There was no pot of gold waiting at the end of their 89-foot parade route, but corned beef and cabbage and a few kegs of Guinness helped ease the blow Sunday in Adamsville.

Hundreds came out to witness history being made: Organizers christened the St. Patrick's Day parade the world's shortest, and they might not be wrong. It started from Bill Smith's Main Road property, just west of Route 81, and finished less than 30 yards to the east, at the Main Road headquarters of the Kinnane Brothers film and movie production company. Marjory O'Toole, of the Little Compton Historical Society, was the official measurer, and marked out the exact distance just prior to stepping off around 11:30 a.m. She pledged to save the vital record in a safe, secure place.

Chuck Kinnane said the idea for the parade came from friend cousin Padraic Manning, and Chuck's brothers Mike and Wil.

"They were the ones who started talking about it two years ago," he said. "We kept talking about it and thought, 'Wouldn't it be great to have the world's shortest St. Paddy's Day parade? Adamsville really needs a parade!"

They found out during their research that Hot Springs, Ark. has laid claim to the 'world's shortest' honor for 20-odd years. And while the organizers — including Maureen Rego, Susan, Karey and Janie Kinnane and Maureen Azize, of the parade committee — didn't want to upstage Hot Springs, "we thought it was a great idea to try to make one even shorter, so we could at least have the underground bragging rights."

While they were at it, organizers also turned the event into a fund-raiser for the Little Compton Food Bank, and help quickly poured in. Westporter Fred Melnyk of Bootleg BBQ came out with his wife and daughters, volunteering their time to cook the donated food for what turned out to be a crowd of about 80. Timothy Pitts, The owner of Adamsville Wine and Spirits donated the Guinness, Little Compton police didn't charge for the police details, the town council and fire department also assisted, and help poured in from other corners as well. In all, the event raised more than $5,000 for the pantry through the sales of lunch, hats and T-shirts.

Kinnane said it was so much fun, and drew such a great response, that he and his brothers and friends will probably stage another next year. When the time comes, they'll contact the Guinness Book of World Records in hopes of making the parade's length an official world record.

"We tried to contact them this year," Kinnane said. "But by mistake we contacted the Guinness brewery" in Ireland, not the records keeper in the United Kingdom.

"But they were very supportive."