Glen Cove’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is coming back

Over the years it has become one of the biggest parades in Glen Cove.”

Robert Lynch St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee

Glen Cove’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade is returning this year, on March 20 at 1 p.m., after a two-year hiatus resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. The parade will mark its 33rd anniversary in Glen Cove since former City Councilman Brian Fitzpatrick and the Ancient Order of the Hibernians of Glen Cove created it. 

“It started relatively small,” Robert Lynch, a member of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee, said. “Over the years it has become one of the biggest parades in Glen Cove.”

According to the website NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade, New York’s parade started in 1762, 14 years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The parade was made up of Irish ex-patriots and military that served with the British Army in New York. Because wearing green, a sign of Irish pride, was banned in Ireland, the parade gave the Irish community the freedom to celebrate their culture. 

In Glen Cove, the parade starts at Forest Avenue, by Dosoris Lane, and travels down School and Glen streets. 

For the city’s first celebration, 35 gallons of green paint was used to augment the yellow lines on the streets along the parade route, according to a 1989 issue of the Glen Cove Record Pilot. Signs proclaiming “Cead Mile Failte,” meaning “a hundred thousand welcomes,” were on display, commemorating the start of the local tradition. 

The collaboration of Fitzpatrick and the Hibernians on the first parade led to the creation of the Parade Committee, a nonprofit charitable corporation that relies heavily on sponsors and corporate donations. 

Lynch noted that although Fitzpatrick was a councilman, the committee has always been separate from City Hall. “It’s never been sponsored by the city,” Lynch said. “The city is very helpful to us, but it’s all a private thing.” 

The first parade was on March 5, 1989. Since then it has been moved to the first Sunday after St. Patrick’s Day, Lynch explained, so it doesn’t have to compete with other parades, and is more convenient for participating groups. 

The first grand marshal was John Sweeney, a former Glen Cove postmaster. But the honor is not exclusive to community members. In 1990, New York City Police Detective Steven McDonald, of Malverne, served as grand marshal, four years after he was shot in the line of duty in 1986. 

According to the Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Committee, McDonald was a folk hero who strongly advocated for the Catholic faith and people who have sustained life-threatening injuries like him. 

This year, Gerard “Gerry” Herbert, a Glen Cove resident and local business owner, has been chosen for the honor. As grand marshal, Lynch said, Herbert’s role is to choose a charity to be the recipient of donations, and Herbert chose the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which helps community members who are experiencing hardships.

Bagpipe bands, local fire and police departments, and antique cars have taken part in the parade in the past. Lynch added that a variety of ethnic groups and organizations have been involved as well, including the Sons of Italy, St. Patrick’s Spanish Ministry and the Chinese Cultural Association of Long Island in the 2019 parade. Many wear outfits reflecting their culture, and play their native music. “It’s very, very colorful for the parade,” Lynch said. 

At the end of the inaugural parade in 1989, the Hibernians held a reception at the Polish National Home. To honor tradition, the St. Patrick’s Day Committee will host an after party at St. Patrick’s Church. There will be live music, a cash bar, a corned beef dinner, and performances. Admission will be $20 per person for those over age 13 and free for children. 

This year’s parade has more meaning than usual. Lynch noted that because it has been canceled for the past two years, people are anxious to get outside and gather again, and the event will give them that opportunity. 

“It’s kind of like the opening-up of society after Covid,” Lynch said. “It should be a big one. It’s kind of historic after the last few years.”