It is time to get your Irish spirit ready.
Bronx Division 3 of the Ancient Order of Hibernians is holding its annual dinner and awards ceremony at Maestro’s Caterers on Sunday, Nov. 3 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
This year’s awards dinner will honor John Dunleavy, chairman of the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade; NYPD Chief Tom Purtell, an east Bronxite charge of the Organized Crime Control Bureau; Assemblywoman Catharine Nolan, and James Organ, aide to past three governors.
“They are honored because all four have accomplished a great deal in their working lives,” said Division 3 president Bob Nolan. “They are exemplary among residents of New York City and among the Irish.”
The funds raised at the dinner will be used to provide partial-scholarships for eight Irish Catholic students who are entering Catholic high schools. The scholarships provide $250 in tuition assistance, said Nolan.
Grammar school principals chose the winners, and local schools participating in previous years include St. Clare of Assisi, St Francis Xavier, St. Theresa, Our Lady of Assumption, Villa Maria Academy, St. Benedict, St. Frances de Chantal, and St. Mary Star of the Sea, he said.
In addition, Division 3 also supports the Theodore Korony American Legion Post #253 Holiday Toy Drive and this year helped families dealt a blow by Hurricane Sandy in Queens and Brooklyn.
•Bronx native Dunleavy has been the parade chairman for 20 years after holding several previous positions with it as the parade celebrated its 251st anniversary this past March 17th. Born in Coole, Co. Westmeath in 1938, he came to the U.S. in 1963. He joined the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority, a part of the transit authority, as a bus operator, retiring in 1990 as a General Superintendent.
•Nolan represents the 37th Assembly District in Queens County, which includes Sunnyside, Ridgewood, Long Island City, Queensbridge, Ravenswood, Astoria, Woodside and Maspeth. She was first elected to the Assembly in 1984. Speaker Sheldon Silver appointed her chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Education in 2006, where she has spearheaded efforts to achieve class size reduction, universal pre-k, middle school initiatives and improve high school graduation rates.
•A public servant for 36 years, Organ served various posts in the city, state and federal governments. In 1982, he was appointed by then Governor Hugh Carey as assistant commissioner of labor. He later served as an aide to former Assemblyman Steve Kaufman, and as senior director of real estate at Off Track Betting. He is currently involved in real estate sales.
•Purtell joined the NYPD more than 30 years ago and ran Patrol Borough Bronx, the Emergency Service Unit and Patrol Borough Manhattan South, and is currently in charge of the department’s Organized Crime Control Bureau. Purtell has won numerous medals and awards.
To learn more about the dinner or the AOH organization, please email Nolan at Nolanbxbp@hotmail.com.
