Blue Devil Band to March in St. Patrick’s Day Parade
A crowd expected to reach as high as 50,000 will jam Huntington village to see the St. Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday, March 14. It will feature the Blue Devil marching band, just as it has for more than 70 years.
This year’s parade will step off at 2 p.m. just north of the Huntington train station, at Church Street and New York Avenue, near Walgreens. Participants will march down to Main Street and then head west toward St. Patrick’s Church. Streets will be jammed with local folks and out-of-towners who annually turnout for the mega-event.
The grand marshal of the 2010 parade is local attorney Michael McCarthy, whose father, John, was a state Supreme Court justice and the parade’s 1969 grand marshal.
Sponsored by the local chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, who organize, promote, run and raise the funds needed to pay for expenses, the parade is a festive tradition, made more so by the impressive sounds of the 160- member strong Blue Devil band.
“The Huntington High School marching band has been part of the parade for as long as anyone can remember, certainly longer than any other band in the parade,” said AOH President Dominick Feeney, Jr., whose family founded the local chapter more than 60 years ago. “It’s a wonderful tradition and we are fortunate that we have such a committed group who in early March, no matter the weather, will march up Main Street with their distinctive Huntington logo.”
The Blue Devil marching band will be decked out in its snappy blue and white uniforms and will include the color guard. The band was organized in 1934 by then high school music teacher James C. Doty. The school’s student council raised the initial monies needed to buy the first band uniforms.
The parade will also feature other bands from around the region, including the bagpipe bands that have become crowd favorites. No other Long Island parade can match the line-up of bands that participate in the Huntington event, organizers claim. “We work hard to make sure the St. Patrick’s Day parade is a wonderful Huntington community event,” said Mr. Feeney.
Huntington AOH members will follow their long custom of marching in snazzy gray morning suit tuxedos. “We take a great deal of pride in putting on the parade,” said Mr. Feeney, whose grandfather founded the local chapter.
In all, about 75 different bands and groups will be marching in the parade, said Richard McGrath, AOH Division 4 standing chairman. The NYPD Emerald Society pipe and drum band will be marching in the parade for the first time. But, the Blue Devil marching band is always one of the biggest draws and has never failed to elicit a loud roar from the crowd. The Huntington parade was one of the first public events the band played at when it was founded.
The Huntington St. Patrick’s Day parade dates back to the early 1930’s. It was sponsored by the Irish American Club during its early years before the founding of the AOH, which later took over the event. Except for the war years of 1942-45, the parade has continued uninterrupted.
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