SOUTH BOSTON — When you can’t have the traditional packed house for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast and you don’t want to miss the event for a second year, you have to try something new. That is what state Senator Nick Collins did, when he opened his doors to a few socially distant appearances along with recorded and broadcast visits from the usual cast of politicians. Among those stopping by in person was former Mayor Ray Flynn.

Senator Collins set the tone early with a Tweet about his father alerting the team that the NECN broadcast did not have sound. After the cable channel crews and the Senator’s team scrambled to figure out what was wrong, they got word that Nick’s dad had accidentally set the TV to mute.

The breakfast is usually long on corny jokes written off of the year’s biggest headlines and stories and told by the pols themselves. This year’s breakfast had a feeling of people just thankful that they could continue a longtime tradition. There were lots of corny jokes, though, like it was a BYOB, Bring Your Own Breakfast…

Among those spotted at the Senator’s distanced party were US Representative Steve Lynch, state Representative Brandy Fluker Oakley, City Councilors Ed Flynn, Frank Baker, and Michael Flaherty, who were joined by several of their Council colleagues via remote connections, including Council President and soon-to-be interim Mayor, Kim Janey. Similarly, US Representative Ayanna Pressley, state Attorney General Maura Healey, and state Senate President Karen Spilka.

All photos are by Bill Brett