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closeIreland natives parade down Main Street
Sumner’s ninth annual St. Patrick’s Day parade once again
Roxanne Cooke
Children, adults and even dogs sporting green attire lined Sumner’s Main Street on Sunday to watch the ninth annual St. Patrick’s Day parade.
As usual, a handful of local organizations, businesses and community members drove classic cars or paraded on foot down the street, waving and tossing candy.
But unbeknownst to some, two Irish women also walked in the parade: Dara Knowles, owner of Journeys Montessori in Sumner, and Valerie Binions, whose two children attend school at Journeys.
“It’s only right that you have an Irish person in the parade,” Knowles said.
Knowles and Binions have walked in the parade with parents and students from Journeys for the past few years. The school also invites neighboring Stafford Suites residents to participate in the event.
Knowles, from Dublin, Ireland, moved to the United States in the 1980s. She lived in Texas for a while before settling in Washington. Five or six years ago, she noticed the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Sumner and decided to get Journeys involved.
It fits right in with her March curriculum — Knowles spends time teaching her students about Irish folklore, music and cuisine. Children also learn some Gaelic.
“I get homesick this time of year,” Knowles said.
Fortunately for Knowles and Binions, the weather in Western Washington is similar to Ireland’s climate. Binions is even from an Irish town similar to Sumner called Enniscorthy, which has a population of approximately 8,000.
Binions moved to the U.S. in 1994. She was looking into local Montessori schools when she found Knowles, who recognized her accent over the phone. Binions enrolled her children Liam, 3, and 7-year-old Aoife (pronounced EE-fa).
Though Sumner’s weather and population size may be similar to their hometowns, the American celebration of St. Patrick’s Day is different from the national holiday in Ireland, according to both women. Saint Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint, brought Christianity to the country. The shamrock represents the Holy Trinity.
“It’s about St. Patrick and where he came from,” Binions said. “It’s a religious thing, really.”
Celebrations usually involve family dinners and parades, though they may end up in the pub, she said.
After Sumner’s parade on Sunday, Knowles and Binions noted that it has grown over the years.
“It’s getting bigger every year,” Knowles said. “It’s great fun.”
Jeannette Esser, from Orting, attended the parade for the first time with her husband. She said she wasn’t aware there were Irish natives involved.
“I think that’s really cool,” Esser said.
Knowles and Binions said they don’t know of any other Irish people in Sumner.
“I think we are the Irish community in Sumner,” Binions said.