Peekskill to Host 20th Anniversary St. Patrick’s

Parade & Mass on March 14, 2010

 --Enhanced Mass, Expanded Parade Route &

Commemorative CD Mark Milestone Parade--

 Peekskill, NY -- The Peekskill St. Patrick’s Committee announced today that the 20th Annual Peekskill St. Patrick’s Parade will be held Saturday, March 14, 2010 starting at 3pm in Downtown Peekskill.  The parade will be preceded by a special expanded Anniversary Mass at Assumption Church at 1:30pm. 

Joselle Cunane, a founding member of the Peekskill Volunteer Ambulance Corps and former nurse, will be installed as the parade’s Grand Marshal at the Committee's annual dinner at Colonial Terrace on Sunday, March 8, 2010.   

“This is a special occasion for many of us, and it is especially momentous for the City of Peekskill. I am so thrilled to be the Grand Marshal for this year’s 20th anniversary parade.  I am proud to walk in the footsteps of Dr. John McGurty, Sr., the first Grand Marshal, who set the standard for me to follow,” said Cunane.    

The parade route has been altered to pass by the original home of the parade's first Grand Marshal back in 1990, Dr. John McGurty, Sr. The parade will stop at the Union Avenue home now occupied by his daughter, for a moment of silent tribute and the playing of "Amazing Grace" by renowned bagpiper Joe Brady, Jr.  The Senior McGurty passed away a few weeks after he marched in the 1990 parade.   

Marchers will line up near the fire house on Division Street, make a left on First Street, right on Union Avenue, where they will pause to honor Dr. McGurty, Sr., right on Central Avenue, left on North Division Street, right on Main Street, right on North James Street, pass by the reviewing stand outside Cablevision’s studio at the corner of Park and James Streets, then right on Brown Street.  Marchers will disperse near the Paramount Center.  

The parade features bagpipers, bands, community groups, schools, boy and girl scout troops, dignitaries, police, fire and ambulance personnel and an assortment of vehicles.  Bagpiper and Peekskill resident Joe Brady, Jr., who leads the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade, will be the lead piper in Peekskill’s parade for the 20th time.  Cablevision will videotape the parade for later viewing.  

At the Mass, Celebrant Rev. James Gardiner, from Graymoor, will be joined by Concelebrants Rev. John Higgins, Assumption Church and Msgr. Patrick Keenan from St. Columbanus Church.  Bagpiper Joe Brady, Jr., organist Scott Mettey, and vocalists Ray Bermingham and Bill Murray will be accompanied by the Fighting 69th Color Guard, the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Knights of Columbus.  Mass starts at 1:30pm. The aides to the Grand Marshal include: former division president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Kevin Barton; PJ Kelly’s head waitress Roisin Quigley; co-chairwoman of this year’s American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, Mary Sokerka, and Entergy’s Jim Steets. 

In addition to the Grand Marshal installation, the Committee will present at its dinner some twenty individuals or groups with Irish crystal awards for their devotion to the parade over the last twenty years, with special focus on those individuals who were instrumental in the development of the first parade in 1990. Guests are flying in from all over the country to participate.  

To honor the 20th anniversary, a group of talented committee members and members of the Irish community at large are producing a commemorative CD of traditional Irish music.  Featured on the CD are: renowned bagpiper Joe Brady, Jr.; traditional Irish instrumentalist Scott Mettey; vocalists Jimmy Guinan, Ray Bermingham, Bill Murray, Tim Murphy, Mike O'Hanlon, and Cathal McGreal. Proceeds benefit the St. Patrick’s Committee and is being produced by Mettey on behalf of the committee.

 For further information, visit: www.peekskillstpatricksparade.org.

 About the Committee:  The Peekskill St. Patrick's Committee is dedicated to furthering of the appreciation of Irish heritage in the Peekskill area and hosts a halfway to St. Patrick's cruise every September, an annual installation of the Grand Marshal and Aides dinner, and in cooperation with the City of Peekskill, organizes and sponsors the annual Peekskill St. Patrick's Parade in March.