Parade Grand Marshal Paul Long, flanked by his Aides, Peter Begley and Regina Begley.

Glen Cove, NY – The Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee installed the Grand Marshal of this year’s parade at a ceremony which took place last week at St. Rocco Parish Hall.  The Grand Marshal is Locust Valley resident, Paul Long, well known on the North Shore as a community activist, a first responder in both Locust Valley and Glen Cove and a proponent of efforts to provide support services for serving soldiers and returning veterans.  Mr. Long will be accompanied by Aides to the Grand Marshal Regina McGannon Begley and her husband Peter Begley, both well known for their involvement in Irish social and cultural affairs in the metropolitan area.

The 28^th Annual Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade takes place on Sunday, March 20, 2016 at 1pm in downtown Glen Cove.  This dazzling event is the premier St. Patrick’s Day celebration on the North Shore of Long Island and it is the largest annual parade in the Glen Cove area.

St. Patrick’s Day Parades around the world this year are joining in the celebration of the Centennial of the Irish Revolution which began in Dublin on Easter Monday, 1916.

The backbone of the Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade, as always, will be its exciting mix of marching groups, including many bands of Irish pipers and other musicians.  Further color will be added to the festivities by vintage cars, costumed performers, face painters, fire and police units and much more.  The parade is a true community celebration of the coming of Spring with many of our area’s ethnic organizations, often in traditional costume, taking part.  Come, join the fun!

The Parade is supported by donations to a special Commemorative Journal honoring the Grand Marshal.  All proceeds beyond parade expenses are donated to charities chosen by the Grand Marshal.  To place an ad, or for more information about the parade, please visit www.glencoveirishparade.org or call Robert Lynch at 516-782-7494

Paul Long
Grand Marshal 2016 Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Paul Long was born in 1964, in Duncormick, Co. Wexford the oldest of the seven children of Michael and Ann Long.  He attended school at the Ballymitty National School and went on to St. Peter’s College in Wexford Town.

After leaving school, Paul joined the Irish Reserve Defense Forces, was posted for six months in the Curragh military camp and served for a time near the border.

Following his military service, Paul spent a period of time working at his family’s supermarket as a butcher.  He decided, at the age of 20 to come to the United States.  As he tells the story, he wished to fulfill his lifelong dream of meeting John Wayne and Elvis Presley.  News traveled slowly in County Wexford back then, so Paul only discovered when he arrived in New York that the Duke and the King were no longer with us.

Another stroke of luck brought Paul to Long Island.  Upon his arrival in this country he couldn’t locate the friend of a friend he was supposed to meet in New York City, and instead called a Locust Valley number his aunt had slipped into his pocket.

Paul soon found employment working on the grounds at the Piping Rock Club.  More good luck followed as was joined here a year later by the beautiful Jacinta “Cindy” Long, also from Co. Wexford.

From 1985 to 1992, Paul worked for a local landscape contractor.  During this time, he became acquainted with the famous Nelson Doubleday, who in 1992 recruited him as the senior horticultural technician on his estate in Locust Valley.

Paul join AOH in the early 1990’s.  He ultimately became President and Chairman of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.  Paul was instrumental in transforming the Division from an obscure fraternal organization to a well-known organization heavily involved in a wide variety of community events and causes on the North Shore.

Paul also continued his studies, receiving a degree in ornamental horticulture at SUNY Farmingdale.  He is a member of the Long Island Rose Society, the American Rose Society and the Manhattan Rose Society.  In this field Paul has achieved the status of “Consulting Rosarian”.

Paul was profoundly moved by the events of September 11, 2001 and felt compelled to do everything he could to assist his country in the wake of that day’s attacks.  He started by travelling into Manhattan to provide what aid he could to the rescue and recovery workers who toiled there.

Inspired by the example of the first responders on 9/11, Paul became a member of the Locust Valley Fire Department.  He went on to become Second Lieutenant and, then, First Lieutenant and is now the Captain of a Hose Co. No. 1.  He has been elected a commissioner of the Locust Valley Fire District and is currently serving a five-year term in that position.

Paul went back to school yet again, becoming first an EMT, then an EMT CC (critical care), and ultimately becoming a paramedic in 2014.  He has served as volunteer paramedic with the Glen Cove EMS for the past 5 years.

Paul designed and constructed Glen Cove’s first 9/11 Memorial, incorporated into a rose garden he planted in Morgan Park.

One of Paul’s proudest accomplishments has been his work with Wounded Warriors.  He and two fellow Locust Valley firefighters began raising funds for wounded troops and they went on to become the highest fundraising department on Long Island.  Paul has made regular trips to Camp Lejeune and Ft. Bragg to distribute gifts bought with funds he raises to the troops and their families.  He also volunteers with Hope for the Warriors, among other things by picking up and driving wounded troops when they visit New York.

Two days after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Paul travelled as part of an American Red Cross medical team to Mississippi and Louisiana, spending three weeks assisting those worst affected by the storm.

Paul and Cindy have three children, Aaron, Tanya, James.  Aaron, 30, is a Firefighter with the FDNY, Engine 301, based in Hollis, Queens.  Tanya, 25, is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in the arts at Cranbrook, in Michigan.  James, 13, is in the Seventh Grade at Locust Valley Middle School, and plans to become a professional hockey player.

Glen Cove, NY  January 18, 2016 – The Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee has announced the selection of the Paul Long as Grand Marshal of the 28^th  Annual Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade, taking place Sunday, March 2o, 2016.  This dazzling event, has grown to be the premier St. Patrick’s Day celebration on the North Shore and the largest annual parade in Glen Cove.

Paul Long will be accompanied by Aides to the Grand Marshal Peter Begley and Regina Begley.  The Grand Marshal and his Aides will be installed at a Sash Presentation Ceremony taking place on Saturday, February 20, 2015 at 7pm at St. Rocco Parish Hall in Glen Cove.

The ceremony is followed immediately by a traditional Irish party called a “hooley”.  Hooley is a fun word for a very lively, informal Irish house party.  It’s a tradition that dates back in Ireland and Irish America to the days before recorded entertainment, radio and TV.  It still lingers among people who understand how much fun it can be for friends and family to entertain each other.

The party centers around the the “party piece”.  Some people come to the party prepared to present a piece of entertainment – a song or a tune on an instrument, a stepdance, a poem, a recitation,  a joke or a story to tell for the enjoyment of everyone at the party.  Food and drink are also shared, on a pot-luck basis.

A free-will donation of $20 is requested.

For more information about the installation of the Grand Marshal, the Hooley and the Parade, please visit www.glencoveirishparade.org or call 516-782-7494.

This year’s Grand Marshal is The Very Reverend Dom Elias Carr.  Fr. Elias is the Pastor of St. Rocco Parish in Glen Cove and is the Headmaster of All Saints Regional Catholic School.  He will be accompanied by Aides to the Grand Marshal Laurieann DeFilippo and Robert Ottaviano.

The selection of Fr. Elias as Grand Marshal is especially appropriate since this year’s parade will have as its special theme a celebration of the heritage of Catholic school education on the Gold Coast.  This celebration is in recognition of two important anniversaries approaching in September, the 25^th Anniversary of All Saints Regional Catholic School, and the 100^th Anniversary of Catholic school education in this area, which began with the opening in September, 1915, of St. Patrick School in the landmark building where All Saints is now located.

To learn more about this historic anniversary and how to assist All Saints in entering the Second Century of Catholic school education on the Gold Coast, please visit www.secondcentury.org.

The Very Reverend Dom Elias Carr, Grand Marshal

Glen Cove, NY  January 8, 2015 – The Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee has announced the selection of the Very Reverend Dom Elias Carr as Grand Marshal of the 27^th  Annual Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade, taking place Sunday, March 22, 2015.  This dazzling event, has grown to be the premier St. Patrick’s Day celebration on the North Shore and the largest annual parade in Glen Cove.  Fr. Elias is the Pastor of St. Rocco Parish in Glen Cove and is the Headmaster of All Saints Regional Catholic School.  The theme of this year’s parade is the 25th Anniversary of All Saints and the 100th Anniversary of Catholic Education on the Gold Coast.

Fr. Elias was born in New York on January 27, 1968 to Matt and Terry Carr.  His Irish roots are in the town of Cloonshivna, Co. Galway, and in Counties Roscommon and Donegal.  He grew up in Syosset, attended SUNY-Binghamton, where he obtained a BA History and then Catholic University, where he obtained an MA in Politics, before entering the seminary.  He then completed his philosophy degree at St Charles Borromeo, Wynnewood, PA and his theology degree at the Pontifical Gregorian University.  Fr. Elias was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Arlington, VA in 1999 and served for three years at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Annandale.

In 2002, Fr. Elias was among the first Americans to enter the novitiate of Stift Klosterneuburg, Austria. Having served in parishes in Donaufeld, Austria and Bergen, Norway (where he earned an MPhil in Religious Education), he professed solemn vows in 2006.

Thereafter Fr. Elias split his time between studies in Rome and work in parishes nearby the Stift Klosterneuberg abbey.  Father Elias became the eleventh pastor of the Church of Saint Rocco in 2011, when the Canons Regular of St. Augustine established their first American foundation at the Canonry of Saint Leopold on the campus of Saint Patrick Catholic Church in Glen Cove, NY.   In the following year, he was made Headmaster of All Saints Regional Catholic School while still serving as pastor; he continues in both ministries to this day.