals and use discretion when consuming cocktails. The Green Horde is easy to find, as the crowd takes over the grounds at every single stop.
This is the ninth parade since the passing of Jocko, the parade’s original bagpiper, who died in August of 2017 at his home in Canada. But like his great freind Papa Rocco, Jocko will always be a big part of the festivities and the heart and soul of the parade, according to McGinnes.
“I met Jocko at the American Legion and we immediately sat down and killed off a bottle of Irish whiskey between us,’’ McGinnes said with a laugh. “We started talking about Scotland and The Rangers (soccer team) and it was like we had known each other for years. There were a couple of years when we got carried away and had to hitch a ride back, but I can’t do that anymore.
“Jocko was the original,’’ McGinnes added. “He was doing it way before my boys came down and played. We were close for many years. Jock gave me my first kilt.’’
There was no spring break season in Gulf Shores when the parade started in 1979. Many local restaurants and retailers closed up shop between Labor Day and Memorial Day weekends.
“When Vince Murphy started this, there were maybe 30 people,’’ McGinnes said. “No way we ever dreamed it would get this big. All we were trying to do was make it be a good time while giving a little jump start to the local pubs.’’
McGinnes especially loved that the parade, especially over the past 20 years, was a way for his many snowbird friends to spend a fun day with their adult children and adult grandchildren here for spring break.
Of course, he knew the parade’s allure was being with friends and family. It was the same for him. His nephew has been the lead bagpiper since Jocko passed.
“I’m not even sure we should be calling it a parade. But we are not sure what we are doing besides having fun,’’ he said.
“Lots of people come up and tell me they look forward to this every year,’’ McGinnes said.
“There are so many longtimers that are not with us anymore, too many to name really,’’ McGinnes added.
Amen to that Bill.