The Glen Cove St. Patrick's Day Parade

Celebrating Irish Culture on the North Shore

Joe McDonald, Grand Marshal 2025 Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade

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JOSEPH MCDONALD, GRAND MARSHAL
2025 GLEN COVE ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE

Joe McDonald, born Eric Marc Barrett on March 28, 1970, to Colleen Barrett of Erie, PA, has had quite a journey. Adopted at three months by Joseph and Catherine McDonald of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Joe grew up alongside his older brother, Marty. While he spent his early years in Brooklyn, Joe has called Long Island home for the past 15 years. Over that time, he’s lived in Massapequa, West Hempstead, and now Deer Park. He also runs his business in Franklin Square.

Joe’s career spans multiple fields, but he’s perhaps best known for his 15 years as a sports reporter. During that time, he had the chance to cover some of New York’s most significant sporting events, like the World Series, Stanley Cup Finals, and US Open Finals. His passion for sports journalism led him to write columns about the Mets and Major League Baseball for NY Sports Day, a website he founded in 2004 and sold in 2020. He also worked as the managing editor of NY Sportscene Magazine and was assistant editor at Mets Inside Pitch Magazine.

In addition to his sports career, Joe spent 12 years running a web development business and another 15 years as a financial consultant. His broad professional experience made the transition into real estate a natural fit. For the past eight years, Joe has worked as a loan and title closer, and today, he’s an agent with Berkshire Hathaway. In his real estate role, Joe is all about helping both sellers and buyers. He works closely with sellers to get their properties market-ready and secure the best price possible, while for buyers, he’s skilled at finding the right homes and negotiating the best deals.

Outside of his professional life, Joe is deeply involved in the Irish community. He’s been a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians for years and played a key role in growing the Mineola Division. His dedication has earned him leadership roles, including chairing conventions and serving as Chairman of the Long Island Irish Fest, an annual event in Franklin Square. He is Vice President on the Nassau County Board and previously sat on the National and New York State Boards. In 2015, he was honored as Aide to the Grand Marshal of the NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and in 2013, he had the same distinction with the Glen Cove Parade.

Joe’s community involvement doesn’t stop there. He’s also a member of the Sons of Italy in Deer Park, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick on Long Island, and the Irish American Society of Nassau Suffolk and Queens.

Joe is proud to share his life with his two children, Joseph and Jamie, and his partner, Alicia Louisa. His strong commitment to his family, career, and community reflects his well-rounded approach to life.

Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club Named as Major Charitable Beneficiary of Glen Cove Parade

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Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club Named as Major Charitable Beneficiary of Glen Cove Parade

The Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade receives NO public or municipal financial support.  We depend solely on business and corporate sponsorship and individual donations to the Glen Cove Parade Committee Inc.  All parade expenses are paid in this way, and all amounts collected in excess of those expenses are donated directly to carefully chosen charities.

After payment of the Parade’s expenses, all surplus funds raised through our fundraising efforts are donated to charity.  

After paying the Parade’s expenses, all surplus funds raised through our fundraising efforts are donated to charity. Grand Marshal Joe McDonald has chosen the Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club as our beneficiary this year. The club is a neighborhood-based facility designed for youth programs and activities that have served underprivileged youth and families in the greater Glen Cove Community since 1903.

  1.  Business and Corporate Sponsorship.  Please click here to learn more.
  2.  Our Commemorative Journal – your ad will support the parade, honor the Grand Marshal and Aides, and assist our charities.  Please click here to learn more.
  3.  We also welcome individual donations from our generous supporters.  Click here to learn more.

Note:  The Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade is organized and conducted by Glen Cove Parade Committee Inc., a charitable corporation and is a non-profit organization pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code. Your donation to the parade may qualify for an income tax deduction in accordance with Federal and/or State income tax laws. Please consult with your tax adviser to determine whether your donation is tax deductible in whole or in part. Nothing in this communication is intended to constitute legal or tax advice.

Christine Rice, Grand Marshal, 2024 Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade

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Christine Rice, Grand Marshal 2024 Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Christine Rice is the Executive Director of the Glen Cove Senior Center, Glen Cove, NY and Chairwoman of NOSH Delivers, Inc., Glen Cove, NY.  Rice received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC and her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Adelphi University in Garden City, NY.

In 1997, upon her mother’s diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease, Rice became her primary caregiver.  After caring for both her parents until her mother’s passing in 2006 and her father’s passing in 2013, Rice accepted the position as Director of Special Events and Community Outreach for the Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center. Connecting with the community and raising funds for the organization was an extremely rewarding experience and one that led to the position of Executive Director of the Glen Cove Senior Center in 2019.

The Glen Cove Senior Center enriches the lives of seniors and enhances the quality of life of older adults through numerous programs and services. Rice has a thorough understanding of the complexities and challenges that seniors face throughout the aging process and has acquired a strong knowledge, through her personal and professional experience, of Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related diseases. 

Rice’s involvement with NOSH Delivers Inc., a not-for-profit that works to create a hunger-free, thriving community began with the onset of COVID in 2019.  NOSH provides individuals and families in the Glen Cove community and surrounding areas with healthy, nutritious food.

Rice was born and raised in Garden City, NY with her nine siblings and still resides there.  Rice has two children, Mary who resides in Garden City, NY with her husband William and her son William, who resides in Delray Beach, FL.

Ryan W. Doherty, Grand Marshal, 2023 Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade

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Ryan W. Doherty was born in Smithtown, New York in October 1974 to William and Teresa Doherty who hail from Co. Waterford, Ireland.  When Ryan was two years of age, the family moved to Glen Cove, where Ryan attended St Patrick’s School, Finley Middle School, and Glen Cove High School.  In 1990, the family, including siblings Tara and Andrew, moved to Bayville.

Ryan graduated from Locust Valley High School in 1992 and, in 1996, received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aviation Administration from Farmingdale State College.  After college, Ryan was employed by Aer Lingus Irish Airlines and later as a US Customs Inspector at JFK International Airport.

Ryan attended the NYPD Police Academy, where he was awarded the Chief of Police Award for Highest Academic Average for the Class of 1999.  In July 1999, Ryan was appointed as a Police Officer for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department (MTAPD), which patrols North America’s largest transportation network, including the Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North, Staten Island Rapid Transit, and NYC Transit, and the world’s biggest and busiest transportation facilities such as Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal.

In April 2003, Ryan was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and is currently assigned to the Operations Unit – Emergency Operation Center in Long Island City.  Ryan, a 9/11 WTC First Responder, was a member of the Ceremonial Unit Honor Guard and volunteers on the MTAPD Peer Support Team.  Ryan was also honored by the Irish Echo as a Law-and-Order Leader in 2011.  In 2022, he received a Distinguished Service Award from the Nassau County Municipal Police Chiefs Association.

Ryan is an avid bagpiper for both the Pipes and Drums of the Police Emerald Society of Westchester County and the MTAPD Ceremonial Unit Pipes and Drums.  Ryan serves on the board of the Police Emerald Society of Westchester, is a member of the NYPD and Nassau Police Emerald Societies, and is most proudly a charter member and Sergeant at Arms of the recently formed MTAPD Emerald Society, established in 2022.

He is a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Knights of Columbus, the Elks Club, the NYPD Holy Name Society, and the Brotherhood of the Fallen, NYC Chapter.  Ryan is a huge history buff, a craft beer enthusiast, a Notre Dame football fan, a NY Islanders hockey fan, and a Gaelic Athletic Association supporter.  His biggest dream that he hopes in his lifetime to see a free and united Ireland.

A dual citizen of both the United States and Ireland, Ryan credits his parents Bill and Teresa for instilling in him a love for all things Irish at a very early age.  He celebrated his first birthday in Ireland and has grown up spending summers with his family along the River Suir in Cheekpoint, Passage East, and Ballyguner Co. Waterford.

His parents were active in AOH/LAOH events on the North Shore dating back to the 1970s, and also attended Irish feiseanna and festivals in East Durham.  His father Bill was past president of Mike Moran Division 8 of the AOH and his mother Teresa was a charter member of St Dymphna Division 8 of the LAOH.

Ryan remembers Glen Cove’s first St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 1989 as a teenager and participated and assisted with the Line of March in many parades during the ensuing 35 years. Ryan joined the AOH in 1996 while in college and held many elected positions including Financial Secretary and Vice President.

Ryan was selected as Aide to Grand Marshal of the 2014 Parade where he was joined by his wife Caroline, born in Co. Galway, and their daughter, Ashling, who is currently a 9th-grade student at The Ursuline School.

The Winters Family was instrumental in helping Ryan’s parents emigrate to New York and get their start in Glen Cove.  To honor the memory of his cousin, Joseph Winter, Ryan supports the Winters Center for Autism, a Long Island-based nonprofit organization that supports adults with autism through job creation, training, and placement while helping businesses employ people with autism.

Ryan is very grateful and appreciative to the Glen Cove Parade for the honor of his selection as Grand Marshal of the 2023 Glen Cove St Patrick’s Parade.  It is, for him, literally a hometown and family parade that gives him great pride, and satisfaction and holds for him many fond personal and professional memories.  Reflecting on all the past Grand Marshals, Ryan considers it a great tribute to be associated with such an All-Star Irish and American group of individuals and their contributions to Glen Cove and beyond.

Now three generations old is it hard to remember a time when there was no St Patrick’s Day Parade in Glen Cove.  As we look to the future, Ryan asks the younger generation to help preserve this great public display of Irish American heritage for many more years to come.

About the 2023 Parade

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The 2023 Glen Cove Saint Patrick’s Day Parade takes place on Sunday, March 19, 2023, at 1 pm.  Founded in 1989 the parade is the premier St. Patrick’s Day celebration on Long Island.  It takes place each year on the Sunday after St. Patrick’s Day and is a joyous first sign of Spring for Long Islanders and visitors.  Three generations old, the Parade this year is celebrating the young people who are following in the footsteps of those who started this great tradition.

The Grand Marshal of the 2023 parade is Ryan W. Doherty, a Sergeant with the New York MTA Police.  An acclaimed leader in law enforcement and the Irish American community, Sgt. Doherty is the son of Irish immigrants to Long Island.  He and his family have been deeply involved in organizing the Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade since its inception.  Joining Ryan in leading the Parade will be a large group of Aides to the Grand Marshal who, like him, are the descendants of past Grand Marshals of the Parade. 

The Parade begins to form up at 12 noon in the area of the Finley Middle School at Forest Avenue and Dosoris Lane in Glen Cove.  It steps off at 1 pm and proceeds through the streets of downtown Glen Cove.  There is ample parking at Glen Cove’s municipal parking garages and elsewhere and shuttle buses will run between the parking areas and the formation area.

The heart of the parade, as always, will be its exciting mix of marching groups, including bands of Irish pipers and other musicians, along with vintage cars, costumed performers, fire and police units, and much more.  The parade is a true community celebration with marching groups from the Irish and the many other ethnic groupings who live in the area taking part.  Come, join the fun!

The Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade receives NO public or municipal financial support.  It depends solely on tax-deductible corporate sponsorship and individual donations to the Glen Cove Parade Committee Inc.  Please visit glencoveparade.com to review tax-deductible support opportunities. All parade expenses are paid in this way and all funds collected in excess of those expenses are donated directly to carefully chosen charities.  Our Grand Marshal has chosen the Winters Center for Autism as the Parade’s selected charity for 2023.  The Winters Center for Autism is committed to enhancing the quality of life for adults with autism through job creation, training, and placement while helping businesses to develop and implement programs to employ people with autism. 

For more information, please visit the parade website at www.glencoveparade.com, call or text 516-782-7494, or email anpiobaire@aol.com.  The Glen Cove Parade Committee, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) charitable corporation, and all contributions are tax-deductible.

WHAT’S NEW:  

    • The Parade will now use a shorter, more comfortable route,  – just one-half mile long, half the old distance – to bring everyone together and concentrate all the fun right in the center of Glen Cove!

    • All spectator parking will now be literally just steps from the viewing areas.

    • Marchers will park less than a block from the end of the Parade, with a bus shuttling them to the staging area just minutes away.

    • The Parade Reviewing Stand will now be in the new Village Square, at the climax point of the Parade.

Aides to the Grand Marshal: The New Generations

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Three generations old, the 2023 Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade takes place on Sunday, March 19, 2023 and will celebrate the young people who are following in the footsteps of those who started this great tradition.

The Grand Marshal of the 2023 parade is Ryan W. Doherty, a Sergeant with the New York MTA Police.  An acclaimed leader in law enforcement and the Irish American community, Sgt. Doherty is the son of Irish immigrants to Long Island.  He and his family have been deeply involved in organizing the Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade since its inception.

Joining Ryan in leading the Parade will be a large group of Aides to the Grand Marshal who, like him, are the descendants of past Grand Marshals of the Parade. 

The heart of the parade, as always, will be its exciting mix of marching groups, including bands of Irish pipers and other musicians, along with vintage cars, costumed performers, fire and police units, and much more.  The parade is a true community celebration with marching groups from the Irish and the many other ethnic groupings who live in the area taking part.  Come, join the fun!

The Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade receives NO public or municipal financial support.  It depends solely on tax-deductible corporate sponsorship and individual donations to the Glen Cove Parade Committee Inc.  Please visit glencoveparade.com to review tax-deductible support opportunities. All parade expenses are paid in this way and all funds collected in excess of those expenses are donated directly to carefully chosen charities.  This year’s selected charity is The Winters Center for Autism, which is committed to enhancing the quality of life for adults with autism through job creation, training and placement while helping businesses to develop and implement programs to employ people with autism. 

For more information, please visit the parade website at www.glencoveparade.com, call or text 516-782-7494, or email anpiobaire@aol.com.  The Glen Cove Parade Committee, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) charitable corporation, and all contributions are tax-deductible.

Please Support Our Parade!

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The Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade receives NO public or municipal financial support.  We depend solely on corporate sponsorship and individual donations to the Glen Cove Parade Committee Inc.  All parade expenses are paid in this way and all amounts collected in excess of those expenses are donated directly to carefully chosen charities.

Our selected charity for the 2023 Parade is the Winters Center for Autism, which is committed to enhancing the quality of life for adults with autism through job creation, training and placement while helping businesses to develop and implement programs to employ people with autism. 

Your support for this wonderful cultural event is deeply appreciated.  There are two main support opportunities available to you in order to support the parade:

  1.  Business and Corporate Sponsorship.  Please click here to learn more.
  2.  Our Commemorative Journal – your ad will support the parade, honor the Grand Marshal and Aides and assist our charities.  Please click here to learn more.

Come to our “Hooley” Jan 11, 2014

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The Presentation of Sashes to our Parade Grand Marshal for the 2014 Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade, John O’Connell, and his Aides, will take place on Saturday, January 11, 2013 at 7pm at St. Rocco’s Parish Hall, located at 18 3rd Street, Glen Cove, NY, followed by a real Irish “hooley”.

We had the idea of having a “hooley” last year, and it was a wonderful time.  It’s like an old fashioned Irish house party, very informal and a lot of fun.   We are asking everybody to bring your own food, bring your own beverages, AND to bring your own entertainment!”  (and also to bring $20 for the parade).

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Music breaking out at a hooley!

The “Hooley” is a fun word for the very lively, informal type of house party Irish people enjoy.  It’s a tradition that dates back in Ireland and Irish America to the days before recorded entertainment, before 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 idea of the “party piece”.  A lot of people come to the party prepared with at least one party piece of entertainment – a song or a tune on an instrument, a stepdance, a poem, a recitation, or a joke or story to tell – for the enjoyment of everyone at the party.

Anyone can take a turn, or join in with someone else, or just listen.  It’s a great way to get to know your friends and neighbors.

A hooley might break out spontaneously anytime friends are gathered at a neighbor’s house, usually in the kitchen, where everyone can share the food and drink brought along by the guests.

Update:  A lot of talented people are  joining us tonight and bringing their “part pieces”!  Kevin Westley’s going to sing, so is Joe Sullivan with his guitar.  Lugh dePaor’s going to sing in Irish and is bringing his guitar and uilleann pipes and whistle; Jim Hawkins the Irish storyteller is coming, Patrick Shields will play the fiddle, bodhrán and whistle (and sing!). John McManus will sing and bring his pipes;  Mary Lilly’s going to lead an Irish sing-along and play the whistle;  Joe McDonald’s going to sing and play the box. Maura Lynch will sing in Irish, so will Shelia Webster, and play the melodeon, Conor and Kieran Lynch (it’s his 21st Birthday!) will play;  Robert Lynch will play and Andy Stafford is sure to sing.

Click here for an event flyer

Sash Presentation Jan 11

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The Presentation of Sashes to our Parade Grand Marshal for the 2013 Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Danny Lane, and his Aides, Lisa Forgione,  Bob and Pam Pazenbeck, and Joe McDonald, will take place on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at from 6pm to 7pm at St. Rocco’s Parish Hall, located at 18 3rd Street, Glen Cove, NY, followed by a “hooley” from 7pm to 11pm!  (see below)  Click here for an event flyer

We are doing something special this year:  we are planning to replicate an old-fashioned Irish house party, called a “hooley” which is very informal and a lot of fun.   We are asking everybody to “bring your own food, bring your own beverages, AND to bring your own entertainment!”  (and also to bring $20 for the parade). 

musicians2

Music breaking out at 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, before 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 idea of the “party piece”.  A lot of people come to the party prepared with at least one party piece of entertainment – a song or a tune on an instrument, a stepdance, a poem, a recitation, or a joke or story to tell – for the enjoyment of everyone at the party.

Anyone can take a turn, or join in with someone else, or just listen.  It’s a great way to get to know your friends and neighbors.

A hooley might break out spontaneously anytime friends are gathered at a neighbor’s house, usually in the kitchen, where everyone can share the food and drink brought along by the guests.

Click here for an event flyer

Parade News

Thank You, Sponsors!

Parade Photos

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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

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