Seamus Boyle, center, at a Commodore Barry commemoration.
Seamus Boyle arrived in Philadelphia from County Armagh in 1954. In 1955, with his father Terence, he marched in his first Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day parade. Boyle has marched in the Philly parade almost every year ever since.
This year is no exception. But this year’s parade is going to be extra-special for the burly, low-key Boyle, a resident of the Academy Gardens neighborhood in the Northeast. He’ll be marching at the head of the parade as grand marshal.
Boyle is no stranger to honors. A longtime member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 39 in Tacony, Boyle last year was elected AOH national president—the first national president from Philadelphia since 1927 and a three-to-one favorite.
Still, he says, “I was humbled and shocked that I was even considered for it. I was told maybe a month or so before the election that my name was put in. Then when I was told I won, that was unbelievable. It’s a great honor, especially when I look at some of the people who came before me. There’re some very serious high-class people there.”
It’s an especially great honor when he thinks how far the parade has come. Back when he was first starting his annual St. Patrick’s Day parade tradition, it was much smaller. “It was not anywhere as big as it is today,” he says. “It’s grown even over the past 20 years.”
AOH representation in the parade is pretty much taken for granted. About 20 Philadelphia-area divisions march in the parade now. But back in 1955, only three or divisions took part—but of course, there weren’t that many AOH divisions in Philadelphia then, either. The AOH, too, has grown.
“It’s a privilege for me to represent the AOH in the parade,” he says. “The AOH is probably the largest Catholic fraternal organization in the country, and it’s known all over. In Philadelphia, it has grown tremendously. I think this is great for the AOH. We do a lot to bring out the culture and heritage of Ireland. This helps our cause.”
Boyle is also pleased to represent the Irish immigrant population. As a member of the AOH, he has been very involved in promoting peace in Northern Ireland and Irish unity. He hasn’t forgotten his roots in the North. The fact that the parade committee selected an immigrant, he says, makes it “all the more impressive.”
Parade Director Michael Bradley says Boyle’s Northern Ireland efforts were one of the main reasons he was recognized to head the March 14 parade. “He’s been going over the Belfast for years,” Bradley says. “He represents Philadelphia very well over there in all the good things he does.”
The fact that Boyle is national president of the AOH also probably played a role, but that was not the principal reason for his selection. Boyle has been very active in the Philadelphia Irish community for quite some time, including his activities at Division 39. Boyle’s national AOH leadership, Bradley says, is “just icing on the cake. But he’s being honored for a lifetime of service. He was long overdue for grand marshal. There’s five or six people who are so deserving and its so hard to select one person every year.”
Boyle is obviously excited to have been picked, and that too is gratifying, says Bradley. “When they see a grand marshal who is thrilled and very happy to be honored, it makes us feel like we did a good job,” he says. “Then our marshals get excited and it transfers to everyone involved in the parade. It just seems to spread.”
One reason for Boyle’s clear excitement is simply this: his memories of his father’s own involvement in the parade. That’s who he’ll be thinking about as he marches up the Parkway. His father Terence passed away in 1992, but the parade was always close to his heart. “My father brought me to my first parade in ’55. While he was alive, I don’t think he missed too many parades, either. He was always there. It would be nice if he was still around to march with me up at the head of the