Tom McNamara (back) will serve as grand marshal for this year’s Irish Day Parade
Jacob Espinosa
LIMA — The 30th annual Irish Day Parade will take to the streets of Lima on March 16.
Grand marshal Tom McNamara has been involved in the tradition since childhood as the son of someone heavily involved.
“He was not quite a founding father, but he was one of the first guys that they called,” he said. “He said, ‘Get over here, you’re doing the parade.’ And then when he started slowing down, he roped me into taking his spot and Darby (Bourk) and I did it for years.”
The parade will start at noon at the corner of Robb Avenue and Main Street.
“It would be a lot of hard work without the committee and the help of the community and the city of Lima 100% behind us,” Bourk said. “It’s a great family day for different reasons. For some it’s about getting out of the house and for others it’s a great family atmosphere.”
McNamara said that it is an important event to resume relations with people that he and neighbors might not have seen in a while.
“A lot of us are all old North-Enders,” he said. “I’m excited to be grand marshal and it’s going to be a new perspective to see it. I’m thrilled to death.”
Weather ended up being perfect for the dozens of floats that went through the parade route last year and McNamara said that celebrating his heritage is a great joy.
“It means something different to everybody,” he said. “My family has always celebrated our Irishness. I used to dye my hair green in elementary school all the way up and when they decided to start having a parade, we all said that sounds like a good idea.”
McNamara, whose grandmother and father were both grand marshals at one time, said that he thought his family’s run might be done.
“I thought we’ve had our run,” he said. “There are a lot of good, old North End Irishmen that deserve this honor too.”
And for anyone else looking to get involved in the parade, Bourk had a few words of advice.
“We have said this for years that with the weather in March, we never really know what we’re going to get,” Bourk said. “We don’t deny anybody interested in the parade. We do our lineup the week before just to help us make it easier and we ask that people signed up show up on time because it makes our lives so much easier.”
For more information or to travel in the parade, visit the Irish Day Parade Facebook page.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
