Overcast skies did nothing to dampen the mood on East Tremont Avenue on Sunday, where thousands of Bronxites lined the streets in green beads, shamrock hats and Irish flags for the 28th annual Throggs Neck St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Marching bands, bagpipers, local politicians and community organizations filled the mile-and-a-half route to cheers from the crowd.
Leading the procession was James “Jimmy” Dorrian, a 95-year-old Throggs Neck native, Navy veteran, and former member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic Soccer Team.
Joining him as Grand Marshal was Anne Meyers, a celebrated opera singer and 45-year pillar of St. Benedict’s Church choirs, who said the honor caught her completely off guard. “I didn’t know I was being nominated,” Meyers said.
“These are folks who have made a difference in the community, who have celebrated Irish heritage, culture, values, faith, and who are worthy to lead the parade,” said organizer Sheila Haney.
“I got a call from Sheila Haney saying, ‘You’ve been nominated for it,’” Meyers said
By day’s end, the surprise had turned to elation. “It was absolutely amazing. I loved every minute of it,” she said. “I was the princess for the day, an Irish princess for the day. We waved to everybody. Everybody came out.”
Behind the scenes, the parade is a six-to-seven month undertaking run entirely by volunteers through the Throggs Neck Benevolent Association.
Haney is one of several people who have helped organize the Throgs Neck St. Patrick’s Day Parade since 1998. She said the idea came after she and her friends attended the parade in Pearl River, in Rockland County, and realized they should bring it back to the Bronx.
“The Bronx was the borough without a parade,” Haney told the Bronx Times.
The parade also serves as a fundraiser for the Throggs Neck Benevolent Association, which raises money to help residents facing medical emergencies or other catastrophic events. Each year, organizers raise funds to cover parade costs through grants and by selling advertising pages in a commemorative journal book.
Though the parade may appear seamless to spectators, Haney said organizing it requires months of coordination.
“Everything from the flags lining the avenue, putting together a beautiful journal book that pays for the parade, lining up all the marchers and the bands. We do a mass in the morning and a breakfast. We serve probably 500 people there today,” Haney said.
This year, 23 community members who had passed were honored as honorary grand marshals, with over 500 of their family members marching in tribute. “I am thrilled,” Haney said. “It’s just a beautiful day for everybody involved.”
Jimmy Dorrian’s grandson Brian Dorrian flew in from North Carolina. He said the day carried deep meaning for the family, rooted in his grandfather’s faith and their long ties to the neighborhood.
“St. Patrick’s, patron saint of Ireland, so just to be able to represent that heritage, I think, is really important to him,” Brian said. “Our family has deep roots here in this neighborhood.” Of Jimmy’s 12 grandchildren, most made the trip, along with around ten great-grandchildren.
For the bars lining East Tremont, it is one of the biggest days of the year. Mike McDermott, owner of McDermott’s in the Neck, marked the bar’s 11th anniversary on parade day, same as every year since his licenses came through right at St. Patrick’s in 2015.
“This is like an anniversary for us every year,” McDermott said. A retired police officer who always dreamed of running an Irish pub, McDermott said the event doubles his usual crowd and means something beyond the bottom line.
“It represents a celebration of St. Patrick’s and it’s good to bring the neighborhood together and be recognized on our day,” he said.
The crowd itself told the story of a neighborhood that has grown well beyond its Irish roots. Cecilia Norbert, who has attended the parade for 20 years, said she doesn’t need a drop of Irish blood to love the day.
“I’m not Irish, but I love all cultures,” she said. “I just support every culture, every parade, every group, every class of people.”
Jack McCarrick, 72, a lifelong Throggs Neck resident and president of the local Ancient Order of Hibernians chapter, marched with his group as he does every year, carrying their banner down the avenue.
“It’s to promote the AOH itself, promote Irish society,” McCarrick said. “It does things behind the scenes. It gives donations to different worthy causes, besides having dinners and dances, marching the parade. It’s definitely fun.”
Alex Rolla, a 13-year-old from Throggs Neck who has attended the parade every year for six years, said his favorite part is straightforward, “probably all the songs that the marching bands have been performing, and the bagpipes. The bagpipes, yeah, those are really fun.”
Curtis Silwa, who has shown up to this parade every year since founding the Guardian Angels in the Bronx in 1979, was as candid as ever.
“Every year we’re here,” he said. “You see a lot of people who no longer live here, but grew up here, and then they come back here to pay tribute to the neighborhood.”
As the last group turned onto Harding Avenue and the tents filled with live music and Irish beer and foods, Throggs Neck wrapped up another St. Patrick’s Day the only way it knows how: loudly, proudly and well into the night.
Marina Samuel contributed to this story.
Carol Chen is a student at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
