'Most Irish Place' in New York is the Place to Be Sunday

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, NerdWallet set out to find the ”most Irish place” in New York.

Pearl River landed the top spot.

A full 52% of residents in this suburban hamlet north of New York City claim Irish ancestry based on U.S. Census Bureau data. The Irish influence can be felt everywhere here, from a consistently crowded St. Patrick’s Day Parade to multiple schools for Irish dance and music in a community of only 15,840 residents.

That parade they’re talking about is the Rockland County Ancient Order of Hibernians’ annual extravaganza, which includes pre-events and parties such as the Emerald Ball, leading up to a Mass, Breakfast and Parade. The 53rd annual is this weekend and is expected as usual to draw thousands of spectators.

• SEE: Don’t Miss: 2015 St. Patrick’s Day Parade is March 22

Mass is at 9 a.m. at Dominican Convent, 175 Route 340, Sparkill, N.Y.. Breakfast follows at the Pearl River Hilton, honoring the Grand Marshal Vincent Tyer and his aides. The parade steps off at 1:30 p.m.

This year the Judges are:

Terry Carway, Kevin Furlong, Mary Lynch, Teresa Morris, Brian Murphy, Liz O’Donnell and Barry Tesseyman

General Committee:

Parade Co-Chairperson - Mary O’Sullivan

Parade Co-Chairperson – William Lee

Formation Chairperson – Carmel Reilly

Secretary – Trish Lee

Treasurer – William Lee

Awards Chairperson – Sean Walsh

Judges Chairperson – Lillian Murphy

Director of Transportation – Frank McDonagh

Arrangements Committee – Jim Russell, Matty Reilly and Cy Hughes

Ball Chairpersons - Patricia and Dan Barry

Journal Chairman – Sean Walsh

Parade Announcers – Michael & Neil O’Sulliva

2015 PARADE HONOREES

2015 Rockland County St. Patricks’s Day Parade Grand Marshal Vincent Tyer

2015 Rockland County Hibernian of the Year Linda Sheridan

2015 Aide to Grand Marshal NYC Brendan McNamara

2015 Hibernian Business Person Jenny Kirby

2015 Parade Commander Detective Teresa Hartey (Ret)

NerdWallet used data from the U.S. Census Bureau to rank cities and towns across New York state by their percentage of residents who claim Irish heritage. They did not consider towns with fewer than 10,000 people.

See all of the rankings and read more about the study here.