Mayor Michael Nutter and Parade Director Michael Bradley.
For the day, said Philadelphia’s mayor of less than two months, he would be known as “Micheal (pronounced Mee-hawl) O’Nutter.” He got an appreciative laugh from the nearly 100 people who filled the richly decorated meeting room at City Hall after the annual wreath-laying ceremony by the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick on Thursday, March 6.
The Friendly Sons—an organization that pre-dates the signing of the Declaration of Independence by 5 years—honors Philadelphia’s Irish past where Philadelphia itself honors it: beneath a plaque erected on the west side of City Hall that contains the names of prominent Irish Philadelphians of the past.
Mayor Michael Nutter seemed to enjoy the event, which brought pipers and Irish dancers to the heart of city government for an hour. He grinned broadly as Rosemarie Timoney’s step dancers jigged across the navy and gold carpet in front of him, and later singled out the one young boy in the troupe. He didn’t say it, but it sounded like it was for his bravery. Irish Center President Vince Gallagher sang the national anthem, and Karen Boyce, whose parents, Barney and Carmel, are part of the St. Patrick’s Day parade’s Ring of Honor, sang the Irish national anthem in both English and Irish. The events at City Hall were followed by a luncheon at the DoubleTree Hotel on Broad Street to recognize the parade’s 2008 Grand Marshal, former restaurateur Jack McNamee, and those named to this year’s Ring of Honor.
