The NYPD Emerald Society’s 69th Annual Dinner with Father Brendan Gormley, the lady in red Noelle Clancy and myself
By Paddy McCarthy
On Friday last I was a guest at the NYPD Emerald Society’s 69th Annual Dinner to honor Irish Man of The Year, Assistant Chief Joe Kenny. The function was held at Leonard’s Palazzo on Northern Boulevard in Great Neck, New York with an audience of over 700 guests. What a great reception Joe got as they came from all over, and me of course as a guest of Brian Sharkey. I also got to meet quite a lot of people including Brian McCabe, Peter Whalen, Kevin Quinn, Richard Palmer and lots more who I would like to mention except that it would fill up the page.
Joe Kenny was born in Brooklyn in 1965 and raised in Woodhaven, Queens. He attended Saint Thomas the Apostle grammar school and later graduated from Archbishop Molly High School. He graduated from SUNY Empire State College, as well as from the Columbia University Police Management Institute.
After working in Local 94 Operating Engineers Union for eight years, Joe joined the New York City Police Department in January 1992, and began his career on patrol in the 32 Precinct in Harlem. He has also served in the 25, 33 and 104 Precincts; Police Service Area 6; Narcotics Northern Manhattan Initiative, Street Crime Unit, Manhattan North Anti-Crime Unit, Narcotics Borough Manhattan North, Firearms Suppression Division, the Auto Crime Division, Narcotics Borough Brooklyn North, Detective Borough Queens South and the Citywide Investigations Division.
Joe currently holds the rank of Assistant Chief and has 31 years of service with the NYPD. Assistant Chief Kenny is currently the Commanding Officer of the Citywide Investigations Division within the Detective Bureau. His Division oversees major investigations in New York City. Over three thousand Detectives are assigned to his command. They investigate such crimes as murders, shootings, robberies, gang activity and narcotics sales.
President Brian P. Flynn and 2023 Irishman of the Year Joseph F. Kenny
Joe’s Irish roots can be traced back to Longford Town, County Longford on his father Jim’s side. His mom Betty’s side of the family is originally from Omagh, County Tyrone. He has been an active member of the NYPD Emerald Society during his entire career and is a current board member of the NYPD Gaelic Football Club. The motto of the NYPD Gaelic Football Club is, “Keep the Heritage Alive”. The goal is to celebrate our Irish ancestry through Gaelic sports, charitable endeavors and Irish community outreach. The NYPD Emerald Society shares this same vision. In addition, as young Irish and Irish Americans join the New York City Police Department, they are welcomed and mentored by both the Emerald Society, and the NYPD GFC.
Joe has been married to his wife Lisa for 29 years and they have 4 children, Sarah, Jamie, Sean and Brendan.
I was again invited to the Emerald Society’s table at the New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade Reception Honoring Grand Marshal Kevin J. Conway And His Aides. It was a full house and the who’s who were at this reception that happened at Antun’s in Queens Village on Sunday. The Grand Marshal made a great speech and of course the master of ceremonies Tommy Smyth did a very profession job introducing all the NYC Patrick’s Day Parade Aides to the Grand Marshal and the Grand Marshal himself.
As we are on the subject of Saint Patrick no not me but SOBER St Patrick, Sober St. Patrick’s Day® will honor Former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy with the Sober St. Patrick’s Day Emerald Spirit Award at its kickoff event on the morning of March 17. Then after marching in New York’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Sober St. Patrick’s Day hosts its marquee alcohol-free, family-friendly festival of world-class Irish music and dance, this year moving to a convenient new venue for its 12th anniversary, steps from the start of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
The Sober St. Patrick’s Day Celebration begins at 11 am in the undercroft of the Church of Our Savior (Park Ave. and East 38th St.) for the Pre-Parade Emerald Sprit Award Reception which all are welcome to attend. The welcome also is extended to anyone who’d like to march in the parade under the Sober St. Patrick’s Day banner. The evening’s grand celebration of all thing’s Irish runs from 5 pm to 7 pm. More information and tickets are available at www.soberstpatricksday.org.
The Queens Chamber of Commerce will be folding their annual Saint Patrick’s Day luncheon at Antun’s on Wednesday March 15 from 11.30 am to 2.30 pm. There will be two special guests at the fun filled luncheon, special keynote and public service award recipient Laura Kavanagh, Fire Commissioner FDNY and Jennifer O’Sullivan, COO and Chief Legal and Administrative Officer at NYCFC.
Jennifer is the COO of NYCFC where she is responsible for the overall business operations and legal functions for the club. In her role, Jennifer oversees legal, human resources, information technology, operations, infrastructure and facilities, safeguarding and youth programs. Jennifer joined NYCFC from the law firm Arent Fox where she was a partner in the Sports Industry Practice group, specializing in the representation of professional sports leagues, teams, media and technology companies, investors, promoters, hospitality companies and agencies.
Jennifer has counseled sports and entertainment clients on issues ranging from mergers and acquisitions and other transactions to sponsorships, advertising, media matters, league formations and restructurings, and all forms of commercial agreements, including licensing, merchandising and promotional agreements, venue, vendor, and other special events agreements.
Prior to joining Arent Fox, Jennifer was a partner at a boutique firm (Hand Baldachin & Associates) where she was head of the firm’s Sports and Entertainment Practice Group. She also served as General Counsel of RSE Ventures, LLC, a sports and entertainment venture company and was previously the Commissioner & CEO of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), the highest-level women’s professional soccer league in North America.
In addition to stints with two other prominent law firms, Jennifer has also held positions at the Arena Football League, NFL, and the Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG), where she worked with various IPG agencies including Octagon, its global sports, entertainment and lifestyle marketing agency.Jennifer has lived in Pelham Manor, NY for the past 19 years with her husband Dan, a retired NYPD Detective 1st Grade, and their three soccer playing kids, Daniel (12), Devin (10) and Ainsley (6). Jennifer and her family are massive sports fans, with a special place in their hearts for the beautiful game.
Laura Kavanagh, Fire Commissioner FDNY
As Fire Commissioner, Laura Kavanagh oversees the day-to-day administration of the agency’s 17,000 employees and $2 billion-dollar budget. Her role includes overseeing critical units such as fleet, facilities, 911 dispatch operations, technology, data analytics, and health services.
She has been a key leader in the agency’s response to major incidents including the Ebola outbreak of 2015 and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, as well as spearheading key policy initiatives for the department. Commissioner Kavanagh directed the firefighter recruitment campaign to yield the most diverse applicant pool in Department history, including graduating the largest and most diverse group of women in almost three decades. She also paved the way for technology innovation through the development of applications that provide situational awareness to frontline members; created a fire safety program that installed and distributed smoke alarms in the most at-risk neighborhoods; and advocates for first responders at the City, State and Federal level.
Before City service, Commissioner Kavanagh worked in management and campaign consulting for non-profits, community-based organizations and unions to advance their organizational goals. In that time, she held senior roles on Presidential, Mayoral, Congressional and local campaigns.
Commissioner Kavanagh is an alumnus of the Executive Leaders Program at the Naval Post Graduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security, and the Stanford Graduate School of Business’ Summer Institute. She has a BA in Political Science and International Relations from Whittier College and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
Final call for the St. Patrick’s Day Foundation’s Annual Gala honoring, Grand Marshal Kevin J Conway. Featuring a special musical performance by Eileen Ivers and her band, the gala will be held on Wednesday, March 15 at The Sheraton Hotel (811 7th Avenue at West 53rd St.). This evening promises to be what I would call a wonderful night, hope to meet you all there.
I just can’t leave out my home County Cork. This came to me from the President of the Cork Association and Honoree Tom Browne to tell you that we are in the home stretch for our Dinner Party this Saturday with great honorees, top politicians from Cork City and Cork County including the Lord Mayor and hundreds of attendees so far! He said that as we look forward to a fantastic evening celebrating our Cork heritage and Irish culture, please give it a shot, as you know these dinners are a major fundraiser for our Association. Thanks to everyone who is already supporting the dance. If you’re on the fence about coming or thinking of inviting someone-take the leap, buy a ticket, give your friends and family a call! Please call Mary O’Sullivan (917) 714-6950 for reservations.
See you all again next week when I am Out&About again.