The theme that will run through the 2023 St. Patrick’s Parade in downtown Syracuse is ... running.
It’s actually “Running Through Tipperary.” And that explains the parade committee’s choice for the Grand Marshal and Gael of the Year who will lead the parade on Saturday, March 11.
“It’s all about the feet this year,” parade committee president Janet Higgins said while introducing the 2023 parade dignitaries today at Kitty Hoynes Irish Pub in Armory Square.
The Grand Marshal for the 2023 parade will be Eileen Murray, a co-founder of the annual Shamrock Run, a 4-mile road race through the Tipperary Hill neighborhood that is a big part of the festivities during Syracuse’s St. Patrick’s “season.” The race will be on March 4 next year.
The grand marshal (or sometimes marshals) is awarded to an “Irish American of Syracuse who has made a significant contribution to the entire community,” according to the parade committee. The Shamrock Run, which began in 2005, supports both the Tipperary Hill Neighborhood Association and the St. Patrick Hunger Project.
Murray grew up in Cicero and has lived on Tipp Hill since 1990. She is a retired schoolteacher from the Mexico Central school district in Oswego County.
In accepting the honor, Murray noted the Shamrock Run is a part of the “magical month of March” in Syracuse, which includes the road race, parade day, and the welcoming of spring.
The parade’s other top honor, called the Gael of the Year, is also connected to running in a way. The 2023 Gael is Ralph Rotella, owner of downtown Syracuse’s Discount Shoe Repair. Rotella is being honored for his annual Christmas Shoe Drive, in which he collects, and often repairs, shoes, boots, sandals and more that are then donated to the needy through the Rescue Mission. Last year, he collected more than 37,000 pairs, a new record.
Rotella is native of Calabria, Italy who came to Syracuse with his family as a teenager in 1970 (the Gael does not need to be Irish or Irish-American). The Gael of the Year honor goes to a person “who demonstrates incredible dedication to the Syracuse community,” according to the parade committee.
Accepting the Gael of the Year honor today, Rotella said, “This is better than winning the lottery — this is from the heart. Grazie.”
The official poster for the 2023 Syracuse St. Patrick's Parade, designed by Suzanne Blisard Jackson
This year marks the 41st St. Patrick’s Parade (although the parade was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid.) It always falls the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day itself (March 17), unless March 17 is a Saturday. It is one of the largest downtown gatherings each year.
Here is a schedule of upcoming events for the St. Patrick’s Parade Committee:
Dec. 11: Hunger Project Holiday Raffle event, 2 to 6 p.m., Nibsy’s Irish Pub, 201 Ulster St. Fundraiser for Hunger Project, all proceeds benefit the hungry. (To date, the project has raised more than $1 million).
Feb. 28: Parade applications due from marching units; registration opens on Jan. 1 at www.syracusestpatricksparade.org
March 4: 18th Annual Tipperary Hill Shamrock Run, Burnet Park, Syracuse, 4-mile run at 11 a.m. with fun run at 10 a.m. Participants and spectators are asked to bring non-perishable food items to donate or to make a monetary donation to benefit the Hunger Project. For information, go to www.tiphillrun.com.
March 10: Painting of the Green Stripe on South Salina Street, 9:30 am. Grand Marshal Gala with cocktails, food stations and entertainment at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown, 6 p.m.
March 11: Parade Day! Mass at Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, downtown Syracuse, 10 a.m.; 41st Syracuse St. Patrick’s Parade, noon, downtown Syracuse. The parade steps off at Clinton Square and heads south along Salina Street. After the parade, the Marriott Syracuse Downtown will host a party featuring Irish music and dance. NewsChannel 9 WSYR will provide live coverage of the parade from noon until 3 p.m.
Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.