By:LAURA LANE
Historically the annual Irish Day in Long Beach promotes Irish pride. This year it will be different.
This year we will have a more patriotic theme, said Garret Rooney, president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. We will have a greater emphasis on America, with displays of American flags and slogans. We are trying to show how Ireland and the United States stand together.
Irish Day will begin at noon Saturday Oct. 6, running until around 6:30 p.m. The parade, which traditionally begins the festival, will be a little different this year, too. Ordinarily the Nassau County Police Department Color Guard leads the parade and several motorcycled police ride along. Members of the Marine Corps will lead the parade this year, since there is a great need for members of the NCPD at Ground Zero where the World Trade Center once stood. Rooney thinks that having the Marine Corps. present is a good reflector of the times.
Grand Marshals Tim and Joan Delaney will lead the parade, which begins on Washington Boulevard and travels down Beach Street. There will be 15 bands and the Hagen School of Irish Step Dance will once again present a performance utilizing their very talented youngsters. This year there will also be another difference at the end of the parade.
At the end of the parade, a massing of the bands as one huge band will march down to a central area and participate in a moment of silence, Rooney said. The moment of silence is a show of support for our country and the people who lost their lives in the World Trade Center tragedy.
Irish Day will once again have many vendors, children's rides and games, and food available for people to enjoy. Traditionally the day is not a big money maker for the Hibernians, but the money that they do make will be donated to charities to benefit the families of the victims of the attacks.
We have a lot of police and firemen in our organization, Rooney said. We just aren't sure where our money will go as of yet.
The New York City Police Department will have a booth set up to raise money for families of the police who lost their lives at the Trade Center, and the Fire Department may have a booth as well. There will also be quite a few booths set up for non-profit organizations and local charities.
