The Glen Cove St. Patrick's Day Parade

Celebrating Irish Culture on the North Shore

2007 Grand Marshal – Jack McDougal

by

Jack was born and raised in Glen Cove where he resides with his wife Karen.

Jack has served his community as a member of the Glen Cove Police Department for 23 years and is currently a Sergeant.  He has received 30 commendations, including for removing illegal guns from the street, rescuing 2 people from a burning house and delivering a baby.

Jack has been a Hibernian for 6 years, making his mark by spearheading such projects as the Christmas party for the Boys and Girls Club, programs in support of our service members overseas and the innovative annual blessing of the Christmas crèche downtown.

Jack is also a member of the K of C, a board member of both the Boys and Girls Club and the Substance Abuse Free Environment Citizens Committee, sits on the Community Pride Project Committee and is an active member of St. Patrick’s Parish.

Jack is well known for his work in local schools, including with Parents as Reading Partners, anti-bullying classes and as a teacher with the PRIDE anti-drug program, as well as a mentor with the Glen Cove Youth Board.

The Hibernians proudly join such other groups as the Animal Lovers League and the Glen Cove PTA in naming Jack as our annual honoree and we look forward with pride to marching behind him as he leads this year’s parade as Grand Marshal.

PO Jack McDougal Pays Tribute to Fallen Comrades

Flanking Officer McDougal are Kenneth Honig, Port Authority Police Operations Captain (l) and Tom Buchta , PAPD, retired.

Glen Cove Record Pilot Oct 4, 2002

By Carla Santella

As do many descendents of the Emerald Isle, Glen Cove Police Officer Jack McDougal has the soul of an artist in the body of a policeman. He is a writer and has the gift of gab, and while he insists his drawing talent is limited to stick figures, the artistry in his soul recently found a way to verbalize itself and, with the aid of artist Kevin Vetrone’s skilled hands, what began as a stick figure vision is now a work of art.

Profoundly affected by the terrorist attacks of last year, Officer McDougal sketched three stick figures, labeled them police, fire and EMS, and sketched a flag in front of the now famous image of the girders and beams that remained after the Twin Towers fell. Knowing his fellow officer Det. Steve Vetrone was as strongly affected as he, he showed Det. Vetrone his inchoate artwork, along with the message, “Without Hesitation…In God’s Service…September 11, 2001.” In one of those coincidences that was meant to be, Det. Vetrone just happens to have a brother, Kevin, who just happens to be an artist. Although Kevin Vetrone does not live locally, he coincidentally just happened to be in town. Detective Vetrone introduced Mr. Vetrone to Officer McDougal and the rest, as they say, is history.

Officer McDougal says of the collaboration, “I never thought all those months ago when I described my feelings to Det. Vetrone…that the result would be such a touching tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice on September 11, 2001.” The picture, a black and white drawing and computer art piece, “is the story of firefighters, police officers and emergency medical personnel who wrote their social security numbers on their arms and called their families to tell them how much they loved them. They knew the risk they were taking. It took more than duty and honor…it took goodness and that goodness was the ultimate love and sacrifice for other people,” according to Officer McDougal.

In the main chamber of Glen Cove City Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 24, Officer McDougal presented the framed picture to Mayor Mary Ann Holzkamp and the City of Glen Cove and on behalf of the police department, fire department, EMS and the harbor patrol. He entered city hall followed by an honor guard of the champions he represented, and surrounded by colleagues from the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Glen Cove Boys and Girls Club and members of the Port Authority Police Department, who made a special trip to Glen Cove for the presentation.

Also in the audience were a number of very proud family members: wife Karen, mother-in-law Louise Bell, father Harold McDougal, brother Don, nephew Michael and aunt Yvonne, as well as friends filling up whatever seats were left. Officer McDougal told this reporter that he could not express what it meant to him to look out and see so many family members and friends. “I’m so happy to be able to get the message out. People always hear about it when a cop or firefighter gets in trouble; people need to know that 99 percent of all of them are good.” He reiterated his pride that “nobody went in and said, ‘Line up according [to] color, race or religion.’ They [just] saved hundreds of people.”

Officer McDougal presented Mayor Holzkamp with a T-shirt bearing the same image as his artwork. The mayor thanked him, and remarked that “We can see by this portrayal that [September 11] got to a deep part of Jack’s soul. We are very proud of you; you are a police officer with a heart of gold.”

Ending the presentation and ready to begin the regular city council meeting, the mayor, overcome with emotion, was unable to finish the request she began, and, always the gentleman, and always a good man, Officer McDougal offered, “Do you want me to lead the Pledge of Allegiance?” The mayor nodded.

Glen Cove Community Honors PO Jack McDougal

This year’s Glen Cove PTA Council Scholarship Dinner Dance was an overwhelming success because of the tremendous love and support our community has for the honoree, PO Jack McDougal. Officer McDougal, the embodiment of the Hibernian credo “friendship, unity and Christian charity,” is perhaps the most easily recognizable man in blue around Glen Cove. His dedication to children of all ages and with varied needs, his patriotism and his volunteer efforts are just a handful of reasons Jack was chosen by the PTA Council.

On behalf of the City, Glen Cove Mayor Mary Ann Holzkamp presented a citation to PO Jack McDougal in recognition of his commitment to Glen Cove children and his outstanding record as a police officer. All photos by Peter M. Budraitis Photography

The evening was filled with praise and emotion and of course, since Jack was being honored, plenty of laughter. Music was provided by the talented Glen

Cove High School Jazz band under the direction of Rich Roselli. Jack received recognition from Mayor Mary Ann Holzkamp; State Assemblyman Charles Lavine; County Legislator Diane Yatauro; Interim Superintendent of Glen Cove School; Dr. Jerry Cicchelli; members of the Glen Cove school board and school district administrators; the Glen Cove Teachers Association; the Community Scholarship Fund; Pat Hall, president of the Glen Cove PBA; the Glen Cove Boys and Girls Club; the Glen Cove Youth Bureau; SAFE (formerly GCCCASA); and last, but not in any way least, Ed Doohan on behalf of the Glen Cove Hibernians. Not to be outdone, Karen McDougal, Jack’s wife, paid tribute to her husband and his unique attributes that make him a worthy honoree of an organization that, like Jack, advocates for children. Her explanation to Jack, when he asked her why she thought he connected so naturally with children was, “Of course it’s natural, you never grew up.”

At the 2005 Community Scholarship Dinner Dance, honoree Jack McDougal is pictured with his wife Karen and the Glen Cove PTA Council executive board: Irene Leahy, treasurer; Marion Voegtlen, co-president; Marilyn Abrams, vice president; Carolyn Boz, recording secretary; Zefy Christopoulos, corresponding secretary and Tina Hament, co-president.

And in the not to be outdone by his wife category, Jack himself paid tribute to Karen and to friends and role models who have always been there for him. “Jerry Caparella is always asking me what he can do to support any fundraiser I get involved with. Sometimes I have to find a fundraiser just to get him to stop asking.”

Honoree McDougal ending his talk by elaborating on the standard “I thank God” remark that so many athletes, actors or musicians say when they receive an award. “I’m going to be more specific,” he said. “Thank you, God, for so many good people to care about and thank You so much for so many good people who care about me.”

The Community Scholarship Fund has been awarding college scholarships to Glen Cove High School students since 1957. They are funded through donations from individuals, corporations, the annual PTA dinner dance and the interest from endowment funds.

2006 Grand Marshal – The Fighting 69th

by

sons-of-erinWhen the Great Hunger brought the Irish to the United States in great numbers they arrived during an era of anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic, anti-Irish, anti-Papist discrimination and a general pro-British stance as exemplified by the populist Know-Nothing Party. With the outbreak of hostilities following Fort Sumter the Irish joined the Armies of both sides in large numbers and served with great distinction, heroism and honor; the 69th NY suffered the sixth highest casualties of the more than 2000 Regiments serving the North.

As the battlefield exploits and colorful demeanor of these Sons of Erin became reported feelings started to sway toward a less hostile attitude  permitting the process of assimilation to accelerate. These men were truly trailblazers for their exploits permitted the Irish to join the ranks as proud citizens of their adopted land as equal partners and paved the way for the full measure of citizenship we all enjoy today. That tradition of service to the Nation continued as the 69th, the sole surviving Unit of the Irish Brigade, volunteered to a man answering the call for Volunteers for the Spanish-American War.

In 1916, the Regiment was posted on the Mexican Border during the punitive expedition against Pancho Villa.

The entrance of America into WWI found the 69th redesignated the 165th Infantry and selected to be part of Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s newly formed elite shock Division – the 42nd (Rainbow). The “Fighting 69th” once again served with great distinction and set a record for combat service that was unequaled.

The tradition continued as the Regiment served from 1940-1945 in the Pacific invading Makin, Saipan and Okinawa adding another chapter to the 69th role of honor.

That esprit de corps, tradition and history of service continues to this day as the “Fighting 69th” continues to serve the Nation and the State as the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry (Mechanized), NY Army National Guard.

2005 Grand Marshal – James McCabe

by

james-mccabe-3James McCabe was born in Glen Cove on July 9, 1933 to Peter McCabe from Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan and Mary Ellen McCabe (nee Moran) from New York City.  The oldest of six children, James graduated from St. Patrick’s School in Glen Cove. And then attended St. Michael’s High School in Conesus, NY, a prep school for the missionary Brothers of the Society of the Divine Word (S.V.D.) for three and a half years.  Deciding that the religious life was not his vocation, he transferred to Glen Cove High School and graduated in 1951.

James then enlisted in the U.S. Navy in April, 1952.  He was assigned to the USS Missouri right of boot camp and after a shakedown cruise that ship was off for Korea.  He was on board that ship for three years and helped put the ship in “mothballs” the first time.  He then spent a year aboard a submarine tender based in San Diego, CA.

After the service, James returned to Glen Cove, where he married Sophie Shepanski and together they raised two sons, James and Matthew.  They are now the proud grandparents of five grandchildren.

James joined the Ancient Order of Hibernians (A.O.H.) in 1958 and has served in the positions of President, Recording Secretary and Marshal.  One of his proudest moments as an Hibernian was assisting in the response to Cardinal O’Connor’s request that the Order fill St. Patrick’s Cathedral when protestors threatened to desecrate it.

Jim helped keep the Irish tradition alive by joining the Thomondgate Dancers who performed at schools, nursing homes and feisanna and at public events such as the Tercentennial celebration in downtown New York City.

2004 Grand Marshal – Mary Ann Holzkamp

by

holzkamp-portraitMary Ann Holzkamp, Glen Cove’s first woman mayor, recently began her second year as the first woman Mayor of the City of Glen Cove, Long Island, New York.

After she graduated from Our Lady of Mercy Academy in Syosset, Mary Ann Holzkamp-or Mary Ann Kelly, as she was known then-wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do with her life.  The Hicksville native had thought about becoming an actress or going into nursing, among other things, but had no definite goal.  Such was her mindset when she became a student at Nassau Community College in the mid-60’s.   Little did she realize then that one day she would become the first woman mayor of the City of Glen Cove.”

After graduating from Nassau with a liberal arts degree and while raising her family, Holzkamp went to Wall Street, and became a stockbroker.  She then went to work with her husband George in the family business-Neger Gilder Flowers of Glen Cove.  Her activities in the business community led her to participate in Glen Cove politics, and she eventually ran for city council, where she  served four consecutive terms before being elected mayor. During those eight years, she was involved in every phase of charting the City’s future. Ensuring the safety and quality of life of Glen Cove residents; economic development, especially the environmental remediation and reuse of abandoned and under-utilized properties; tougher housing and zoning legislation and protecting the city’s natural resources continue to be among the top priorities of Mayor Holzkamp’s administration.

Countless accomplishments highlight  Mayor Holzkamp’s administration, most notably the revitalization of downtown Glen Cove with the introduction of luxury housing there and the continued cleanup of the Glen Cove waterfront.  The first phase in the construction of an esplanade along Glen Cove Creek has been completed.  A new roadway that will provide safe, direct access to a remediated, redeveloped waterfront has the approval of the New York State Department of Transportation. As a direct result of her administration’s in depth efforts in safety planning and delivery, Mayor Holzkamp received the Governor’s Recognition Award for Notable Contributions in Traffic Safety. Those efforts contributed to Glen Cove’s receipt of two New York State Department of Transportation Local Safe Streets and Traffic Calming grants that will be used to alleviate dangerous traffic conditions in two residential neighborhoods.

Mayor Holzkamp’s foresight and planning enabled the City of Glen Cove to garner several state and federal grants and to create numerous innovative programs. The highlights of her accomplishments include:

  • the East Island Bridge rehabilitation
  • the Leech Circle Park renovation
  • rehabilitation of the Prybil Beach sluiceway
  • the designation of a computer site at the Glen Cove Senior Center in partnership with the Glen Cove Youth Board.
  • an active, aggressive city Beautification Commission
  • Phase II of the waterfront esplanade construction
  • an active facade program in the central business districts
  • new streetlight fixtures in the downtown business district
  • increased police presence
  • strict enforcement of city-wide parking regulation

During Mayor Holzkamp’s tenure as a City Councilwoman, she was the Vice Chairperson of the Glen Cove Community Development Agency and Secretary for the Industrial Development Agency. In those capacities, Mrs. Holzkamp worked diligently to implement commercial and residential rehabilitation programs. Her efforts to research and ultimately secure a grant from the New York State Urban Development Corporation led to the creation of a Business Improvement District, (BID), for Glen Cove’s historic downtown shopping district. More than $20 million in private investment bolstered the revitalization of the city’s business area. As Mayor, Mrs. Holzkamp continues to bring new business ventures to Glen Cove.

As a member of the Glen Cove City Council, Mrs. Holzkamp was a member of a team that secured over $10 million in grants, loans and federal services to rehabilitate Glen Cove’s one-mile waterfront property. The permanent closure of a dangerous incinerator, the dredging of Glen Cove Creek by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the demolition of two smoke stacks that once carried pollutants into the air of Glen Cove, along with the development of a new waterside restaurant are all a visual testament to this crucial team effort.

As an elected official, Mrs. Holzkamp voted for new tough laws that significantly increased the fines for violations to the Glen Cove Housing and Zoning Codes. She facilitated the hiring of additional uniformed code enforcement officers and voted for mandatory safety inspections of all multiple dwellings in Glen Cove. Mrs. Holzkamp supported the hiring of additional, experienced prosecutors that resulted in the securing of record fines against repeat offender absentee landlords. These actions have prompted an increase in real estate values and enhance the quality of life in Glen Cove.

Mayor Holzkamp and her husband, George, are the proprietors of Neger Gilder Flowers in Glen Cove. They are the parents of three children and have three grandchildren. Mrs. Holzkamp is a member of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, the North Shore Lions Club and the Kiwanis Club of Glen Cove.

Tony Jackson, 2003 Grand Marshal

by

A native of Cavan Town, Co. Cavan, Ireland, Tony Jackson emigrated to America in 1964.  He quickly found employment with the Melville Shoe Co.  tony served two years in the U.S. Army, from 1965 until his honorable discharge, with the rank of Sergeant, in 1967.  Shortly thereafter, he went to work for the International Shoe Company, where he rapidly rose to management.  In 1975, Tony resigned to purchase his own business in Queens.

Emcee, radio host and all-round “Mr. Long Island”, Tony can be heard over the airwaves of WRHU-FM, Hofstra University Radio, from 5-8pm every Saturday night.  His Irish Country Show has received outstanding program awards at WRHU in 1985, 1986 and 1995.

Tony’s wife is the former Maureen O’Neill from Co. Galway.  They were married in 1965 and presently reside in New Hyde Park, NY.  Tony and Maureen have participated as a host family with the Project Children program.

2003 Grand Marshal Tony Jackson served many organizations over the years:

  • Past President of Division 14, AOH
  • Past National Coordinator, Freedom for All Ireland Comm.
  • Treasurer, New York Pearse Commemoration Committee
  • Member, American Irish Congress;  Irish National Caucus
  • Past President, Irish American Society of Nassau, Suffolk and Queens
  • Grand Marshal, Garden City St. Patrick’s Day Parade, 1986

2003 Grand Marshal – Tony Jackson

by

tony_jackson_portraitA native of Cavan Town, Co. Cavan, Ireland, Tony Jackson immigrated to America in 1964.  He quickly found employment with the Melville Shoe Co.  tony served two years in the U.S. Army, from 1965 until his honorable discharge, with the rank of Sergeant, in 1967.  Shortly thereafter, he went to work for the International Shoe Company, where he rapidly rose to management.  In 1975, Tony resigned to purchase his own business in Queens.

Emcee, radio host and all-round “Mr. Long Island”, Tony can be heard over the airwaves of WRHU-FM, Hofstra University Radio, from 5-8pm every Saturday night.  His Irish Country Show has received outstanding program awards at WRHU in 1985, 1986 and 1995.

Tony’s wife is the former Maureen O’Neill from Co. Galway.  They were married in 1965 and presently reside in New Hyde Park, NY.  Tony and Maureen have participated as a host family with the Project Children program.

2003 Grand Marshal Tony Jackson served many organizations over the years:

  • Past President of Division 14, AOH
  • Past National Coordinator, Freedom for All Ireland Comm.
  • Treasurer, New York Pearse Commemoration Committee
  • Member, American Irish Congress;  Irish National Caucus
  • Past President, Irish American Society of Nassau, Suffolk and Queens
  • Grand Marshal, Garden City St. Patrick’s Day Parade, 1986

2002 Grand Marshal – Dr. Mary Gilroy Doohan

by

grand_4Dr. Mary Gilroy Doohan has graciously accepted the nomination of Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee to be the Grand Marshal of the 2002 Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade, to be held on March 17, 2002.  The Grand Marshal will be accompanied by her Aide, former Div. President, Eamonn Beck.

A native of Locust Valley, Dr. Gilroy was received her education at St. Patrick’s School, Glen Cove, St. Dominic’s High School, Oyster Bay and University College Dublin. She has spent her professional career serving the people of Glen Cove at the North Shore University Hospital Glen Cove (formerly the Community Hospital at Glen Cove), where she is now the Director of Emergency Services.

Mary is married to well known educator and local Hibernian Edward Doohan. She and Ed are the proud parents of Tom, a doctor at Winthrop Hospital, Anne, and attorney in New York, Denise, a teacher, Jim, a student at Loyola University, and Ted, who is studying in Belgium.

2001 Glen Cove Parade

by

The 2001 Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade took place on March 18th of that year.  The Grand Marshal was Patrick J. Lynch, President of the NYC Patrolmen’s Benevolent Society, accompanied by Aide to the Grand Marshal Malachy McAllister, a political refugee from the conflict in Ireland who was seeking safety in this country for himself and his family after their home in Belfast was attacked by a pro-British death squad, and by AOH member Paul Long.

 Grand Marshal, 2001, Patrick J. Lynch

Grand Marshal Patrick J. Lynch was born in Bayside, Queens. The youngest of seven children, he found union activity almost second nature. His father, Robert, now 75, was a subway motorman for 30 years and took him out of school one day to walk the picketline during the 1980 New York City transit strike. “You saw it then. You could feel it,” Lynch recalls.  “If everyone stood together, in unity, you could change things and you could fix things for the better.”

Patrick Lynch’s desire to do something meaningful was why he became a policeman. “Everything you do makes a difference. It’s one job where the lowest person on the totem pole, the average cop, makes all the preliminary decisions and all else follows from that police officer’s decision. So, you really can make a difference.”

Besides fighting for a just salary hike for New York City Policemen, Lynch is battling the “very anti-police climate” in New York City. “It’s not popular to stand with a cop who’s accused, but we’re doing that- and that goes a long way.” In spite of the “bombardment of anti-police activists, Lynch’s message is this: “I think the average person out there who does not have a political agenda supports New York City Cops. We have detractors who try to tear down what we do and attack us on every turn, but there’s no one on this earth who defends the civil or Constitutional rights of this country’s people more than a police officer in uniform standing on the corner.”

Grand Marshal Lynch traces his Irish roots to County Mayo, Ireland. Lynch credits his Catholic education at home and school (St. Robert Bellarmine, Queens and Msgr. Scanlon High School, Bronx) for giving him courage and strength in his duties as New York City PBA President: “It was all interconnected. The lessons at home and the lessons at school were the same. You have to work hard to get ahead. You have to believe in God who put you on earth and allows you to do what you’re doing. That whole lesson began at our kitchen table, but was the same when you went off to school” On President Lynch’s office desk are a dozen memorial cards of policemen killed in the line of duty (three since he became PBA President), and two vials of holy water-one each from Knock and Lourdes.

Lynch and his wife, Kathleen, a nurse, have two sons, Patrick ,9, and Kevin, 7.

 (Based on an article by Jack Shanahan, It’s All about Family, The Brooklyn Tablet, August 12 ,2000)

The Mike Moran Division 8, AOH is proud to salute PBA President Patrick J. Lynch as Grand Marshal of the 13th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade as an exemplar of the Society’s Mission of Friendship, Unity, and Christian Charity.

Aide to the Grand Marshal, 2001, Malachy McAllister

Like most republicans in the north of Ireland, Malachy and Bernadette McAllister, and their four children, lived daily with abuse and fear of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the British troops occupying the six northern Irish counties. On October 2, 1988, a normal Sunday evening, two masked gunmen fired twenty-six shots into the living room of their home in the Ormeau Road area of Belfast.  The McAllister children and their grandmother narrowly escaped  physical injury. However, the psychological injuries continue to plague the family today.  The McAllister Family fled Belfast shortly after the attack 13 years ago.

The attack on the McAllister’s was no random occurrence. Malachy, a former political prisoner spent nearly four years in Long Kesh prison for political offenses. He had been convicted in a no-jury Diplock court.

Federal court Judge Henry Dogin granted political asylum to Bernadette McAllister and three of her children in October, 2000.  He ruled that the family including Malachy had suffered “extreme past persecution” including life long discrimination as Catholics and a “constant campaign of harassment” at the hands of the RUC, the British Army and Loyalist Paramilitary Forces whom the government was unwilling or unable to control.

Despite the inescapable conclusion “that the family suffered persecution including ‘incidents of public humiliation’, physical abuse of Malachy and the murder attempt against them by loyalists”, the judge ordered that Malachy be deported to the United Kingdom because his Northern Ireland convictions for targeting members of the RUC during the Hunger Strike in 1981 classified him as a terrorist and therefore not eligible for asylum.

Bernadette and the children’s political asylum status was short lived when the INS took the unprecedented step to appeal the judges favorable ruling.

Fifty six Democratic and Republican Congressional leaders including Robert Menendez, Joe Crowley and Peter King have written to the Justice Department on behalf of the family and recently they wrote to the Attorney General to complain about the INS treatment of the family.

Despite ongoing ceasefires, loyalist paramilitary groups in the North continue to engage in assassinations and attacks on Nationalists. The McAllister Family continues to fear for the future.

In light of the widespread release of former political prisoners in Northern Ireland and the suspension of deportation against several republicans here in America by the Clinton administration, the Mike Moran Division 8 AOH is proud to honor, support and pray for a speedy resolution of this case hoping that justice will prevail.

Aide to the Grand Marshal, 2001, Paul Francis Long

Paul Long was born in 1964 in County Wexford, Ireland to Michael and Ann Long.  He is the oldest of 7 children.  He was educated in Ballymitty National School and St. Peter’s College, Wexford.

After finishing high school he worked in his parent’s supermarket as a butcher before joining the F.C.A., Ireland’s Army Reserve, in 1981.  He remained with the reserves until he immigrated to the United States in 1984.

Since arriving in the States, Paul has generously given his time and talent to the North Shore Community and the Ancient Order of Hibernians.

Paul is the co-chair for the semi-annual St. Patrick’s Blood Drive.

Paul is an active member of the Locust Valley Neighborhood Watch.  He is also an active member of the LV High School Parents Council and a member of the annual “Comedy Night” fundraising committee.

Paul joined the Long Island Rose Society in 1995 and is now a consulting rosarian.  For the past 3 years he has served on the board of directors of the Long Island Rose Society, a position he still holds today and has held various positions on the annual L.I. Rose Show committee.  Paul is currently pursuing an associate’s degree in ornamental horticulture at SUNY Farmingdale.

Paul was inducted as a member Division 8, Ancient Order of Hibernians in 1995.  He immediately became one of the Division’s most active members.  He took his major degree in 1996.  Paul has worked tirelessly to make Division 8 what it is today- a robust organization protective of the Irish Culture on the North Shore of Long Island, of the Church, and of the Community.

Aide Paul Long was the Division’s Financial Secretary, and holds the office of Vice President.  On the County level, he is the current Freedom for All Ireland Chair of the Nassau County Board.  For three years, he was the Chair of the Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Parade.

Paul Long is currently employed as grounds superintendent for Nelson Doubleday in Locust Valley where he also lives with his wife Cindy, and children Aaron and Tanya.

2001 Grand Marshal – Patrick J. Lynch

by

patric3BY JACK SHANAHAN

The Brooklyn Tablet August 12, 2000

 

A dozen memorial prayer cards – each for a cop killed in the line of duty – lie in a row atop the desk blotter of Patrick J. Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association. They were given to him by parents of the deceased officers, three of whom died since Lynch was elected head of the police union a little more than a year ago. It’s a reminder of why you do this job,” he said. Despite what he called the “bombardment’ of anti-police activists, Lynch said, ‘I think the average person out there who does not have a political agenda supports New York City cops.” He said, “we have detractors who try to tear down what we do and attack us on every turn, but … there’s no one on this earth who defends the civil rights, or the Constitutional rights, of the people of this country more than a police officer in uniform standing on that corner.” When a cop goes bad, he said, it’s like a betrayal to all cops. No self-respecting police man or woman likes it when a fellow officer breaks the law. “It taints the department,’ the PBA chief said.

Lynch said his Catholic education, at home and in school, has helped him in all walks of life. “It was all interconnected,” he said. “The lessons at home and the lessons at school were the same. “You have to work hard to get ahead. You have to believe in Cod. He’s the One who put you on the earth and allows you to do what you’re doing. That whole situation: it started at our kitchen table, but it was the same when you went off to school.”

He was taught by the Sisters of St. Joseph at St. Robert’s and by the Ohio Dominicans at Scanlon. He also worked as a maintenance man at St. Andrew Avellino in Flushing and briefly as a subway conductor before switching to the Police Department. Lynch and his wife, Kathleen, a nurse, have two sons, Patrick, 9, and Kevin, 7.

Lynch, 36, born in Bayside, and a graduate of St. Robert Bellarmine parochial school there, is, the youngest cop to become president of the 29,000 member PBA. He campaigned virtually 24 hours a day, seven days a week, visiting each police precinct house and talking to cops on the day, night and overnight tours to get their votes. ‘They needed to see their union. They needed to feel part of the union,’ he explained. “This is an ever changing job. You have to be out there to understand (what’s-going on).”

The youngest of seven children, Lynch found union activity almost second-nature. His father, Robert, now 75, was a subway motorman for 30 years and took him out of school on day to walk the picket line during the 1980 transit strike. “You saw it then. You could feel it,” Lynch recalled. “If everyone stood together, in unity, you could change things and you could fix things for the better.”

His desire to do something meaningful was why he became a policeman. “Everything you do makes a difference. It’s the one job where the lowest person on the totem pole, the average cop, makes all the preliminary decisions and all else follows from that police officer’s decision. So, you really can make a difference,” he said in an interview in his office in Lower Manhattan.

Patrolmen have to make life-and-death decisions – frequently in a matter of seconds, or even a split second – decisions that will withstand the test of legal challenges all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, he noted. “And we’re asking them to do that on a salary of $350,” he said. The union chief referred to the weekly take-home pay of a rookie cop who actually grosses $31,000-a-year to start. The pay increases with time on the job. Lynch, with 17 years in, now receives $49,000 annually as a police officer and an additional similar amount as union president.

He is asking for “a substantial increase” for PBA members to replace the union’s five-year-old labor contract which expired July 31. He noted that an arbitrator last month boosted the top yearly pay of Suffolk County cops to more than $80,000 in the year 2003.

Besides fighting for a salary hike for his members, the graduate of Monsignor Scanlon High School in the Bronx also is battling the “very anti-police climate right now. It’s not popular to stand with a cop who’s wrongfully accused, but we’re doing that – and that goes a long way,’ he said.

“It’s never been this bad,’ Lynch said, referring to recent high-profile cases. “There’s never been a time when there are so many people demonstrating against police. “And,” he added, “we’re going through a time when we should be celebrating the police. Crime is down in astronomical numbers. You could walk safely in the, neighborhoods. Five short years ago … you couldn’t.’ Lynch said much of the anti-cop attitude could be blamed on government policies. ‘What’s happening is: the New York City cop is being dragged into everyone’s politics … and they’re attacking the policies on the backs of the New York City. police officer.” Uniformed officers are the first branch of government that many people see, even in housing disputes, he remarked. ‘So many times you take the brunt of society’s problems. You take the blame for problems that other agencies can’t fix. It falls square on the shoulders of cops,” he lamented.

A veteran of foot and motor patrol and community policing in the racially-mixed and ethnically-diverse 90th Precinct in Williamsburg, Lynch said that differences between the police and community usually could be worked out without rancor. “Once you get the dialogue going, many times you get past the differences. You find you’re not that far apart,” he said.

He’s trying as PBA president to “put a face on the average cop” for the public. However, he declined to discuss his own decorations which include one for Exceptional Merit for rescuing two officers who had been shot by a man firing through a door. Asked if he put himself in the line of fire, Lynch replied only, “part of the job. Part of the job.”

Despite what he called the “bombardment’ of anti-police activists, Lynch said, ‘I think the average person out there who does not have a political agenda supports New York City cops.” He said, “we have detractors who try to tear down what we do and attack us on every turn, but … there’s no one on this earth who defends the civil rights, or the Constitutional rights, of the people of this country more than a police officer in uniform standing on that corner.”

When a cop goes bad, he said, it’s like a betrayal to all cops. No self-respecting police man or woman likes it when a fellow officer breaks the law. “It taints the department,’ the PBA chief said.

Lynch said his Catholic education, at home and in school, has helped him in all walks of life. “It was all interconnected,” he said. “The lessons at home and the lessons at school were the same. “You have to work hard to get ahead. You have to believe in Cod. He’s the One who put you on the earth and allows you to do what you’re doing. That whole situation: it started at our kitchen table, but it was the same when you went off to school.”

He was taught by the Sisters of St. Joseph at St. Robert’s and by the Ohio Dominicans at Scanlon. He also worked as a maintenance man at St. Andrew Avellino in Flushing and briefly as a subway conductor before switching to the Police Department. Lynch and his wife, Kathleen, a nurse, have two sons, Patrick, 9, and Kevin, 7.

The union leader, whose mother, Mary, came here from County Mayo, Ireland, also was a drummer in the County Tyrone Pipe Band. His brother, Robert, is a piper. Asked why he did not take up the pipes, Lynch said with a challenging smile, “It took more skill to be a drummer.”

Since he has been head of the union, the Police Holy Name Society member has received thousands of letters, many seeking help, others offering advice. Two contained vials of water which he keeps near his desk. One has water from Lourdes, the other from Knock.

Parade News

Thank You, Sponsors!

Parade Photos

DSC_1237 GC_St_Patricks_232GC_St_Patricks_232 GC_St_Patricks_263GC_St_Patricks_263 GC_St_Patricks_426GC_St_Patricks_426 thumbs_{Q}DSC_1100 Laurieann-DeFilippo-Aide-2015

The Glen Cove St. Patrick's Day Parade is run by Glen Cove Parade Committee, Inc., a 501 (c) (3) charitable corporation, formed in the tradition of the Glen Cove Hibernians, who founded the Parade in 1989.

Upcoming Events

There are no upcoming events at this time.