{"id":183520,"date":"2026-04-02T16:26:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T16:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/183520\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T16:26:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T16:26:12","slug":"gerritsen-beach-st-patricks-day-parade-marks-16-years-of-community-pride-brooklyn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/183520\/","title":{"rendered":"Gerritsen Beach St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade marks 16 years of community pride \u2022 Brooklyn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"IMG_9625\"\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Members of the Gerritsen Beach marching band perform along Gerritsen Avenue during the 16th annual Gerritsen Beach St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade on March 28.<\/p>\n

Photo by Meaghan McGoldrick O\u2019Neil<\/p>\n

A neighborhood tradition rooted in family and resilience returned Saturday, March 28, as the 16th annual Gerritsen Beach St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade stepped off along Gerritsen Avenue, drawing crowds of bundled-up spectators in green and gold to celebrate community.<\/p>\n

What began as a heartfelt promise has grown into one of southern Brooklyn\u2019s most beloved grassroots events. Founder Jim Donovan, who launched the parade in 2010 in honor of his late father, once recalled the unlikely origins of the march.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad had gotten into an accident, and on his deathbed, he said he wanted a parade,\u201d Donovan told Brooklyn Paper last year<\/a>. \u201cHe died in February of 2010, and I said, \u2018Okay, let\u2019s have a parade.\u2019 Everyone I spoke to told me, \u2018You can\u2019t do it\u2026\u2019 But I don\u2019t take no for an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sixteen years later, that determination was on full display as pipe bands, dancers and local groups made their way through the neighborhood.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe parade was a spectacular success,\u201d Donovan said. \u201cThe community was full of smiles and overall it was a grand day held by all.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\"\"Jim Donovan marches as drum major with the Knights of Columbus Pipes and Drums Council #126 during the 16th annual Gerritsen Beach St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade on March 28, leading the neighborhood tradition he founded in 2010 in honor of his late father.Photo by Meaghan McGoldrick O\u2019Neil \"\"Motorcyclists roar down Gerritsen Avenue as part of the 16th annual Gerritsen Beach St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade.Photo by Meaghan McGoldrick O\u2019Neil \"\"Irish step dancers performed along the route.Photo courtesy of Jim Donovan<\/p>\n

That sense of community extended beyond Gerritsen Beach for Donovan this season. In the weeks leading up to the local parade, he was honored across Brooklyn\u2019s Irish-American parade circuit \u2014 serving as an aide at the 51st annual parade in Park Slope<\/a> and marching with his pipe band in the Bay Ridge parade<\/a> the weekend prior.<\/p>\n

Despite the broader recognition, Saturday\u2019s march remained deeply personal. Donovan, drum major of the Knights of Columbus Pipes and Drums Council #126, has long described the event as \u201ca family affair,\u201d with relatives playing key roles in organizing and marching year after year.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jim Donovan (left) with parade organizers Bill and Dominique Donovan. \"\"Grand Marshal Phil Parker (right) and Irishman of the Year James Cappiello waved to spectators during Saturday\u2019s march.Photo by Meaghan McGoldrick O\u2019Neil<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s honorees included Grand Marshal Phil Parker, Irishman of the Year James Cappiello, and Irishwoman of the Year Kelly (Denver) Burke, each recognized for their contributions to the community and their role in keeping the neighborhood\u2019s Irish heritage and traditions alive.<\/p>\n

In all, 32 groups marched, Donovan said \u2014 all of them on time.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our 16th year and we have never stepped off late,\u201d he laughed. \u201cBig accomplishment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Members of the Gerritsen Beach marching band perform along Gerritsen Avenue during the 16th annual Gerritsen Beach St.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":183521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,73841,73842,73843,9,24,12,370,63,1365],"class_list":{"0":"post-183520","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn","8":"tag-brooklyn","9":"tag-brooklyn-headlines","10":"tag-brooklyn-news","11":"tag-gerritsen-beach","12":"tag-gerritsen-beach-st-patricks-day-parade","13":"tag-jim-donovan","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-newsletter","18":"tag-nyc","19":"tag-parade"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}