By Paddy McCarthy
I was at the Knights of Saint Patrick’s 35th Anniversary Dinner last week that was held at The Union League Club honoring Kay Quinlivan as their Knight of the Year, Patrick McGowan as Business Executive of the Year and Patrick Dolan as Labor Leader of the Year.
The Chairman of the Knights of Saint Patrick John Tully gave a great welcome speech to all the guests, and me of course. He gave a great Céad Míle Fáilte on behalf of the Knights of Saint Patrick to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of their founding.
There were a lot of fellow Knights that worked very hard to make this night such a fabulous evening and everyone that attended the dinner had a wonderful time, what a great organization it is.
One of the founders who served as the Grand Marshal of the 2009 New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade was missing; it was the man himself Michael Gibbons who was not available to attend as he was out of state and boy was he missed.
The evening would not have been possible without the hard work of many of the fellow Knights, including the Dinner Committee led by Marty Cottingham, Dan Donnelly, Kara Ross, Tom Flood, Michael Macintyre, Michael Avis and the Journal Chairman Brian J. Sharkey who produced a beautiful journal.
As I said in last week’s Out&About, I have been at some historic Irish dinner events that were all just brilliant and very well organized from top to bottom. I have always acknowledged each and every one of them as they all keep the Irish tradition alive and I personally am very proud of all of them.
I have to say that Knights of Saint Patrick struck a chord with me with how it was established here in New York City. Now I am going to give you some history on that was written in the Knights of St. Patrick journal by a man that I have been honored to know ever since I immigrated to America back in the 80s, Mike Gibbons.
So here we go as this is how it started and I know you will understand how the Irish and Irish Americans are so proud of their heritage. It said, “on behalf of my fellow Knights; it is my privilege to welcome you to our celebration of the 35th Anniversary of our founding.
“In 1988, our beloved New York City Saint Patrick’s Day Parade faced extreme financial pressure. A small group of men and women came together to provide the needed support for the oldest and grandest Parade celebrating Saint Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland and New York City. They called themselves the Knights of Saint Patrick.
“As we prepared for this grand evening, I was in touch with one of our founders, Mike Gibbons, who served as the Grand Marshal of the 2009 Parade. Mike penned a remembrance of the birth of our esteemed organization. ‘Mike’s words are worth sharing as they provide an understanding of the people and events that set us on the path, we proudly continue to follow’ said John F. Tully.
“‘As one of the founders, I recall for the record the founding of The Knights of St. Patrick. In 1988, Frank Beirne was Chairman of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The City of New York was upset at the parade’s policy of not permitting sexual identification banners. The only banner approved by the Parade Committee read ‘ENGLAND OUT OF IRELAND.’
“‘Some NYC politicians were making threats against the parade while simultaneously shifting parade expenses to the Parade Committee. A small group of us met with Frank. Our primary concern was how to raise the funds necessary to keep the parade on Fifth Avenue on St. Patrick’s Day.
“‘The NYC St. Patrick’s Day parade celebrates the history of the Irish in America. For one day every year, we show our Irish pride as we celebrate our fantastic history and pass on our distinct culture with our marching bands, traditional music and dance, and warm and friendly greetings to all New Yorkers. But the parade was now under threat from the City.
“‘Frank Beirne advised us that the City was no longer paying for the cost of setting up grandstands along Fifth Avenue, nor would it pay for painting the Green Line up the middle of the Avenue. At the time, Neil Walsh, Tom Gleason, Barbara O’Neil, Jim Moriarty, Johnny Newe, and I sat on the fundraising committee. Some of us volunteered to take on some of the burdens. Neil Walsh agreed to paint the Green Line, while Tom Gleason represented the Parade Committee pro bono in dealing with the City. But we knew this wasn’t enough—we needed a unique idea and did not have much time.
“‘That was when we came up with the idea of creating The Knights of St. Patrick. We would be an independent organization not officially affiliated with St. Patrick’s Cathedral or the NYC St. Patrick’s Day parade. We created a list of friends we would contact to join the Knights. We quickly had enough men and women who agreed to become Knights.
“‘Neil Walsh was in the insurance business and once had been the official greeter for the City of NY; he brought in several friends, such as Virgil Conway, President of Seamen’s Bank, and Bill Shea, a lawyer. (Shea Stadium is named after Bill.)
“‘Tom Gleason brought in his father, Teddy Gleason, head of the Longshoremen’s Union, along with other union leaders. Barbara O’Neil was heroic— she brought in the Knights, including John Merriweather, Dr. Paddy Boland, and many others. John Connor brought Tom Kane (Adare Manor), and Tom brought two priests from Fordham University.
“‘I may leave somebody out, but here’s a list of other original Knights that I can recall: Mary Ann and Donald Scanlon (Wall Street), Dan Tully (Wall Street), Joe Quinlivan (Wall Street), Gary Cronin (Printing), Ed Donnelly, Bill O’Malley, Tom Gleason Jr., Frank Powers (Wall Street), Ed Bowers (Longshoreman’s Union), Connie Doolan (Mr. Guinness), William Harrington (Lawyer) and Bill Plunkett (Lawyer).
“‘We decided that we needed officers. The founders were proposed as the Board of Directors. The Board held an election of officers at my office at Estée Lauder. Tommy Gleason computed the election and announced Neil as Chairman. We needed to bring the Knights together for an Induction Ceremony. Judge John Keenan volunteered to swear in the Knights.
“‘We also needed the correct location. Some of you are familiar with The Knickerbocker Club on Fifth Avenue; it is the club where the NY ladies, during the American Revolution, danced with the British officers while George Washington escaped by rowboat from Brooklyn. It’s a perfect place for our ‘England out of Ireland’ banner.
“‘We were sworn in as Knights toasted the Parade Committee and laughed at the Knights taking over the Knickerbocker Club for one night. ‘Up the rebels.’ We knew the Knights needed a signature St. Patrick’s Day event. It took us about five years to get to The Pierre Hotel. Their banquet department had dealt with some of the Knights holding corporate events there. They trusted us, but we had trouble meeting their minimum guarantee in the early years. Jack Sharkey purchased ten tables so that we could meet our guarantee. In time, Neil Walsh passed, and Virgil and I became Co-Chairmen, followed by Frank Powers (RIP) and Gene McCarthy (RIP). They did an excellent job at building the Knights.’”
I have to tell you that I would not have known all this only for my out and about and being invited to the Knights of Saint Patrick’s 35th Anniversary Dinner that was held at the Union League Club on Park Avenue.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s Out&About and I’ll see you all again next week.