2025 Parade Route!
🍀Parade begins at 11am March 15, 2025
🍀Parade route starts on Monroe Ave at Lyon St
🍀Parade ends at Veterans Memorial Park
🍀Staging begins at 9:30am for participants on Ottawa and Lyon
🍀If your group would like to participate or volunteer: Call 616.419.8618 Email GrIrishParade@gmail.com or
click here for more details.
Patrick O'Hare Newcombe
We are proud to introduce Pat as our Grand Marshal for 2024. Pat is a wonderful ambassador for his Irish heritage - as you might expect of one born on March 17! Besides being named for the glorious Saint of Ireland, his middle name is also his mother's maiden name. The O'Hare family in Ireland goes back to the 1700's and is still prominent in County Down today.
Pat grew up in SE Michigan, coming to Grand Rapids in 1965 to attend Aquinas College, where he was lucky enough to meet his wife Mary Christine Linskey (a fair Irish lassie for sure). Pat and Chris have three fabulous children and ten delightful grandchildren. Pat has been an active member of the local AOH chapter since 2019. Pat looks forward to seeing you at this year's parade and hopes you will help him celebrate his birthday once again this St. Patrick's Day. Slainte!
In the rolling green hills and misty valleys of Ireland, there exists a spirit that is as old as the land itself. The Spirit of Ireland is said to embody the essence of the country - its rich history, its warm hospitality, and its enduring resilience.
It is believed that this spirit watches over the land and its people, offering guidance and protection in times of need. In the laughter of children playing in the fields, in the music that fills the pubs on a Friday night, and in the ancient ruins that dot the landscape, the Spirit of Ireland can be felt; a quiet presence that binds the past to the present.
Those who visit Ireland often speak of feeling a sense of peace and belonging, as if they have come home to a place they have never been before.
The Spirit of Ireland recognizes one who has exemplified resilience in the face of adversity, while living by the motto of 'Friendship, Unity and Christian Charity' .
The Ancient Order of Hibernians is America’s oldest Irish Catholic Fraternal Organization founded concurrently in the coal-mining region of Pennsylvania and New York City in May, 1836. The Order can trace its roots back to a series of similar societies that existed in Ireland for more than 300 years. Today the AOH exists in America, Canada, Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland, however, while the organizations share a common thread, the American AOH is a separate and much larger organization.
© 2024 Hibernian Charities of Grand Rapids, Inc