Mayor Domenic Sarno poses with the Springfield St. Patrick’s Committee’s award winners.
Reminder Publishing photo by Ryan Feyre
SPRINGFIELD — The city of Springfield honored St. Patrick’s Day with a special flag raising and ceremony on the front steps of City Hall.
Springfield city and state officials gathered with representatives from the Springfield St. Patrick’s Committee and members of the community to celebrate the holiday by recognizing the city’s colleen and court, as well as the city’s award winners, including parade marshal Kathy Tobin Martin.
During the event, Mayor Domenic Sarno read a proclamation and honored the generations of Irish immigrants who reside in Springfield and beyond.
“The Irish have given back much greatness, whether to Springfield, whether to Massachusetts, whether to the United States of America,” Sarno said. “And for that, I am deeply grateful for your continued friendship and continued support.”
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Springfield) followed with an ode to the brave Irish immigrants of the past and a desire to keep the Good Friday Agreement, signed in 1998 to end three decades of conflict in Northern Ireland, intact for the future.
“We need to make sure that the Good Friday Agreement, which you allowed me to participate in, remains fully implemented, not compromised, and not changed,” Neal said.
The event also featured Thomas Moore’s poem “The Meeting of the Waters,” read by City Councilor Tim Allen, and a rendition of the Irish national anthem sung by Thomas Feeley. The celebration was emceed by St. Patrick’s Day Committee Director Kerri Sullivan and included appearances from John and Agnes Burke Award Winner Mary Bednarz and Paul G. Caron Award winner Dianne Sullivan Caron.
Mary B. Troy Award Winners David Elia, David Stevens, and the Springfield Putnam High School Carpentry Department were also honored but not in attendance.
