The flag of the Republic of Ireland flies on the village green in Jamesport.
Linda Simonsen and Leanne Simonsen, grand marshals of the upcoming 2024 Jamesport St. Patrick’s Day Parade, hoisted the Irish tricolor up the flagpole on the green Wednesday afternoon. Past grand marshals, local elected officials and community residents looked on.
A bagpiper from the Suffolk County Emerald Society provided music for the event, which was organized by the East End Emerald Society, sponsor of the annual Jamesport St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
The East End Emerald Society started the parade in Jamesport in 2014 — the first St. Patrick’s Day parade held in the Town of Riverhead, where Irish is the top self-reported ancestry. According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data analysis available — more residents of the Town of Riverhead claimed Irish ancestry than any other, second only to those who chose “other.”
The East End Emerald Society was organized by Jamesport businessman Sean O’Neill with the goal of hosting a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Jamesport. He said at the time it was something he had been thinking about doing for a decade. The parade enjoyed immediate success and has taken place every year since, with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event brings together marching bands and community groups from across the region.
The 2024 parade will take place on Saturday, March 30 beginning at 1 p.m. The parade steps off on Main Road at Washington Avenue and continues east to Manor Lane. Grand marshals Linda and Leanne Simonsen are the mother and widow of fallen NYPD Officer Brian Simonsen, a Jamesport native who was killed in the line of duty in February 2019.
The Irish flag has an interesting history with unique ties to the United States. The tricolor consists of three equal vertical bands of green, white and orange. Green symbolizes Catholicism, white symbolizes peace and the orange Protestantism.
The flag was first flown by Irish patriot Thomas Francis Meagher in 1848. It flew for eight days before being taken down by the British. Meagher was later found guilty of treason for his role in the 1848 rebellion and sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to banishment in Australia. He later escaped to the United States, where he fought with the Union Army in the American Civil War, rising to the rank of Brigadier General. He also served as governor of the Montana territory.
The flag, a source of pride for people of Irish heritage, was adopted as the official flag of Ireland in 1937.
Wednesday’s ceremony was attended by Riverhead Council Members Ken Rothwell, Joann Waski and Denise Merrifield, Deputy Supervisor Devon Higgins, County Legislator Catherine Stark, and East End Emerald Society board members Sean O’Neill and John Cuddy.
Waski and her husband Patrick, 2023 grand marshals and 2022 Aide to the Grand Marshal Kevin Carrick were on hand for the flag-raising ceremony.
The roster of Jamesport St. Patrick’s Day Parade grand marshals to date:
2014: Jack Cuddy
2015: Allen Smith
2016: Sean McCabe
2017: James Wooten
2018: Sean Walter
2019: Joseph Grattan Sr.
2022: Dawn Thomas; aides Kevin Carrick and Keri Najdzion
2023: Joann & Patrick Waski; aides Joe Hartmann and Steve McKay
2024: Linda & Leanne Simonsen; aides Tom and Mike Ferris
RiverheadLOCAL photos by Emil Breitenbach Jr.
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