BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP FEBRUARY 9 - FEBRUARY 15, 2018 35
Bay Ridge St. Pat's Parade spotlights marshals,
honors longtime friends at annual gala
BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK
MMCGOLDRICK@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
Sláinte!
As Bay Ridge gears up for a
milestone Saint Patrick’s Day
Parade, the event’s committee hosted
its annual gala. The gala – held this
year at the El Caribe Country
Club in Mill Basin on Saturday,
February 3 – serves as both a
fundraiser for the local
organization and as a
means to spotlight the
year’s honorees.
“It was wonderful,”
remarked
Parade Committee
President Linda
Gallagher-Lomanto.
“We had 445 people
and, while we raised a
lot of money that will go
towards the parade, it’s
mostly about the community
getting together to
celebrate our Irish culture through
music and dance, and, of course, to
recognize the
honorees.”
The 2018 parade’s
grand marshal will
be Martin Cottingham,
president of
the Irish American
Building Society,
which hosts the Great Irish Fair.
Deputy marshals for the parade
– founded in 1994, and now in its 25th
year – include Stephen Gorton, Brother
Campion Lally, Greg McGuinness,
Brendan Moloney, Connor O’Mara,
Mary Koren, Deirdre Cronin-Butler,
Angela Connolly-Coyle, Liza Schneider
Lloyd and Mary Manning.
Also honored this year were St.
Patrick’s Parish, State Senator Marty
Golden, Chip Cafiero, the Clavin
family, the Clann Eireann Pipe Band
and Jack Malone – all of whom, Gallagher
Lomanto said, were awarded
with the parade’s first-ever
Claddagh Award.
“It’s a brand new
award that we
gave out this
year,” she
told this
p a p e r ,
n o t i n g
that the
a w a r d ,
named after
the traditional
Irish
ring given in
representation
of love, loyalty
and friendship,
stands for just
that. “It’s for
friendship and
loyalty and support that we’ve had
over the years from these individuals.
We wanted to have these people recognized
for going above and beyond
for the parade.”
In addition, the Long Family was
named the Irish Family of the Year.
As for this year’s marshals, the
parade’s prez said, “This is a group
of individuals who exemplify everything
it means to be an Irish-American
and to give
back to the
community
that they
live in.”
Guests
at the gala
e n j o y e d
performances
from the
Donny Golden
School of Irish
Dance and the
famed Canny
Brothers Band.
This year’s
parade – slated
for Sunday, March 25 – is still looking
for groups and organizations
to march alongside a bevy of bands
and floats. The parade will kick off
at 1 p.m. and run along Third Avenue,
starting at Marine Avenue, down to
67st Street.
“It’s going to be a great day,” said
Gallagher-Lomanto.
For more information, visit www.
brparade.com.
Ext. 209
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photos by Arthur de Gaeta
This year’s marshals.
Grand Marshal
Martin Cottingham
and wife Kathy
Bagpipers.
Denise Frederick,, State Senator
Marty Golden and Linda
Gallagher-Lomanto.