By Paddy McCarthy
Hello, by the time you read my Out&About this week I will be on my way to Ireland. I did not mention it any sooner as I was so busy, first of all in order to make this issue of The Irish Examiner USA something really special for the Saint Patrick’s Day.
I am both sad and happy on why I am going to Ireland when this is going to be one of the biggest New York City Saint Patrick’s Day Parades that we have had for a very long time and I will not be part of it, so that is the sad part. Now the happy part is the reason why I am going to Ireland, and that is because my daughter Christina is getting married in Youghal, County Cork on March 19th.
We are all leaving on the 16th with Aer Lingus to arrive at Dublin Airport on Saint Patrick’s Day March 17th and then take a bus down to Cork that will take between three and four hours. At about 5 pm the same day we will have a dress rehearsal for the wedding in the church that I hope will not take too long. Don’t worry about me as I will celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day after we finish and I will be thinking of you all marching up Fifth Avenue on that glorious day – that will be in my heart while I’m in Ireland.
So, all I want to say is enjoy every minute of it and I will do the same as I am looking for to a beautiful day with my daughter getting married to a man from Youghal, Kevin Coyne, who she met here at the Cork Association Dinner Dance back in 2019.
Kevin’s mother and father Rita and Sean Coyne lived and worked in New York for many years before moving to Florida with their own real estate business that was very successful. They got the calling to go back to Ireland and that’s what they decided and they’ve built a beautiful house in Youghal where the Coynes family reside even though Rita was born in New York. Rita’s parents immigrated from Armagh.
Here is another bit of news that my friend Dan Dennehy sent in to me about a very popular man that I personally know very well and that is Peekskill Resident Joe Brady who will be celebrating his final year as the NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade’s Lead Bagpiper. This world-renowned bagpiper is retiring from his prestigious role as the Regimental Pipe Major of the 1st Battalion, 69th Regiment, after 33 consecutive years leading the world- famous St. Patrick’s Day parade New York.
As the Regimental Pipe Major of the 1st Battalion, 69th Regiment (the famed Fighting 69th), Brady marches at the very head of the parade alongside the Regiment Commander. He leads the battalion whose soldiers have marched at the front of the 260-year- old parade for the last 161 years. Historically, over 150,000 others follow the soldiers with over two million spectators cheering them on.
“I have had the honor to lead over 800 soldiers into a packed St. Patrick’s Cathedral to celebrate mass and then to march in one of the largest parades in the world – a celebration of our Irish religious, ethnic and civic values,” Brady said. “It is incredibly inspiring.”
This year, Brady, 66, will retire from the physically demanding role. The bagpipes and traditional highland dress weigh over 40 pounds and require an incredible amount of stamina, especially while marching.
Brady will bestow the honor upon a young champion bagpiper, Sean Dalgauer. Delgauer, 25, from Whitehouse Station, New Jersey is, like Brady, an Iona College graduate who started playing the pipes when he was a child. “Marching with the 69th Infantry Regiment has been so special to me because of its rich military history as the most decorated Regiment in the country and its ongoing commitment to giving back to the community,” says Brady. “Sean appreciates the Regiment the way I do and it was the right time and right thing to do for the Regiment to pass the baton.”
The 69th Infantry Regiment was informally formed in the 1760s and served in nearly every major war since the Civil War. In 1851, at a time when Irish immigrants were the targets of bigotry, the 69th Infantry Regiment protected the parade, then in its 89th year.
“Joe Brady is a legend and an icon of the St. Patrick’s Day community,” says Colonel Don Makay who served as the 69th Infantry Commander from 2016 to 2019. “It was always an honor to march alongside him and to keep the battalion in sync with his music… He is as much a part of the 69th legacy as the soldiers in uniform. Joe is a soldier at heart and we will miss his companionship during the parade and throughout the season.”
With a strong Irish and Scottish heritage, Brady started learning the bagpipes from his father at age seven. By age 17, he was rated as a professional open grade bagpiper – an extraordinary achievement at such a young age. The bagpipe is a tricky instrument to master; it is limited to nine notes which are achieved only by blowing and squeezing, requiring a remarkable amount of endurance.
Brady earned worldwide recognition as a bagpipe competitor, judge and performer. He’s played for numerous dignitaries and gigged with the Chieftains, Wolftones, Andy Cooney and the High Kings to name just a few.
He played with the Commandant’s Own, at the retirement ceremony for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, an honorary member of the Fighting 69th, in Washington DC in September 2015.
The bagpipe’s hums and wails have become a symbol of fallen heroes and often evoke powerful emotions ranging from pride to sorrow. For most of his life, Brady has played bagpipes at the events most important to people – traditional weddings and funerals, celebrations, and important military events, which he will continue to do as long as he can.
At 6:30 am on St. Patrick’s Day, Brady will lead the soldiers out of the Lexington Avenue Armory and over to 51st Street for a special Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The soldiers will occupy the southern half of the church as the place of honor.
The Battalion Commander traditionally joins the Adjutant General of New York, the Governor of New York, and the Mayor of New York City in a front pew for the service and the blessing for the Regiment’s soldiers. Following Mass, the battalion marches to 44th Street and 5th Avenue, the official start of the parade.
After the parade, the Regiment will name Brady Pipe Major Emeritus.
I had to cover this announcement on Joe Brady as I know Joe very well and I have a lot of respect for him as a person and a brilliant piper.
From one gentleman to another, we move on to none other than Niall O’Leary, one of the finest Irish dancers that I have ever seen perform and I was an Irish dancer myself way back with the McTaggart’s Dancing School in Cork. Ah, those were the days, but getting back to Niall he is a Champion of Champions.
Now to let you know the latest on Niall: he is been honored as the Irish Business Organization’s 2022 New York City Saint Patrick’s Day Grand Marshal and well deserved let me tell yea.
This message came to me to say, “We hope you’re planning to join us as we march up Fifth Avenue on St Patrick’s Day! Join friends old and new marching up Fifth Avenue with the IBO contingent at the best parade in the world: New York’s St Patrick’s Day Parade!
“Join IBO Grand Marshal Niall O’Leary and the rest of IBO-NYC on this unforgettable experience. And then keep the festivities going at the IBO-NYC afterparty, with the Dublin Society. Food and open bar – the party starts right after we finish marching, at around 4:30 pm. Join us after the parade or come on down after work.
“All are welcome: Members, old friends, new friends, and family! This week, we’ve got news of two amazing concerts, coming to us courtesy of our IBO Parade Grand Marshall Niall O’Leary: Niall will be playing with Mick Moloney and Green Fields of America at the Players Club on March 15 and one of Niall’s most talented students will be playing fiddle and bodhran and dancing with the Trinity Irish Dance Company at the Joyce Theater from March 15th to 20th.”
See you again when I get back from Ireland when I’m Out&About again.
And I wish you all a very Happy Saint Patrick’s Day, to your families and friends and especially to our sponsors and readers, we thank you…