30 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 29, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Bayside’s fi rst-ever St. Patrick’s
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
A longtime dream for many residents
of Irish descent, Bayside’s fi rst-ever St.
Patrick’s Day Parade fi nally became
a reality on Saturday — and by all
accounts, it was a smashing success.
Hundreds turned out for the march
down Bell Boulevard, from 36th to
41st avenues. St. Patrick’s Day fell a
week earlier, and yet the Irish spirit
ran high — with marchers clad in the
green, white and orange of the Irish
fl ag; numerous pipe and drums corps
fi lling the air with Irish music; and
shamrock-wearing spectators delighting
in it all.
Th e March 24 parade culminated
many months of planning and fundraising.
Th e Bayside St. Patrick’s Day
Parade Committee held many events
to drum up fi nancial support for the
march, including a dinner/dance at
Vivo! Mediterranean Grill & Catering
attended by more than 250 people. Th e
committee also held regular benefi ts at
Monahan & Fitzgerald Pub in Bayside.
Upwards of 20 community groups
participated in the march, including
local schools such as Holy Cross
High School, Our Lady of the Blessed
Sacrament Catholic Academy and
Sacred Heart Catholic Academy of
Bayside. Various Irish-American
organizations, including the Ancient
Order of Hibernians (founders of the
Manhattan St. Patrick’s Day Parade) and
the NYPD Emerald Society, walked the
route along with the NYPD Marching
Band and pipe and drum corps from
Iona College, Inis Fada, Breezy Point
Catholic Club, Archbishop Molloy
High School, Local Union No. 3 IBEW,
Holy Cross High School and the MTA
Police Department.
Patrick Lynch, president of the
Patrolman’s Benevolent Association
and a Bayside resident, served as the
parade’s grand marshal. Other honorees
included Mary McCauley, Jeff
Reinhart, Francis McLoughlin, Fr.
Robert Whelan and Frank Talty.
Along with celebrating Irish heritage,
the members of the Fire Department
in attendance paid special homage to
Firefi ghter Michael Davidson, who died
the previous day while fi ghting a fi re in
Manhattan. Th ey carried a banner bearing
his image and the numbers 5-5-5-
5 — the signal the FDNY uses when
announcing a line-of-duty death.
All in all, one of the parade’s organizers,
Kieran Mahoney, was grateful
for those who turned out to make the
parade successful.
“Yesterday was unbelievable,” he
wrote in a message on the parade’s
Facebook page. “Th ank you everyone
who marched as well as those that
packed the sidewalks cheering on! I
can’t thank enough the committee,
all the volunteers and of course, our
sponsors, that helped make history in
the fi rst-ever Bayside St Patrick’s Day
Parade. Can’t wait for next year!”
Photos by Dean Moses
link
