It is time to break out your green scarf and get ready for a wave of St. Patrick’s Day revellers who will walk their way down Throggs Neck’s main thoroughfare.
The 17th annual Throggs Neck St. Patrick’s Day Parade will pay homage to community leaders Anges and Patrick Lynch, who will be the parade’s grand marshals, and Honored Clergy Monsignor John Graham, when it steps off at noon on Sunday, March 15.
The parade, which runs on East Tremont Avenue from Lafayette to Harding avenues, will also honor more than 20 outstanding community residents and a former elected official, all of whom passed away recently.
“We are very proud of our honorees this year and we look forward to having our 17th annual parade,” said Lynn Gerbino, a member of the parade committee. “We are anticipating a wonderful event and are so happy to recognize these honorees, who have served the community, in this way.”
The Lynches were married in 1959 and raised their family in Throggs Neck, according to the parade committee.
They are active members of St. Frances de Chantal Parish, and their involvement includes the church’s Legion of Mary and Holy Name Society, as well as serving as eucharistic ministers and taking part in church campaigns.
Agnes has been an ardent supporter of the Gaelic League of the Bronx and serves on the blood drive committee at her church, while Patrick has been president of the St. Frances de Chantal Nocturnal Adoration Society for over 38 years.
Monsignor John Graham is the pastor of St. Raymond Church and was named the East Bronx Vicar for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York in 2012.
The honorary grand marshals who will be posthumously honored at the parade are: Laura Casey D’Attore, Mary Finnegan, Theresa Flood, John ‘Onions’ Gregory, John Halpin, Bill Heaney, Thomas Hines, John ‘Jack’ Hepburn, Jerry Macchia, Dan Moloney, Donald McDonnell, Ron McKeegan, Edward O’Connor, Michael ‘Mick’ O’Donnell, Maurice ‘Mickey’ Powers, Madeline Provenzano, John Scully, Grace Sullivan, Kitty Tarsnane, Martin Tighe, Bill Twomey, Cornelius Wallace, Eileen Walpole and Robert Zeiss.
One of the notables in the group of honorary grand marshals is Provenzano, who served as the councilwoman for the 13th district, including Throggs Neck and many nearby communities, from 1997 to 2005.
Another of the honorary grand marshals, Twomey, was the author of several books about Bronx history and was a Bronx Times Reporter columnist. Also of note is Heaney, who was a leader at the Throggs Neck Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
All of the grand marshals and honorary grand marshals have, in their own way, contributed to the fabric of civic and Irish-American life in the Bronx the parade committee indicated.
“Our 2015 grand marshals, honored clergy member and honorary grand marshals represent community service, spiritual dedication and Bronx Irish pride, and we are very proud to have them lead the 2015 Throggs Neck St. Patrick’s Day Parade,” the committee stated.
