Parade 2014 Press Release

NEW YORK COUNTY LAOIS ASSOCIATION Happy St. Patrick’s Day Monday March 17, 2014 Good News: Early Formation this year. Laois has been moved up to the Honor Unit in the Parade with an early assembly time and place. • New Assembly Time: 12:15pm • New Place: Between No.1 and No. 60 on West 45th Street, and between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Laois Grand Marshal: We are happy to announce that Kevin Dunphy is the 2014 Laois Grand Marshal. Kevin, the son of Mike and Fran Dunphy, has marched with Laois for 31 years and has helped with the banner and flags many times. He loves his Irish roots and has frequently visited family in Ireland over the years. While at Boston College, Kevin spent a semester at University College Dublin. He also greatly enjoyed his trip to the first Dunphy Clan Gathering in 2012 where he socialized with over a hundred of his relatives. Kevin graduated with a BS in Finance from Boston College, and is currently Director of Distressed Debt Sales for Bank of America. Laois Visitor: Laois Councillor John Bonham from Durrow will travel to the U.S. to join us on 5th Avenue this year. He is Chairman of the Midland Regional Authority which covers Laois, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath. The Authority adopts and implements Regional Planning Guidelines, has a key role in coordinating public services in the region, and secures and manages EU funding initiatives as well as participates in EU policy development. Dress Code: Dress code is of great importance this year since we will be marching early and thus will be part of the TV coverage. The Parade Committee has strongly urged each organization to adhere to the following rules: Business dress required. No sneakers, jeans or inappropriate dress such as weird hats. Please cooperate. Bill McEvoy: Our senior Laois member Bill McEvoy and Ceoltas Ceoltori na hEireann founder in the US and Canada celebrated his 64th Wedding Anniversary with his wife Lily this February. Congratulations to both of you. Bill at 91 years will join us again on the parade this year. He enjoys writing, playing in his band, traveling and, of course, his 9 children, 25 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. He is also busy at present preparing for the forthcoming Ceoltas Convention this April. Tom Phelan: Originally released in Dublin, Tom’s novel, The Canal Bridge, a story of Ireland, love, and the First World War, will be published in the U.S. on April 1 by Arcade Publishing. It will be available in bookstores and online -- as a hardcover, ebook, and audiobook. Tom’s novels are all available for Kindle as well as in print. His next novel, Lies the Mushroom Pickers Told, will be published in 2015. He has recently written a series of memoir pieces for the Irish Echo and will be speaking at a number of venues in April including the Irish American Artists and Writers Salon, 338 W. 23rd St., between 8th and 9th Aves., NYC on Tuesday, 15 April at 7 p.m. Please see also www.tomphelan.net and www.facebook.com/tomphelannovels. Cormac McEvoy: Congratulations to Cormac on his illustrations for the new children’s book, “Basil Meets the King of Prussia”, which is now available on Amazon.com. Scholarships: The St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee conducts an annual scholarship contest for high school and college students. Scholarship application forms and rules can be found on their website at www.nycstpatricksparade.org Please click on "Scholarship" (at top of page) to receive the relevant forms and instructions. Entries should be postmarked no later than April 1, 2014. Web and Blog sites: • Laois Blog site: www.nylaoisassociation.com includes photo galleries from previous years. • Official website of NYC Saint Patrick’s Day Parade: www.nycstpatricksparade.org. Contacts: • Mike Dunphy, President, (732) 292-0277, mike.dunphy@att.net. • Larry McEvoy, Vice President, (917)833-3218, larrymcevoy2@gmail.com SEE YOU ON THE AVENUE ... LE CHONAIGH DE