2016 New Haven Parade Queen Selected!

2016 Parade Queen,Kaitlyn Cullagh from Wallingford, CT

Our 2016 Parade Queen Kaitlyn Cullagh is the daughter of Sean and Irene Cullagh. Her ancestors are from Tipperary. She is currently a student at Sacred Heart University studying nursing and will graduate in 2018. She is also employed at the Yale New Haven St. Raphael’s Campus as a Certified Nursing Assistant. Her personal ambition is to help others through nursing and volunteering. Her other interests include volunteering, traveling, reading, and spending time with family and friends. Her grandmother and father are members of the New Haven Gaelic Football & Hurling Club. Both her grandmother Kathleen Cullagh Carew (1963) and aunt Mary-Kath Cullagh Christoforo (1992) were former Parade Queens, making Kaitlyn a third generation Queen, a first for the competition and parade!

2016 Honor Attendant, Caitlin Shea Clark from Ivorytown, CT

Our 2016 Honor Attendant Caitlin Shea Clark is the daughter of Deborah Bracknell and Scott Clark. Her ancestors hail from Northern Ireland and immigrated to the USA in the mid-1700s. She is currently employed as a Design Assistant at the Dina Varano Gallery, as well as runs her own company Cait Shea Designs. Her personal ambition is to raise funds for charity by hiking the Appalachian Trail. Her other interests include knitting, art, sailing, hiking, traveling, and immersing herself in new cultures. Caitlin is a member of the NHGF&HC.

Cullagh and Clark will represent the four clubs that comprise the Associated Irish Societies – the New Haven Football & Hurling Club, the Knights of St. Patrick, the West Haven Irish-American Club, and the Ancient Order of Hibernians.

Their first major appearances will be at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Ball on Saturday, March 5, at Anthony’s Ocean View, followed by their roles as parade queen and honor attendant in the March 13th St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New Haven. The parade will begin at 1:30 pm in downtown New Haven.

Selection Process:
The Parade Queen is a proud iconic feature of the parade sponsored by the New Haven Gaelic Football & Hurling Club and Irish-American Community Center in East Haven. Visit www.iacc-ct.com/.
Selected from contestants from the four Associated Irish Societies, New Haven Gaelic Football & Hurling Club, Knights of St. Patrick, Ancient Order of Hibernians (Fr. McKeon Div.), and West Haven Irish American Club. The Parade Queen represents all four organizations for the year. All applicants must be 17 years of age or older. If you have any further questions about the parade queen selection, please feel free to email parade.queen@gmail.com.

The 2016 Parade Queen Selection was held Saturday, February 13, 2016, at the New Haven Gaelic Football & Hurling Club / Irish-American Community Center, in East Haven. Seven contestants represented the four Irish Societies in the night’s festivities.