Since 1991 the U.S. President has decreed a Proclamation for Irish-American Heritage Month and with the current President Joe Biden being a proud Irishmen that legacy continues this year.

Proclamation on Irish-American Heritage Month, 2024

During Irish-American Heritage Month, we honor our Irish ancestors, all those who carry on their legacies, and the values that have always bound Ireland and the United States together.

These values — including determination, decency, and dignity — have been passed down from generation to generation in families like my own and have been grafted into the American character. Last year, I had the honor of visiting the home of some of my Irish ancestors, including the Blewitts of County Mayo and the Finnegans of County Louth. As I traveled across Ireland, I learned the true meaning of the Gaelic expression, “a hundred thousand welcomes.” I was reminded that everything between Ireland and America runs deep — from our history and sorrow to our future and joy. But more than anything, hope is what beats in the hearts of all of our people.

For centuries — even during times of darkness and despair — hope has kept us marching forward toward a better future. It is what led so many of our Irish ancestors to leave the only place they had ever called home and seek a new beginning in the United States. It is what drove generations of Irish immigrants to help build the foundations of America with grit and persistence, even as they endured discrimination and were denied opportunity. It is what continues to drive tens of millions of Irish Americans across our country to stand up for greater dignity, liberty, and possibilities for all. As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of United States-Irish diplomatic relations this year, hope remains the bedrock of our partnership, as evidenced by our work together to stand with the brave people of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, combat the climate crisis, and advance workers’ rights across both of our nations.

In the years ahead, I look forward to strengthening the partnership and friendship between the people of Ireland and America even further. United by history, heritage, and hope, nothing is beyond our reach.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 2024 as Irish-American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to celebrate the achievements and contributions of Irish Americans to our Nation with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs.

Grand Marshals

This year the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be led up Fifth Avenue by Grand Marshall Margaret “Maggie” Timoney, the CEO of Heineken USA, from Ballina, County Mayo, and a proud graduate of Iona University. In keeping with tradition, when March 17th falls on a Sunday the parade is moved to Saturday in observation of the Sunday Sabbath, the parade will be held on Saturday, March 16th.

San Francisco's Grand Marshal Tom Hunt and his wife, Mary. — San Francisco’s Grand Marshal Tom Hunt and his wife, Mary.

The 2024 Grand Marshal of the San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day Parade is Tom Hunt, the president of Ranger Pipelines, a heavy civil engineering company he founded in 1982 after having worked as a surveyor on the 800-mile-long pipeline across Alaska.

Tom played football with the Co. Roscommon team in Ireland and continued to play in New York and San Francisco. He is still involved with the GAA and was a member of the committee that built GAA playing fields and a clubhouse in San Francisco. He is a board member of the Irish Immigration and Pastoral Center. He is married to the former Mary Shea from New York. They have three grown children, Neil, Jenny and Julie, and three grandchildren, Ava, Ciara and Conor.

Liam Knott will lead the Buffalo St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It’s something of a family tradition leading the parade down Delaware Avenue. Liam’s grandfather was the Grand Marshal in 1962, his mother led the parade in 1981, and an uncle did the honors in 2002. The Parade is on March 17th and steps off at 2 p.m. Knott told WGRZTVNews that the best advice he got from his family was “to pray for good weather.”

New York City St. Patrick's Day Chairman Sean Lane and the 2024 Grand Marshall Maggie Timoney. Photo: NYCStPatricksDayParade Facebook Page — New York City St. Patrick’s Day Chairman Sean Lane and the 2024 Grand Marshall Maggie Timoney. Photo: NYCStPatricksDayParade Facebook Page

The Grand Marshal of the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade is Mary M. Feyre Lynch. A life-long resident of the city of Holyoke and a graduate of Holyoke Catholic High School, and Holyoke Community College, Mary earned both her Baccalaureate and M.Ed. degrees in Education from Westfield State College. She is a Professor Emerita from the Education Department at Holyoke Community College.

Mary is the daughter of the late Raymond J. and Mary G. Sullivan Feyre and grew up on Linden Street in Holyoke with her 10 siblings. She and her twin brother Ray Feyre have the distinction of being the only set of twins to serve as Grand Marshal of the St. Patrick’s Committee. Ray led the Parade in 2015. She and her husband John “Art” Lynch have two daughters, Mary Ellen and Maureen.

In addition to the New York City parade, many parades are happening throughout the New York tri-state area beginning on March 2, 2024, and continuing through to the beginning of April. The following list was compiled by the Emerald Irish Immigration Center in Queens.