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Anne Meyers surrounded by her friends and family before the parade. Photo by Carol Chen\n<\/p>\nOvercast skies did nothing to dampen the mood on East Tremont Avenue on Sunday, where thousands of Bronxites lined the streets in green beads, shamrock hats and Irish flags for the 28th annual Throggs Neck St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Marching bands, bagpipers, local politicians and community organizations filled the mile-and-a-half route to cheers from the crowd.\n<\/p>\n
Leading the procession was James \u201cJimmy\u201d Dorrian, a 95-year-old Throggs Neck native, Navy veteran, and former member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic Soccer Team.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joining him as Grand Marshal was Anne Meyers, a celebrated opera singer and 45-year pillar of St. Benedict\u2019s Church choirs, who said the honor caught her completely off guard. \u201cI didn\u2019t know I was being nominated,\u201d Meyers said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are folks who have made a difference in the community, who have celebrated Irish heritage, culture, values, faith, and who are worthy to lead the parade,\u201d said organizer Sheila Haney.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got a call from Sheila Haney saying, \u2018You\u2019ve been nominated for it,\u2019\u201d Meyers said
\nAnne Meyers surrounded by her friends and family before the parade. Photo by Carol Chen\n<\/p>\n
By day\u2019s end, the surprise had turned to elation. \u201cIt was absolutely amazing. I loved every minute of it,\u201d she said. \u201cI was the princess for the day, an Irish princess for the day. We waved to everybody. Everybody came out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Behind the scenes, the parade is a six-to-seven month undertaking run entirely by volunteers through the Throggs Neck Benevolent Association<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Haney is one of several people who have helped organize the Throgs Neck St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade since 1998. She said the idea came after she and her friends attended the parade in Pearl River, in Rockland County, and realized they should bring it back to the Bronx.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Bronx was the borough without a parade,\u201d Haney told the Bronx Times.\n<\/p>\n The parade also serves as a fundraiser for the Throggs Neck Benevolent Association, which raises money to help residents facing medical emergencies or other catastrophic events. Each year, organizers raise funds to cover parade costs through grants and by selling advertising pages in a commemorative journal book.<\/p>\n Though the parade may appear seamless to spectators, Haney said organizing it requires months of coordination.\n<\/p>\n \u201cEverything from the flags lining the avenue, putting together a beautiful journal book that pays for the parade, lining up all the marchers and the bands. We do a mass in the morning and a breakfast. We serve probably 500 people there today,\u201d Haney said.\u00a0<\/p>\n This year, 23 community members who had passed were honored as honorary grand marshals, with over 500 of their family members marching in tribute. \u201cI am thrilled,\u201d Haney said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a beautiful day for everybody involved.\u201d<\/p>\n Jimmy Dorrian\u2019s grandson Brian Dorrian flew in from North Carolina. He said the day carried deep meaning for the family, rooted in his grandfather\u2019s faith and their long ties to the neighborhood.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSt. Patrick\u2019s, patron saint of Ireland, so just to be able to represent that heritage, I think, is really important to him,\u201d Brian said. \u201cOur family has deep roots here in this neighborhood.\u201d Of Jimmy\u2019s 12 grandchildren, most made the trip, along with around ten great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n For the bars lining East Tremont, it is one of the biggest days of the year. Mike McDermott, owner of McDermott\u2019s in the Neck, marked the bar\u2019s 11th anniversary on parade day, same as every year since his licenses came through right at St. Patrick\u2019s in 2015.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is like an anniversary for us every year,\u201d McDermott said. A retired police officer who always dreamed of running an Irish pub, McDermott said the event doubles his usual crowd and means something beyond the bottom line.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt represents a celebration of St. Patrick\u2019s and it\u2019s good to bring the neighborhood together and be recognized on our day,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n The crowd itself told the story of a neighborhood that has grown well beyond its Irish roots. Cecilia Norbert, who has attended the parade for 20 years, said she doesn\u2019t need a drop of Irish blood to love the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not Irish, but I love all cultures,\u201d she said. \u201cI just support every culture, every parade, every group, every class of people.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Jack McCarrick, 72, a lifelong Throggs Neck resident and president of the local Ancient Order of Hibernians<\/a> chapter, marched with his group as he does every year, carrying their banner down the avenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s to promote the AOH itself, promote Irish society,\u201d McCarrick said. \u201cIt does things behind the scenes. It gives donations to different worthy causes, besides having dinners and dances, marching the parade. It\u2019s definitely fun.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Alex Rolla, a 13-year-old from Throggs Neck who has attended the parade every year for six years, said his favorite part is straightforward, \u201cprobably all the songs that the marching bands have been performing, and the bagpipes. The bagpipes, yeah, those are really fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Curtis Silwa, who has shown up to this parade every year since founding the Guardian Angels in the Bronx in 1979, was as candid as ever.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cEvery year we\u2019re here,\u201d he said. \u201cYou see a lot of people who no longer live here, but grew up here, and then they come back here to pay tribute to the neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n As the last group turned onto Harding Avenue and the tents filled with live music and Irish beer and foods, Throggs Neck wrapped up another St. Patrick\u2019s Day the only way it knows how: loudly, proudly and well into the night.<\/p>\n Marina Samuel contributed to this story.\n<\/p>\n Carol Chen is a student at the\u00a0Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. For more coverage, subscribe to our\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-10.54.05-AM.jpg\")
James \u201cJimmy\u201d Dorrian with his extended family before leading the parade as grand marshal. Photo by Carol Chen<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-10.55.42-AM.jpg\")
Curtis Sliwa walks with Guardian Angel members in Saint Patrick\u2019s Day Parade in Throggs Neck. Photo by Carol Chen<\/p>\n