{"id":1325,"date":"2014-11-20T18:43:28","date_gmt":"2014-11-20T23:43:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smithtowntodaynews.com\/?p=1325"},"modified":"2014-11-24T18:51:12","modified_gmt":"2014-11-24T23:51:12","slug":"kings-park-st-patricks-parade-grand-marshall-ball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smithtowntodaynews.com\/kings-park-st-patricks-parade-grand-marshall-ball\/","title":{"rendered":"Kings Park St. Patrick's Parade Grand Marshall Ball"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a title=\"About Maureen Rossi\" href=\"https:\/\/smithtowntodaynews.com\/about-maureen-rossi\/\" target=\"_blank\">By Maureen Rossi:<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Well it\u2019s no secret that James Kirby and Margaret Kirby Foley will be the Grand Marshals of the fifth Kings Park St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade.\u00a0\u00a0 A Press Release was sent out a few weeks back.\u00a0\u00a0 Both honorees are thrilled with their nomination and are also looking forward to the The Grand Marshall Ball.\u00a0 This year\u2019s festivities will be held Friday November 28<sup>th<\/sup> the day after Thanksgiving at Flowerfields in St. James.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Grand Marshall Ball traditionally goes along with the parade to honor the upcoming Grand Marshall,\u201d said Gerry Creighton, parade organizer.\u00a0 She says they started the parade in 2011 and honestly wanted to get the parade right before we started plans for the Ball.\u00a0 \u201cWe had our first ball last year (honoring Deacon Trodden) and it was a big success; this fundraiser helps pay for the expenses incurred hiring bands etc.,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n<p>Creighton says she loves being part of the Committee and has been involved since the parade was conceptualized.\u00a0\u00a0 The busy wife of a Town Councilman says in addition to the parade honoring the Grand Marshalls gives KP\u00a0 the opportunity to celebrate its long-seated Irish heritage.\u00a0 How long does it take to put on what\u2019s become one of the single largest St. Patrick\u2019s Parade in a few short years?<\/p>\n<p>Ask that question to anyone on the committee and they all give a vigorous laugh.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt's a year round prep. we start in April to get ready for the following year,\u201d she explained.\u00a0\u00a0 Like many of Irish decent in Kings Park, Creighton is sad that her parents were never alive to see the parade.\u00a0 So many of the women left Ireland as young teens to come to Kings Park to find jobs \u2013 they were so young but they were strong proud Irish women.\u00a0 Creighton should know, her beloved mother was one of them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow we know why they didn\u2019t throw a St. Paddy\u2019s Parade, -it's a tremendous amount of work,\u201d she laughed.<\/p>\n<p>Few things get Kevin Professor of Professor\u2019s Diner more excited than talking about the St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade.\u00a0 Like Creighton, he is a founding member of the committee and is best known for wearing his kilt in the parade; a beautiful hand-made gift from KPHS teacher and Hibernian Kevin Johnson.<\/p>\n<p>Lifelong resident Pete Biggane says it\u2019s one of the highlights of his year.\u00a0 He can be found on the perimeter of the parade on parade day generally on his bike with a walkie talkie!<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s Grand Marshalls James and Margaret Kirby have devoted themselves to the Kings Park community along with their siblings Pat and Denis.\u00a0\u00a0 The children of Peg and Dennis Kirby, their grandparents hailed from County Mayo.<\/p>\n<p>The two of them have a gaggle of kids and grandkids and James is a proud United States navy WWII Veteran who served as Commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Social Services from 1965 until he retired in 1983.<\/p>\n<p>Margaret attended St. Catherine\u2019s Hospital Nursing School in Brooklyn and cared for the community members while working at Huntington Hospital, St. John\u2019s Hospital (now St. Catherine\u2019s) and St. Johnsland Nursing Home in Kings Park.<\/p>\n<p>The Grand Marshall Ball is Friday November 28<sup>th<\/sup> at Flowerfield in St. James and cocktail hour begins at <span data-term=\"goog_860579182\">7:00 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Check out the St. Patrick\u2019s Day Facebook Page for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Maureen Rossi: Well it\u2019s no secret that James Kirby and Margaret Kirby Foley will be the Grand Marshals of the fifth Kings Park St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade.\u00a0\u00a0 A Press Release was sent out a few weeks back.\u00a0\u00a0 Both honorees are thrilled with their nomination and are also looking forward to the The Grand Marshall Ball.\u00a0 This year\u2019s festivities will be held Friday November 28th the day after Thanksgiving at Flowerfields in St. James. \u201cThe Grand Marshall Ball traditionally goes along with the parade to honor the upcoming Grand Marshall,\u201d said Gerry Creighton, parade organizer.\u00a0 She says they started the 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