New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade
The New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade is an annual parade organized by the Irish Community of New York City to honor Saint Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland while celebrating their Irish culture and heritage.
| NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade | |
|---|---|
Glucksman Ireland House NYU and NYU Pipes and Drums march in the 2019 NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Parade |
| Date(s) | 17th March |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Location(s) | New York City, New York |
| Country | United States |
| Years active | 261 |
| Inaugurated | March 17, 1762 |
| Most recent | March 17, 2023 |
| Next event | March 16, 2024 |
| Participants | 150,000[1] |
| Attendance | 2,000,000 |
| Patron(s) | St. Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland. |
| Organised by | St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Inc |
| Filing status | 501(c)(3) non-profit organization |
| People | Sean Lane (parade chair),[2] Ryan Hanlon (parade vice chair) and Hilary Beirne (C.A.O, foundation chair). |
| Sponsor | Saint Patrick's Day Foundation, NYC |
| Website | www |
The parade is composed of thousands of participants from the many Irish cultural organizations and affiliated institutions across New York City, who each march under the banners of their respective groups.
The parade is led each year by a Grand Marshal, and features representation from across the uniformed services in New York City, which each have a significant affinity to the Irish community in New York.
These include the 69th New York Infantry Regiment, New York Police Department, Fire Department of the City of New York, New York Sanitation Department, New York Correction Department and New York State Department of Corrections.
The parade also features participants from across the city's political establishment, with the city's Mayors (Bill de Blasio[3]) and City Councilors regularly marching in the parade.
The parade has also regularly attracted participants from national politics across both the United States (George J. Mitchell,[4] Hillary Rodham Clinton[5]) and Ireland (Leo Varadkar,[6] Mary Lou McDonald[7]).
For the first time in its history, the full parade was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with no parades taking place during 2020[8] and 2021. However, a small contingent consisting of representatives from the Fighting 69th Regiment and the parade committee still marched up Fifth Avenue in the early hours of March 17, 2020, in order to preserve the parade's 258-year record of marching.[9] In 2021, still in the throes of COVID, the parade again took a different shape, and only some 120 or so marchers, joined by NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, made their way up Fifth Avenue.[9]
The full parade returned to its original format on March 17, 2022.[9]
The most recent was on March 17, 2023.
Affiliated groups and other regular participants edit
The following list of affiliated groups and participants was taken from the 2022 Line of March,[10] which features the 145 groups marching in the 2022 parade.
| Participant | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 69th New York Infantry Regiment | Uniformed Service | |
| James Connolly, Irish American Labor Coalition | Affinity Group | |
| Glucksman Ireland House NYU | Affinity Group | |
| NYU Pipes and Drums | Marching Band | |
| NYPD Emerald Society | Uniformed Service Emerald Society | organized March 16, 1953 |
| NYCD Emerald Society | Uniformed Service Emerald Society | organized November 17, 1955 |
| FDNY Emerald Society | Uniformed Service Emerald Society | organized March 17, 1956 |
| Grand Council of United Emerald Societies | Umbrella group Emerald Societies | reorganized in 1975 |
| The Emerald Guild Society of Building Managers | Fraternal Society | |
| Ancient Order of Hibernians | Fraternal Society | Each AOH division in the city marches under its own banner. |
| Emerald Society NYS Corrections | Uniformed Service Emerald Society | |
| County Societies / Associations | n/a | Irish-Americans from each of the 32 counties of Ireland are represented by an association which marches under its own banner. |
| Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, Inc. | Fraternal Society | |
| Glor na nGael Pipes and Drums | Marching Band | |
| NYS Courts Emerald Society | Public Service Emerald Society | |
| Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 21 | Labor Union | |
| Irish Business Organization of New York Inc | Business Network | |
| NYC Carpenters Pipe and Drum Band | Marching Band | |
| Council of Gaelic Societies | Cultural Group |
Grand marshals edit
A Grand Marshal of the parade is appointed each year, with the honored individual often a prominent Irish-American or someone who has contributed significantly to Irish-American affairs.
| Grand Marshal | Year | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin Conway | 2023 | Finance executive |
| James Callahan | 2020-22 | General President of the International Union of Operating Engineers. |
| Brian O'Dwyer | 2019 | Former Commissioner of the United States National Commission. |
| Loretta Brennan Glucksman | 2018 | Chairman of The American Ireland Fund. |
| Michael J. Dowling | 2017 | CEO of Northwell Health. |
| Senator George J. Mitchell | 2016 | Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader and United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland. |
| Cardinal Timothy Dolan | 2015 | Archbishop of New York. |
Organization edit
The parade is coordinated via a non-profit organisation, The St Patrick’s Day Parade Inc., which is a registered charity in New York.[11] The charity is overseen by a board of directors which, as of 2023, included Sean Lane as chairperson, Ryan Hanlon as vice chairman, Thomas Smyth as president and Hilary Beirne as chief administrative officer.[11] Originally from Boyle, County Roscommon in Ireland, Beirne is also a science teacher at Eastchester High School, New York and chairman of the New York City's Saint Patrick's Day Foundation.[12][13][14] He has been recognised by a number of organizations for his contribution to the Irish-American community.[15][16][17]
Further reading edit
- John Concannon and the Ancient Order of Hibernians Collection (The Monsignor Field Archives & Special Collection Center at Seton Hall University) - Contains a significant number of operational materials from parade leadership, primarily from the 1950s-1970s
References edit
- ^ "St. Patrick's Day Parade strolls up 5th Avenue". ABC7 New York. March 17, 2008.
- ^ "Sean Lane elected Chair of NYC St. Patrick's Day parade board". Irish Central. May 18, 2018.
- ^ "Mayor de Blasio marches in NYC St. Patrick's Day parade in surprise move". IrishCentral.com. March 17, 2021.
- ^ "Peacemaker George Mitchell to lead NY St Patrick's parade". The Irish Times. January 11, 2016.
- ^ O'Hanlon, Roy (February 16, 2011). "Hillary to march in NYC parade". Irish Echo.
- ^ Blaney, Ferghal (March 17, 2018). "Varadkar's pride at walk down Fifth Avenue in New York city with partner". Irish Mirror.
- ^ Lonergan, Aidan (March 18, 2019). "Sinn Féin responds to 'faux outrage' over 'offensive and anti-British' banner at NYC St Patrick's Day Parade". The Irish Post.
- ^ Stack, Liam (March 12, 2020). "St. Patrick's Day Parade Is Postponed in New York Over Coronavirus Concerns" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ a b c "NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade plans to return in full-scale in March 2022". IrishCentral.com. November 23, 2021.
- ^ "Line of march 2022 – The NYC St. Patricks Day Parade". www.nycstpatricksparade.org.
- ^ a b "St. Patrick's Day Parade, Inc. Board of Directors". nycstpatricksparade.org. St Patrick’s Day Parade Inc. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
- ^ McGoldrick, Debbie (17 December 2021). "New York City St. Patrick's Day 2022 to be biggest parade yet!". Irish Central.
- ^ ""A day in the Life of" Hilary T. Beirne". Go Wild Magazine. 15 November 2021.
- ^ McCaughley, Ciara (9 June 2021). "Roscommon Man To Serve On Prestigious Irish American Committee". Roscommon Herald.
- ^ "Board Honors Hilary Beirne, Dennis Power at Irish History and Heritage Celebration". Westchester County Board of Legislators. 9 March 2021.
- ^ O'Dowd, Sean (8 September 2016). "New York Irish Community To Honour Boyle Man". RealBoyle.com.
- ^ "New York honour for Boyle native". Sligo Champion. 13 March 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
External links edit
- Official website