Another year of Irish tradition and festivities comes to Throggs Neck filled with food, fun and family for the books.

Sunday, March 15 will mark the 22nd annual Throggs Neck St. Patricks Day Parade, with the parade taking off at noon on East Tremont Avenue and Lafayette Avenue after the 9 a.m. Mass at St. Benedicts Church on 2969 Otis Avenue.

The St. Patricks Day Parade would not be what it is without its grand marshals.

The parade committee recently announced this year’s grand marshals are Jack McCarrick and Sheila Haney.

Both McCarrick and Haney have deep roots in the Bronx as well as being children of Irish immigrants.

McCarrick’s father emigrated from Tubbercurry, County Silgo and his mother from Ballina, County Mayo. His parents met in America, married and had a family of seven, with McCarrick being the oldest.

Haney’s mother and father immigrated to New York from Counties Leitrim and Silgo. They met at an Irish dance, got married and raised three children.

“My family went back to Ireland just after I turned 4-years-old, and I vividly remember all of my experiences on the farm,” Haney said. “I have shared those stories and our history with my children over the years.”

Haney landed in Throggs Neck after marrying her husband, Edward ‘Mickey’ Haney in St. Luke’s parish in 1956.

Haney and her husband raised six children during those years. The couple worked hard so their children could attend parish school and then Preston High School and St. Raymond’s Boys High School.

McCarrick and his wife, Marie, started their family of three in Throggs Neck after college. McCarrick and his wife both attended Spellman High School.

McCarrick went to Manhattan College and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics.

His work career started at the NYC Mass Transit Authority where he stayed for a decade before working for Con Edison, Sharp Electronics, Canon USA and more.

Both McCarrick and Haney have been civic leaders since living in Throggs Neck.

McCarrick has been spearheading the local parish blood drive and will hit his 80th donation in the spring.

McCarrick belongs to the Knights of Columbus Council 306, is the president of the Ancient Order of Hiberians, the secretary for the New York Archdiocesan Holy Name Society and an officer of the Throggs Neck Homeowners Association.

Haney is retired, but worked at St. Raymond’s for many years and watched a whole generation of neighborhood boys grow into young men.

However, Haney holds the distinction of being the longest running volunteer for the Throggs Neck Benevolent Association and the parade committee working behind the scenes.

The importance of religion and their Irish heritage are what McCarrick and Haney truly find meaningful about the holiday and the parade

“For me, my faith and my Irish heritage are so closely intertwined – they just go together,” Haney said.

McCarrick said he feels honored to be following in the footsteps of family members and good friends who have been grand marshals in the past.

Haney and McCarrick have never missed a St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Throggs Neck since its inception 21 years ago.

©2020

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