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Black Tie
International:
NYC St.
Patrick's Day Parade Gala Cocktail Reception
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Geri, Daniella, Kevi and Isabella O'Connor |
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NYC
St. Patrick's Day Parade Gala
Cocktail Reception 2012
Photos by: Joyce Brooks/Blacktiemagazine.com |
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Hosted by Greg Kelly, FOX 5, “Good Day New York”
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Celtic Woman (Chloë
Agnew, Lisa Lambe, Lisa Kelly and Celtic violinist Máiréad Nesbitt)
with Honoree
Frank Comerford, Grand Marshal for the 2012 Parade and Chief
Revenue Officer and President of Commercial Operations for
NBC Owned Television Stations. |
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The
Celtic Tenors |
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Paul
Byrom |
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Michael T. English |
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Five
Services
U.S.
Military Color Guard |
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The
NYPD Pipes and Drums |
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The
Keltic Dreams
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The
Broesler School of Irish Dance |
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Edward Cardinal Egan
Archbishop Emeritus of New York |
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Greg
Kelly and
Raymond W. Kelly Police Commissioner of the
City of New York |
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John
T. Dunleavy, Chairman of the St. Patrick's Day Parade
with Honoree
Frank Comerford |
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John
T. Dunleavy with Honoree
Alfred E. Smith, IV |
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John
T. Dunleavy with Honoree
Hanora O’Dea Kilkenny |
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Mr.
and Mrs.
Frank Comerford |
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John
Lahey |
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Kevin McCarthy and Pat Kelleher |
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Brian Fitzpatrick and Pat Kelleher |
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Maura Fitton, Bronx County AIDE for LAOH |
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Councillor Sean McKiernan, Mayor, Cavan County Coucil
Ireland and Shaun Clancy |
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Michele Mellotte and Siobhan Cox-Carlos |
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John
Lopez, Gene McCarthy and Eddy Chaumette |
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Ryan
O'Byrne, Brian Stack and Peter Byrne |
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Turlough McConnell, Susan Ziegler, Buz O'Keefe, Patricia
Weeks, Gerry Meagler, Elizabeth Hunter and Barry Michela |
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Damon Treadwell and Joyce Brooks |
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Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!
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The 2012 New York City St. Patrick’s
Day Parade
Gala Cocktail Reception
WHAT: The New York City St.
Patrick’s Day Parade 2012 Gala
Cocktail Reception - After 250 years
of the Parade - a new and exciting
event engaging the community to
secure the next 250 years, and
beyond!
WHO: The New York City St.
Patrick’s Parade Gala Committee,
partnering with many prominent Irish
and American organizations and
world-class entertainment
WHEN: Thursday, March 15th,
6:00 PM to 10:00 PM
WHERE: The New York Athletic
Club (180 Central Park South, NYC)
WHY: To pay tribute to U.S.
Veterans, honor the Parade Grand
Marshal and other prominent members
of NYC’s Irish-American community;
Presentation of inaugural “New York
City St. Patrick's Day Parade -
Ambassadors of Irish Culture,”
Awarded to Celtic Woman for Keeping
Our Tradition Alive;
A way to bring the community
together to foster the longevity and
well-being of the Parade.
MORE: Hosted by Greg Kelly,
FOX 5,
“Good Day New York”.
World-class featured entertainment
included: Celtic Woman, The Celtic
Tenors, Paul Byrom, Michael T.
English, The NYPD Pipes and Drums,
The Broesler School of Irish Dance,
The Keltic Dreams and Five Services
U.S. Military Color Guard.
In attendance were Minister Joan
Burton (Irish Minister for Social
Protection), John Bruton (Chairman
of Ireland Financial Services
Center, former Ambassador and Prime
Minister), Noel Kilkenny (Counsul
General of Ireland) and a number of
senior U.S. Military Officials.
Gala Sponsors: NBCUniversal and
PricewaterhouseCoopers.
HONOREES:
Grand Marshal Francis X.
Comerford:
Frank Comerford is the Grand Marshal
for the 2012 Parade and Chief
Revenue Officer and President of
Commercial Operations for NBC Owned
Television Stations. Comerford has
worked in the television industry
for more than 30 years, including
over 15 years with NBC. He has been
instrumental in raising the profile
of the Parade across the world
through the media of television and
the internet. Comerford is very
active in the community and serves
on many charitable boards, including
the Lutheran Medical Center, the
Association for a Better New York,
the Executive Board of NYC &
Company, the Archdiocese of New York
Catholic Charity, Xavier High
School, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Committee, The John A. Reisenbach
Foundation and the Diocese of
Brooklyn’s TVC. He has been honored
by several prestigious
organizations, including CAPP,
Abilities School, the Diocese of
Brooklyn, the Friends of AHRC Autism
Program and New Yorkers for
Children. Comerford holds a BS in
Business Administration and Finance
from Georgetown University. He
traces his Irish ancestry to County
Kilkenny. He resides in Brooklyn and
Long Island with his wife, Maura,
and
their son.
Alfred E. Smith, IV:
Mr. Smith is CEO of AE Smith
Associates and is the great-grandson
of the legendary Al Smith, Governor
of New York. He serves as the
Director, Secretary, and Dinner
Chairman for the Alfred E. Smith
Memorial Foundation, as well as
Master of Ceremonies the dinner for
the past 25 years. Alfred’s work on
behalf of charities in New York and
Connecticut is extensive. In
addition to his work with the Alfred
E. Smith Memorial Foundation he
serves as Chairman of the Board of
Saint Vincent Catholic Medical
Centers, Director of the Center for
Hope, former Trustee of Calvary
Hospital and served on the board of
St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan.
Al is the Chairman of the Irish
Chamber of Commerce of the USA and
Chairman of Hackers for Hope, an
organization he founded in 1988 to
raise money for cancer research and
treatment. Since 1988, Hackers for
Hope has donated over $8,000,000 to
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer
Center, Saint Vincent Catholic
Medical Centers Comprehensive Cancer
Center, and other organizations
committed to finding a cure for and
treating cancer. Mr. Smith retired
as Managing Director of Bear Wagner
Specialists LLC in 2006, after 35
successful years on Wall Street. He
sits on the Boards of The Tony Blair
Faith Foundation, Mutual of America,
and Provectus. He is a Senior
Advisor for the Marwood Group, as
well as Kroll Bond Rating Agency.
Alfred Smith was educated at Iona
Prep and Villanova University.
Hanora O’Dea Kilkenny:
Hanora O’Dea Kilkenny is a native of
Kilrush, County Clare and the
daughter of Mary O’Dea (nee Harvey)
and the late Michael O’Dea. She was
educated by the Sisters of Mercy in
Kilrush and at St. Patrick’s College
of Education in Dublin. Hanora is
married to Noel Kilkenny, Consul
General of Ireland in New York and
since coming to New York, Hanora has
been particularly impressed by the
sense of true community and mutual
support she has witnessed and
experienced from the Irish in New
York. Hanora Kilkenny is a key
figure in the New York Irish
community and with along with her
husband she is actively involved in
Irish affairs in the Tri-State area.
SPECIAL TRIBUTES:
“The New York City St. Patrick’s
Day Parade - Ambassadors of Irish
Culture, For Keeping Our Tradition
Alive.” This is an inaugural award
to Celtic Woman:
Celtic Woman - the all-female
singing sensation featuring
vocalists Chloë Agnew, Lisa Lambe,
Lisa Kelly and Celtic violinist Máiréad Nesbitt,
performing classic Irish songs,
timeless pop anthems, and
inspirational songs with their
signature Celtic Woman twist. Their
newest release is BELIEVE, which is
their eighth #1 debut on Billboard's
World Music Chart. Celtic Woman
debuted on Public Television in
March 2005 where they quickly
emerged as a top attraction for the
network. The group distinguished
their sound as a transcendental
force and their spectacular live
shows embody a radiance and purity
that connects with their adoring
fanbase. Those fans have shown their
commitment over the years, leading
to sales of more than 6.5 million
Celtic Woman CDs/DVDs and over 2
million concert tickets sold
globally.
Tribute to U.S. Veterans and Fr.
Mandato, Honoree:
The 2012 New York City St. Patrick’s
Day Parade is dedicated to U.S.
Veterans.
Fr. Kieran G. Mandato - Commander,
Chaplain Corps, United States Navy,
is the Staff Roman Catholic Chaplain
for Naval District Washington and
the Command Chaplain for Naval
Support Activity and for the Office
of Naval Intelligence.He is
responsible for all the burials at
Arlington National Cemetery for the
Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.
Chaplain Mandato, a native of Mount
Vernon, New York, graduated from
Fordham University in Bronx, New
York with a B.A. in Theology and a
B.A. in Philosophy. He earned a
Master of Divinity (M.Div) from St.
Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, New
York. Ordained in 1987 as a priest
of the Archdiocese of New York,
Father Mandato served for five years
as a parochial vicar at St.
Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Shrub
Oak, New York. His personal
decorations include the Meritorious
Service Medal (two awards), Navy
Commendation Medal (four awards),
the Navy Achievement Medal (two
awards), the Combat Action Ribbon,
and various other service and
campaign medals and ribbons.
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ENTERTAINMENT:
The Celtic Tenors - have
established themselves as the most
successful classical crossover
artists ever to emerge from Ireland.
In 2000, following an impromptu
audition at EMI in London, the
Celtic Tenors were signed on the
spot to an international record
deal, a highly unusual event that
was the talk of the music industry.
The Celtic Tenor's fifth album was
released in 2009. Recorded in the
Hollywood Hills, this new album is a
collection of songs from North
America, by songwriters including
Stephen Foster and Bob Dylan.
Essentially a roots album with rich
harmony driven songs, Celtic Tenors,
Daryl, James and Matthew were
privileged to work with the
Grammy-winning team of Steve
Lindsey, Dillon O'Brien and Dave
Way.
The Celtic Tenors continue to
"re-invent the whole tenor idiom"
(Phil Coulter - composer of
"Remember Me"), by pioneering a new
style of 'cool' never before seen on
the classical stage and by breaking
the traditional stuffy tenor mould.
While each of The Celtic Tenors have
been influenced by the musical
traditions from their own individual
parts of Ireland, Daryl, James and
Matthew show great flexibility in
melding their voices to suit the
appropriate classical, folk, Irish
and pop genres. The "Echo Award" in
Germany for "Classical without
Boundaries" was presented to The
Celtic Tenors in recognition of this
fact.
With a total album sales worldwide,
including compilations, of over one
million, and a full international
touring schedule, the Celtic Tenors
have topped the charts in the USA,
Canada, Germany, the UK and Ireland.
The Celtic Tenors:
- have sung leading roles with top
opera companies and performed in
oratorio and concerts across the
globe
- have appeared on TV across the
USA, Canada and Europe
- have produced their own German TV
Special "Ein Grosser Irischer Abend"
which was broadcast to millions
across Germany and subsequently
broadcast as a PBS Special
coast-to-coast across the USA,
"Celebrate with The Celtic Tenors".
- have sung for world leaders and
appeared in concert with such names
as Dionne Warwick, Air Supply and
The Chieftains
- headlined Irish and Celtic
Festivals in Europe and the USA and
performed with orchestras including
the BBC Concert Orchestra, The
National Symphony Orchestra of
Ireland, the Vancouver Symphony
Orchestra and the Cincinnati Pops
Orchestra
The Celtic Tenors' live show is an
experience overflowing with vitality
and variety from start to finish.
The unique voices, charm and wit of
Daryl, James and Matthew, combined
with their talented young Musical
Director Colm Rogan, combine an
emotive journey with a thoroughly
uplifting experience. Equally at
home performing to large festival
crowds or intimate concert halls and
theatres, and whether backed by a
live band, symphony orchestra, solo
piano, or even acapella, their
voices and personalities always
shine through alongside their
undeniable celtic charm.
Catch the Celtic Tenors in concert,
enjoy their eclectic mix of
classical, folk, Irish and pop.
Broesler School of Irish Dance - has
been active in the east coast Irish
community since 1986. Kevin Broesler
is the school’s founder and director
and is a former national and world
champion step dancer. In 2004, Kevin
was honored by Irish American
Magazine as one of its top 100 Irish
Americans. The school has locations
in New Jersey, New York,
Connecticut, Maryland and Delaware.
Tonight had Open Champion
dancers who will be competing in
Belfast, Ireland beginning March
31st at the Irish Dance World
Championships and again at Nationals
in Chicago this summer. We have Ryan
Broelser who placed 3rd in the World
Championships last year and Mitchell
DeSamone, who just came off a dance
tour with Michael Flatley’s Lord of
the Dance. ENJOY!
Keltic Dreams - Teacher
Caroline Duggan moved to New York
from Dublin, Ireland in the summer
of 2002 and was hired by the NYC
Dept of Ed as a music teacher to
teach in Public School 59 situated
in a low socio-economic area of the
Bronx with a 98% poverty level. In
2003, with the support and approval
of the school Principal at P.S 59,
Caroline started an after school
Irish dance program as the children,
all African American and Latino were
fascinated with her "funny accent"
and Irish culture. Caroline named
the group The Keltic Dreams and over
the next few years took the children
performing all over New York and
other states. Thanks to donations
Caroline raised enough money to take
The Keltic Dreams on their very
first overnight trip to The Irish
Connections Festival in Canton,
Boston in 2006 where they were
awarded the very first Building
Bridges Award. In 2007 Caroline
raised over $72,000 in a number of
months through generous donations,
obtained passports for all the
children and took the children, the
school Principal and some parent and
teacher chaperones on the trip of a
life time to Ireland where they were
invited to perform for The President
of Ireland in her residence as well
as on The Late Late Show. Most of
the children had never been on a
plane before. The Producer of
Riverdance, John McColgan documented
the trip which turned into a
documentary titled "A Bronx Dream"
which aired in Ireland on Primetime
TV in Ireland, England, Canada and
has been currently airing on
Showtime TV here in the United
States for the past two years. In
2008 The keltic Dreams made the
cover of the NY Times and planned to
travel to Northern Ireland to the
Northern Ireland Ministers in
Belfast. Within a number of months
Caroline had obtained passports for
the new members of the group and
raised over $85,000 and took them
all to Ireland to perform. On this
trip the students connected with
Protestant and Catholic students in
both Northern Ireland and the
Republic of Ireland highlighting
that their performance was breaking
down barriers of religion, cultural
differences and race by fusing
children from all cultural
backgrounds together and
highlighting their performances in a
really positive light. In November
2008, The Keltic Dreams flew to
Chicago where they performed at the
American Ireland Fund Gala there. In
2009 they performed at The American
Ireland Fund Gala in Washington
Then another dream unfolded. After
having the keltic Dreams to her home
country in Ireland to perform for
her own President in Ireland,
Caroline dreamed of taking The
Keltic dreams to perform for The
President of The United States. On
February 17, 2010 the Keltic Dreams
performed for President Clinton and
Congressman Crowley at a Black
History month celebration. On March
9, 2010 they performed in City Hall,
New York City for Speaker Christine
Quinn and Caroline Kennedy. On March
16, 2010 the group was invited to
perform at The American Ireland Fund
Gala in Washington where The Keltic
Dreams performed for Secretary of
State Hilary Clinton. Then the dream
came true and the Keltic Dreams were
invited to perform at the St
Patrick's celebration in The White
House on March 17, 2010 where they
performed for a huge audience and
met with President Obama and the
first Lady on St Patrick's Day 2010.
Our most recent performance was at
The State of the City of New York
address by Mayor Bloomberg in
January 2012. Irish dance has become
the means of showing the children
and their teacher that anything is
possible through believing in
yourself and extreme hard work. This
group highlights diversity at it's
finest through performance and gives
a strong message to their audiences,
the idea of hope and believing that
anything is possible if you work
hard and believe in yourself.
Caroline fuses her Irish culture
with the children’s cultural
backgrounds of Hip Hop and Salsa in
the choreography and continues to
introduce new children to the
program each year.
Paul Byrom - is often hailed
as Ireland's premier tenor and with
good reason. From an early age his
special vocal talent brought him the
attention of music coaches and
talent spotters. The Dublin-born
tenor began voice study and training
when he was just seven years old and
went on to study as a tenor under
the legendary Dr. Veronica Dunne,
Ireland's leading lady of opera and
a renowned vocal teacher.
He was a professional singer by his
early teens and Paul recorded his
first album as a boy soprano at 14.
His second release, entitled VELVET,
was in 2005 and it reached #2 in the
Irish music charts. This led to many
appearances on Irish Television and
Radio, including "Celebrity Jigs and
Reels" where he reached the grand
final. Paul went on to release his
Christmas album entitled "I'll Be
Home For Christmas" in 2008, which
charted in the Classical Billboard
Charts.
His talent as a tenor has taken him
far and wide, and some of the many
highlights of his career to date
include performing for many
dignitaries such as Irish President
Mary McAleese, Emperor Akihito of
Japan, Former Irish President and UN
Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary
Robinson and most recently for
United States President, Barack
Obama.
Paul is an avid sports fan and he
has also performed at many
large-scale and high profile
sporting events such as six
All-Ireland Finals in Croke Park,
Dublin, International rugby games in
Landsdowne Road and the new Aviva
Stadium, Dublin, for the Pittsburgh
Steelers American Football team at
Heinz Field in the US.For the world
and european club Champions football
team, Barcelona. He is very proud
now to be a regular at the TD
Garden, for the Boston Celtics
basketball team.
In 2007 Paul was invited to join
Celtic Thunder as one of the five
soloists. "I was thrilled to join
Celtic Thunder and get the chance to
work with Phil Coulter again" says
Paul. " I have had a lot of fun
making the show's and it was very
exciting bringing them to new
audiences around the world." Fans
call Byrom "The Swanky Tenor" for
his suave and romantic style in
performing, which is stamped on such
numbers in Celtic Thunder as
"Remember Me, Recuerde Me" and
"She".
He has since left the production and
released his latest album "THIS IS
THE MOMENT" which debuted at No.1 on
the World Billboard Charts, followed
by his first solo tour of North
America. It's safe to say, Paul has
gone from strength to strength. "I
am truly excited about what lies
ahead for me, but I know I've made a
lot of friends along the way who
will never let me walk alone"
Michael T. English - at the
age of 11 years, sat at his piano in
his home in Castledermot, County
Kildare. He composed a piece of
music which he called Perestroika, a
term that translates as ‘peace’ and
one which dominated global political
news at the time.
Soon after, Michael would make his
first appearance on national TV,
performing on Ireland’s most popular
and highly-rated talk show. For him,
The Late Late Show was a small-town
boy’s dream come true. For those who
watched and listened, it was the
public birth of an extraordinary
talent.
By the time he had reached his late
teens, Michael T English was a
seasoned professional in the music
business. His father and mother
would accompany him to dance-hall
and ballroom venues throughout
Ireland, watching and encouraging as
their son followed a family
tradition. For the English family,
music and showbusiness was a way of
life. Michael was merely doing what
appeared completely natural. After
all, his father was a gifted
accordion player and Michael’s
childhood remains, to this day,
stained with happy memories of Irish
traditional music filling the
kitchen air at home.
In 1997, Michael’s first album was
released. But what started out as a
low-budget experiment to gauge what
audiences really thought soon
delivered a resounding verdict. The
album began to snowball and people
wanted more. And lucky for them, so
did the young, dashing and rising
Irish star.
Long before he had reached the age
of thirty years, Michael T English
was quickly becoming a household
name. He had completed his classical
training in music and went on to
record an astonishing five albums,
each one leaving a more memorable
impression than the next. Touring
extensively all over Ireland, the UK
and the USA, the boy-wonder from
Castledermot was living his dream.
Recording and performing music was
always what it was; always what it
had to be.
But perhaps it was his unexpected
phone call from Louis Walsh in 2005
that catapulted Michael’s musical
career onto a higher plane. To many,
he was an unlikely choice for the
music mogul to want added to his
growing list of sell-out
international pop bands and
performers. But Louis Walsh liked
what he saw. He knew Michael was
different, and more of the world
needed to know more about his gift.
Signed to Sony Records and under the
guidance of Louis Walsh, Michael
went on to record two further
albums, All My Life and Portrait Of
My Love. The first was a diverse
collection of easy-listening hits
featuring duets with international
stars such as Daniel O’Donnell and
Linda Martin. And for Portrait Of My
Love, Michael met and sat with Roger
Whittaker to fine-tune his
interpretation of one of Rogers’
tracks, The Last Farewell; a song
particularly close to Michael’s
heart and one he had wanted to
record for years.
Today, the Michael T English story
has almost come full circle. During
his prolific career to date, Michael
has been the recipient of numerous
music and entertainment awards,
including recognition at the Irish
Entertainment Awards for Best Album
of The Year (2010), Number One
Selling Album (2008 and2009) as well
as a Golden Roll of Honours Award in
2008 from the Performing Artists
Trust Society. And for good measure,
it so happens that he also holds
five All-Ireland ballroom dancing
titles!
Underneath, Michael T English still
remains the unassuming and witty
Kildare man who lives to sit at his
piano and compose music and songs,
just as he did as an 11-year-old
boy. Now, the experience and passion
brought about by a fascinating music
career and life itself have been
woven into his unique style and the
stories his music tells.
For Michael T English, composing and
performing aren’t really things he
chooses to do. It’s as if the
passion of music continues to choose
him. And perhaps for the first time
ever, the very core of Michael’s raw
musical talent will be unleashed in
his new album due out in 2012.
Produced by music legend Phil
Coulter, Michael has created an
album that is original, stunningly
melodic and lyrically profound. The
album is, in his own words, “without
doubt my best work yet”.
Michael currently divides his time
between Ireland, the UK and the USA,
writing more new material now more
than ever before and performing
sell-out concerts to audiences who
want to be part of this
extraordinary personal and musical
journey.
GALA PARTNERS:
The Ireland-U.S. Council, Manhattan
College, Quinnipiac University, the
Notre Dame Club of New York, Irish
American Bar Association of New
York, Irish American Orthopaedic
Society, Knights of St. Patrick,
Power Memorial Academy, Irish
Business Organization, Irish
International Business Network,
Irish Repertory Theatre, MurphGuide,
Failte32, Out of Ireland, Irish
Examiner, Tourism Ireland, and
Growing . . .
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251st New
York City St. Patrick's Day Parade
To Honor Veterans of
the United States
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Special
Recognition to Salute the Service and Sacrifice
New York, N.Y., - The oldest, biggest and best St.
Patrick's Day Parade in the world will honor all
American veterans and salute one in particular when
it marches up Fifth Avenue on March 17th.
This year, the New York City St. Patrick's Day
Parade celebrates the service and sacrifice of all
American veterans. Receiving special recognition
will be Long Island native Lt. Michael Murphy, USN,
posthumous recipient of the Congressional Medal of
Honor for heroic and selfless actions in conflict in
Afghanistan.
Each year, the New York City St. Patrick's Day
Parade recognizes the efforts of an outstanding
charity or distinguished group of people who serve
to make the world better. This year, the parade
committee - led by chairman John Dunleavy, a veteran
of the U.S. Army - has chosen to honor all American
veterans from every branch of service and from every
war or conflict.
The presence of veterans or members of the military
in the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade dates
to the beginning of the event. The original parade
251 years ago included Irish soldiers conscripted
into the British Army serving here in Manhattan.
Through the intervening years, the tradition of
military presence in the parade continued, notably
with the role of the 69th Regiment of the
New York National Guard leading the parade followed
by many military bands and delegations. In a very
recognizable way, the idea of honoring past and
present members of the military is a celebration of
the story of immigrants in the United States; the
true spirit of America is embodied in their efforts
to build roots and gain educations while embracing
the faith that gave them hope and uniting to protect
their chosen country.
Participating in the 2012 St. Patrick's Day Parade
will be members of each branch of the military: the
Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Marines, and the
Coast Guard. Service of participating veterans spans
the time from World War II through
Korea,
Vietnam, the Cold War, Kosovo, to the conflicts of
the last decade in Iraq and Afghanistan. With
participation coordinated by the American Legion
Post 50 and Sons of the American Legion, Squadron 50
of Pelham, N.Y., the veterans groups marching in
this year's parade include the Catholic War
Veterans; The American Legion; the Marine Corps
League; the Veterans of Foreign Wars; The Vietnam
Veterans of America; the Red Bank, N.J., Veterans
from 1941-2012; the Mercy College Veterans Program
from Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.; the Iraq and Afghanistan
Veterans of America; and the United War Veterans
Council of New York City.
The parade committee especially recognizes a genuine
hero from Patchogue, Long Island: Lt. Michael
Murphy, USN. A Navy SEAL, Lt. Murphy led a four-man
team on a mission in the remote mountains of
Afghanistan. The small unit of Lt. Murphy, Gunner's
Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Danny Dietz, Sonar
Technician 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew
Axelson and Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class
(SEAL) Marcus Luttrell was trapped by Taliban
fighters on three sides and ran low on
ammunition. The intense firefight inflicted grave
gunshot wounds upon Lt. Murphy, yet he
unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his
own life moved into the open, where he could gain a
better position to transmit a call that relayed the
position of the stranded unit to a relief force.
Severely wounded, Lt. Murphy returned to his cover
position with his men and continued the battle until
he was ultimately killed. But Lt. Murphy's heroism
led to the rescue of Petty Officer Luttrell and the
recovery of the remains of the three Americans who
were lost in the battle. For his undaunted courage,
intrepid fighting spirit and inspirational devotion
to his men in the face of certain death, Lt. Murphy
was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, our
nation's highest honor for military service. In May
2011, the Navy christened a new Arleigh Burke-class
destroyer, which will be commissioned in
October. For decades to come, USS Michael P. Murphy
will continue to protect America as an example of
the service and heroism of its namesake.
The St. Patrick's Day Parade is one of New York
City's greatest traditions, marching for the first
time on March 17, 1762 when it was formed by a band
of homesick Irish ex-patriots and Irish military who
served with the British Army stationed in the
American colonies. This was a time when the wearing
of green was a sign of Irish pride and was banned in
Ireland. The parade participants reveled in the
freedom to speak Irish, wear the green, sing Irish
songs and play the bagpipes to Irish tunes that were
very meaningful to the Irish immigrants who had fled
their homeland.
For the first few years of its existence, the parade
was organized by military units. After the War of
1812, the Irish fraternal and beneficial societies
took over the duties of hosting and sponsoring the
event. Originally, the Irish societies joined
together at their respective meeting places and
moved in a procession toward Old St. Patrick's
Cathedral in Lower Manhattan on Mott & Prince
Streets, where the Archbishop of New York would
address the crowd before revelers dispersed to
celebrate.
In the mid-1800s, the individual societies merged
under a single grand marshal and the size of the
parade grew sharply. This was when the Ancient Order
of Hibernians became the official sponsor of the
parade.
While the parade has always been led by a military
unit, for the past 150 years, members of the
National Guard's 69th Regiment (known as
the "Fighting 69th") has proudly led the
way up Fifth Avenue. This distinguished group of
soldiers is followed by members of various Irish
societies of the city, the 32 Irish County
Societies, various schools, colleges, Emerald
societies, Irish-language and nationalist societies.
To this day, the St. Patrick's Day Parade remains
true to its roots as a traditional marchers' parade
by not allowing floats, automobiles and other
commercial aspects to participate. Every year, the
Parade Committee hosts 150,000- 250,000 marchers in
front of approximately two million spectators lining
Fifth Avenue. The Parade is also televised for four
hours on New York's WNBC Channel 4 to over half a
million households and was streamed over the
Internet for the first time in 2008.
Throughout its history, the parade has been held in
honor of the Patron Saint of Ireland and the
Archdiocese of New York. The parade is reviewed each
year from the steps of Saint Patrick's Cathedral by
the current Archbishop of New York in the same
manner as the Archbishop of New York did in the
early days of the parade at the Old St. Patrick's
Cathedral in lower Manhattan.
The parade starts at 44th Street at 11
a.m. and is held every March 17th except
when March 17th falls on a Sunday;
because of religious observances on those occasions,
it is celebrated the day before, on Saturday the 16th.
The parade marches up Fifth Avenue past St.
Patrick's Cathedral at 50th Street and
continues to 79th Street, where the
parade finishes at approximately 4:30-5 p.m
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