Irish Pride Shines With Parades, Awards In Essex County

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — There has been no shortage of pride among Essex County’s Irish community this March, which recently celebrated the return of three popular St. Patrick’s Day parades.

Earlier this month, the Essex County Board of County Commissioners held its 2022 “Salute to the Irish” Celebration. The annual ceremony commemorates the heritage and traditions of the Irish community, while recognizing the committees and honorees of the Newark, Nutley and West Orange St. Patrick’s Day parades.

The Rev. Paul Donohue of St. Lucy’s Church in Newark delivered the opening and closing prayers, and the audience was treated to video tributes that included an Irish dance by the Gardiner Brothers, a rendition of the Irish national anthem, “A Soldier’s Song”, and “The Star-Spangled Banner” performed by the late Captain James Mooney, who was retired from the Newark Fire Department.

The commissioners gave the following background information about the three parades this year:

NEWARK – The honorees in attendance from the 87th Annual Newark St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which was held on March 11, were Grand Marshal – Jere E. Cole, Jr; and Deputy Grand Marshals – Eileen McGinley Hannaford and MaryAnn Hannon Kostecka. This year’s parade is dedicated to the late Mary Sweeney Hall. Read More: Newark St. Patrick's Day Parade Is Back For 2022

NUTLEY – The honorees in attendance from the 43rd Annual Nutley St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which was held on March 5, were President of the Nutley Irish American Association – Karen O’Connor; Parade Chair – Deidre Hollywood; Grand Marshal – Dr. John V. Kelly, Jr.; Deputy Grand Marshal – Chase Hamilton; Member of the Year – John Wieners; Firefighter of the Year – Brian Salmon; and Parade Queen – Shayne Martin. Read More: Nutley St. Patrick's Day Parade Returns In 2022

WEST ORANGE – The honorees from the 69th Annual West Orange St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which was held on March 13, were Parade Chair – Kevin Brennan; Grand Marshal – Mellen Dangler; and Deputy Grand Marshals – John DeMars, Patrick Giblin, Bobby Lamb and Robert Swenson. Read More: West Orange Welcomes Back St. Patrick's Day Parade For 2022

“Unfortunately, last year’s ceremony was cancelled due to the pandemic, but we are happy to be back,” said County Commissioner Brendan Gill, who served as the grand marshal of the 2014 parade in Nutley.

Also in attendance were Commissioner President Wayne Richardson, Commissioner Vice President Carlos Pomares, Commissioner Patricia Sebold and Essex County Clerk Christopher Durkin.

AWARDS

Meanwhile, county officials recently honored residents of Montclair and Verona as the 2022 Essex County Irishman and Irishwoman of the Year.

Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. hosted the annual Essex County Irish Heritage Celebration on Monday. The honorees included Patrick Lyons of Montclair and Kate Hartwyk of Verona.

According to a county news release, the event recognizes the impact that Irish men and women have had on the cultural, civic, political, law enforcement and economic history of the area.

Both Hartwyk and Lyons accepted their awards humbly.

“It is said that if you love your job you will never work a day in your life, and that’s true with me,” Hartwyk said.

“It is such an honor to receive this award from Essex County,” Lyons said.

“I have always said that the strength of Essex County lies in the diversity of the people living and working within our borders,” DiVincenzo said. “This diversity stems throughout every corner of the county and highlighting the contributions that each ethnicity has had on our economy, culture and history are part of what creates our sense of community.”

“Pat Lyons and Kate Hartwyk have helped shape the quality of life in our county through their leadership and civic involvement,” he added. “We are proud to recognize their accomplishments and the positive impact they have had.”

The county provided the following background about each honoree:

Kate Hartwyk - Kate Hartwyk is deputy director of the Essex County Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs. In this role, she oversees Essex County Turtle Back Zoo and the South Mountain Recreation Complex. Both attractions welcome millions of visitors each year and have become destinations for families and individuals. Ms. Hartwyk previously served as the Director of the Essex County Division of Cultural Affairs. In that role, she expanded its local grant program to award nearly 50 micro-grants annually to support arts organizations and programs throughout Essex and initiated a history grant program with support from the New Jersey Historical Commission. Mrs. Hartwyk founded the Arts & History liaison program, pairing members of the Arts & History Advisory Board with grant recipients, creating a mentor-mentee program. In recognition of its continued presentation of high-quality programs and services, the Division was recognized by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts as a Major Presenting and Service Organization. Community engagement and accessibility to arts and history programming has been an on-going mission for Ms. Hartwyk. The Division expanded its accessibility offerings by adding assisted listening devices to its popular SummerMusic concert series and creating the Essex County Branch Brook Park historic cell phone tour. A Spanish language version also was added to the tour. This award-winning program puts the history of our nation’s oldest county park in the hands of every park visitor. In 2012, Ms. Hartwyk was elected President of the Association of New Jersey’s County Cultural and Historic Agencies. In this role, she represented the needs and concerns of the County Cultural and Historical Agencies throughout the state of New Jersey. She was most recently elected to serve as a Trustee with the New Jersey History Advocates. With a certificate in non-profit management, Ms. Hartwyk has been called to serve as county liaison to numerous boards including the Essex County Presby Memorial Iris Gardens, Kip’s Castle Conservancy, Riker Hill Artists’ Association, and the Essex County Arts & History Advisory Board. Ms. Hartwyk graduated cum laude from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in Art History and holds a master’s degree in art history and museum studies from Case Western Reserve University.

Pat Lyons - Patrick G. Lyons was named Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff of Seton Hall University on June 10, 2019. He oversees Athletics, Facilities and Operations, Human Resources, strategy and the Office of the President. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Lyons served for eight years as the University’s Vice President for Athletics and Recreational Services. In that role, he led the university through a period of remarkable success in competition, academics, infrastructure growth and conference realignment, thereby enhancing the college experience for Seton Hall's 14 NCAA Division I athletics programs and the student body as a whole. Lyons transformed Seton Hall’s athletic facilities through the Pride & Excellence Campaign, a fundraising initiative of the Pirate Blue Athletic Fund that directly led to new state-of-the-art spaces, including an academic center, fitness center, sports medicine center, varsity weight room, film room, golf lab, locker rooms for all varsity sports and a new lobby in the Richie Regan Athletic and Recreation Center that features the interactive Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame. In addition, Seton Hall student-athletes' collective grade-point average reached an all-time high, and they enjoyed renewed success on the field while competing in the Big East, one of the most historic and successful conferences in the nation. Mr. Lyons arrived at Seton Hall after spending seven years as Iona College's Director of Athletics, establishing its department as one of the top programs in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. He was the chief administrator for the Gaels' 21 NCAA Division I athletics programs. Mr. Lyons is married to the former Rachel Cintolo, who is a member of the faculty at Rutgers University.

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