John Dunleavy, former Chairman of the New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade, died at the age of 83, passing away early on Wednesday morning with his family by his side.
Born in Coole, Co. Westmeath in 1938 grew up during the War years in what he described as “a beautiful little village with no luxuries.”
“You were lucky to have food on table and a roof over your head. We grew our own vegetables and worked hard,” recalled Dunleavy, whose father ran a taxi service and a small store in the village. “Fancy clothes, things like that, just weren’t there. You had one suit that you wore on Sunday to mass and took it off when you got home. Everyone was in the same boat.”
He attended the Coole National School, which bordered the gable end of his house. (“I couldn’t stay home sick because the school master could look over and see me.”) As a young man, he left his native Ireland for London in 1956 and worked as a driver of double-decker buses.
“It cost a lot of money to get to America in those days,” Dunleavy recalled. “Many of the Irish worked in London and used England a stepping stone across the Atlantic.”
In 1963, Dunleavy came to the U.S. and just three months later was drafted into the army. At basic training in Fort Dix, NJ, he trained with Ray Flynn, who this year has the honor of being the Grand Marshal of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Dunleavy was then assigned to the 65th Engineer Battalion, 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii. Upon his discharge two years later, he joined the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority, a subsidiary of the transit authority, as a bus operator.
“Since it was not a civil service job, you did not have to be a U.S. citizen to get the job. That’s why there were so many Irish driving the buses,” said Dunleavy, who retired in 1990 as a superintendent.
Dunleavy had been an active member of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Celebration Committee since 1967 in which he held many offices, including formation chairman, treasurer, and vice chairman before taking over as chairman in 1993, a role he resigned from in 2019. He served the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) in many capacities, including past president of both New York Division 9 and the New York County Board.
He is survived by his wife Maureen, from County Cavan, and daughters Patricia and Catherine. No announcement has yet been made on funeral arrangements.