The Patron Saint of Ireland is about to be very busy in the World’s Borough.
His first commitment is the Queens County St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Rockaway Beach on Saturday, March 2, at 1 pm.
Richard W. Tully Jr. from Interstate Mechanical Services is the Grand Marshal of this 49th procession that kicks off at Beach 130th Street and Newport Avenue at 1 pm. (A Mass for Peace and Justice in Ireland takes place beforehand at St. Francis de Sales Church, Beach 129th Street and Rockaway Beach Boulevard.)
The route goes down Newport Avenue, across Beach 116th Street, down Rockaway Beach Boulevard by a reviewing stand on Beach 105th Street to St. Camillus Church at 99-15 Rockaway Beach Blvd.
The Patron Saint gets a little rest, but then the St. Pats For All Parade begins in the vicinity of 43rd Street and Skillman Avenue in Sunnyside on March 3 at around 1 pm.
Now in its 25th year, this march celebrates the LGBTQ community with the theme “cherishing all the children of the nation equally” taken from the 1916 Easter Proclamation of the Irish Republic. It began in response to the exclusion of the LGBTQ community from the traditional, long-running parade on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
The Grand Marshalls are Dennis Brownlee, the founder and president of the African American Irish Diaspora Network, and Geraldine Hughes, an actress from Belfast, and the route takes Skillman Avenue to 58th Street in Woodside.
The Patron Saint gets some sustenance at the Queens Chamber St. Patrick’s Luncheon 2024 at Antun’s (96-43 Springfield Blvd. in Queens Village) on Wednesday, March 13, from 11:30 am to 2 pm.
Attendees eat corned beef and cabbage (with vegetarian options), listen to a live band, and network. Jack Schlossberg, the son of Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and grandson of President John F. Kennedy, is one honoree. He’s an activist, attorney, and actor. Queens native Mary Murphy, an Emmy-winning journalist who worked at WPIX-TV for many years, is the other. Her parents are Irish immigrants.
Then there’s the 40 Shades of Green: New York’s St. Patrick’s Day Gathering at the New York Irish Center (10-40 Jackson Ave. in Long Island City) on Saturday, March 16, from 3 pm to 9 pm.
Now in its third year, this six-hour extravaganza features a cavalcade of comedy, music, and choreography. The performers include Donie Carroll, Bronagh and Bob Batch, Tim Connell, Colin Harte, Connor Delves, Peter Maguire, John McDermott, Tara O’Grady, Fiona Walsh, Lowri Clancy Davies, Daniella Rabbani, Tony Perry, Darrah Carr Dance, and the McManus School of Irish Dance.
The Patron Saint’s final borough committment is the 2024 Bayside St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday, April 6, at 1 pm. Sean Lane, who chairs the St. Patrick’s Day Foundation, is the Grand Marshal.
Marchers head down Bell Boulevard from 35th Avenue to 42nd Avenue. Then, many revelers stay on Bell Boulevard to enjoy specials at the restaurants and bars.
Top image: St. Pats For All; bottom image: Bayside St. Patrick’s Day Parade