SF Raises Irish Flag, Signs New Agreements With Cork for Parade's 175th Anniversary

Mayor Lurie and Cork's Lord Mayor gathered at City Hall to celebrate 175 years of San Francisco's St. Patrick's Day Parade — and turned the ceremony into something more lasting, inking agreements that will send students, startups, and a historic rainbow flag across the Atlantic. The event doubled as a farewell to Ireland's outgoing Consul General and a declaration of March as Irish American Friendship Month.

• San Francisco and Cork sign agreements establishing university exchanges, a reciprocal small-business fund, and the transfer of an original 1978 Gilbert Baker rainbow flag to Ireland

• 175th anniversary parade set for March 14 under the theme "Happy Birthday America, You Are Great"

• Mayor Lurie declares March Irish American Friendship Month in San Francisco

• Lord Mayor of Cork reveals personal tie to the 42-year sister-city pact — his father signed the original 1984 agreement with Dianne Feinstein

• City bids farewell to Irish Consul General Micheál Smith after posting since 2022

Why it matters: What began as a ceremonial flag raising produced three concrete agreements between San Francisco and Cork, creating new economic and educational pipelines and sending one of the most symbolically significant artifacts in LGBTQ+ history overseas for the first time.