After a two-year hiatus due to the Covid pandemic, over 600 membersand guests attended the 238th Anniversary dinner of the Society of the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick in The City of New York at Cipriani 42nd Street. White or black tie with decorations were called for at this much anticipated celebration on the eve of St. Patrick’s Day.
Following a lively cocktail hour the dinner commenced after a moving invocation and featured speakers the Reverend Joseph M. McShane SJ and Captain Scott Kelly. Father McShane is stepping down as President of Fordham University, a position he has held since 2003 during his tenure he has overseen a host of initiatives to raise the national profile of the University and further its Jesuit mission. Scott Kelly is a former NASA astronaut and retired United States Navy captain who has traveled more than 200 million miles in space and has orbited the earth more than 8300 times. In 2015 he stayed a record-breaking 340 days at the international space station. A patriot as well as an author Kelly has an identical twin brother, Mark, who is also a former NASA astronaut and the current junior US senator from Arizona.
John Coleman.Rev. Edmund Whalen.Ellen Scordato, Brennan O’Donnell, Ray Kelly, Nan Smith, Michael Bloomberg, and Amiko Kelly.
The spirited evening also featured performances by the societies Glee club singing such traditional favorites as the sidewalks of New York and culminating with the Star-Spangled Banner.John A Coleman III, President of the society, made pertinent toasts during the course of the dinner and spoke of the organization’s mission and accomplishments while acknowledging the various members who contributed to the evenings success.
Jackie McCarthy and Mark Ackermann.Hamilton Clancy, Terrance Burke, Emma Burke, and Michael Burke.Vincent LeVien, Edward Sweeney, John Coleman, Bob Devlin, Michael Devlin, Brian Rathijen, and Nan Smith.Brian Rathijen, Megan Allen, Aoiffe McGarry, and Ed Dalassandro.Peter McGuire, Michael Bloomberg, and Beresford Hill.Emmet Nugent, Clara O’Sullivan, Rob O’Dwire, Teal Finn, and Richard Finn.Shawn Dalton, Jamie Nawojchik, Michael Bloomberg, and Ned Browne.Michael Bloomberg, Minister Eamon Ryan, Consul General Helena Nolan, Amiko Kelly, and Scott Kelly.Sean O’Brien, Scott Kelly, Father McShane, John Coleman, Bishop Whalen, Peter McGuire, and Lawrence Cooke.L. to r.: Patrick McHugh, Ned Browne, and Kevin Gildea; Ralph Kessler and John O’Connor.John Coleman, Scott Kelly, and Sean Lane.Don Fleming, Mike Kennedy, Don O’Brien, Steve O’Brien, Tom O’Brian, Thomas Buckley, Fred Carillo, and Al Dellibovi.Mark Ackermann, Anastasia Coleman, and Thomas Fitzgerald.Lawrence Cooke, Richard O’Brian, Edward Cooke, and Edward Cooke.Donald Carey, Martin O’Neal, and Marianne Carey.L. to r.: Lani McCann and Ken Zieden-Weber; Donna Beatty and Derek Bryson Park.Ed McLaughlin, Ellen Welsh, Ed McLaughlin, and Greg McLaughlin.Maria Braun, Johnathan Braun, and Tracey Spenser Walsh.Lola Antognini, Joan Stout, and Jean Stout.Peter Doyle, Karla Carroll, Matt McLaughlin, and Kevin Carroll.Ed Cox, James Rodgers, Joe Bonomo, Robert J. Bishop, and James Steinberg.Michael Devin, Ray Kelly, and Brian Rathijen.L. to r.: Chele Farley and Walter Deane; Gil Rose and James Hearn.Joseph MacKenney, Daniel Head, Dr. Joe Stillo, Jim Laird, and Luke Decker.Caitlin and Courtney Gallagher.Michael van der Vort, Doug Casey, Joseph Jacobino, Tom Casey, and Christopher Casey.L. to r.: James Farley and Andrew Roosevelt; Mark Gilbertson and Sara Deary.James Knapp, Karen Hennigan, Keane Ryan, Christine Mason, Samantha Horan, and Burton Ryan.Minister Eamon Ryan, Consul General Helena Nolan, and John Coleman.Thomas McMahon Justin Driscoll, Derek Bryson Park, and Trip Dorkey.Arthur Aidala, Rev. Caldwell, Edward Sweeney, and Vincent LeVien.James Farley, Richard Farley, Chele Farley, and Joe Farley.Michael Devlin, Frank Cammisa, and Robert Devlin.Peter Keefe, Griffin Peer, and Dylan Peer.Inna Braverman, Maurice Sonnenberg, and Chele Farley.Edward Sweeney, Frank Sweeney, Michael Rice, and Scott Cunningham.Frank Wohl, Ed Donnelly, and Denis Hughes.Ryan Reynolds, Thomas Reynolds, Tyler Reynolds, and Kyle Reynolds.Issi Stout, Joan Stout, and John Stout.
Photographs by AnieWatt.com – John Sanderson & Jill Nelson.
