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Committee Members
Stephen Ahearn
Irene Boland
Ed Cunningham
Marie Cunningham
Jim Daugherty
Betty Daugherty
John Daugherty
Joe Delaney
Jack Gallagher
Jack Griffin
Leta Griffin
Mike Hogan
Carole Joyce
Owen Keating
Barbara Kennedy
Paul Kennedy
Eileen Leavy
Frank Leavy
Char Marquardt
Peter McAvinney
Bridget Mulqueen
Pat Mulqueen
Bill O'Brien
George O'Brien
Jimmy O'Connor
Bill Quinn
Joe Quinn
Mary Rawe
Steve Rawe
Laura Sheehy
Daren Wood
Len Wood
Harry Sexton - President
4th generation Arizonan married to another 4th generation
Arizonan. 5 kids. Phoenix Police detective for 15 years now.
Family history: original name O'Sexton (the 'O' got dropped
sometime after arrival in the U.S.) from county Tipperary. First
Sexton came to North Carolina in late 1600's (indentured
servitude most likely). By mid 1700's the family was now bigger
and living in the 'wilds' of north-central Tennessee. My great
grandfather was born in Tennessee, but raised in Missouri he
then migrated to the Arizona territory in the very early 1900's
to as he put it 'make his way in the world'.
Reason for being involved with the parade committee is two-fold.
In tracing my family history I discovered my Irish roots and
began to learn about and have a great deal of interest in all
things Irish. Then from a professional standpoint the Phoenix.
Police Department wanted a liaison to the local Irish community
and so I immediately volunteered.
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Mary Moriarty - Vice President
& Faire Chairperson
I am from New York City and moved to the Valley in 1995 when my
husband Jack retired from the Police Department. My mother was
from Donegal and my father's parents were from Cork and Kerry.
I grew up in a very Irish house so it was natural to get
involved with the Irish Community when we moved here. I joined
the Irish Foundation of Arizona and then the Parade Committee.
I started as Assistant Treasurer and then Co-Chaired the Faire.
I have Chaired the Faire since 2003. I have worked at The Irish
Cultural Center since September 2003.
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Anne Odenwald - Secretary & Volunteer Coordinator
Anne moved to the Valley with her family in 1962. Her
Irish ancestry is through her mother, Cleo Davis. Anne
became involved with the Arizona Irish Community in October 2003
while volunteering for the Irish Festival. She is active
in the Irish community as the Chairman of the Volunteers for the
St. Patrick's Day Parade & Faire Committee, and Volunteer Chair for the Arizona
Irish Festival, Arizona Scottish Gathering and Highland Games. She is a Flight Attendant with
Northwest Airlines based in Detroit and travels extensively.
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Julie O'Mahar - Treasurer
Julie was raised in Milwaukee, WI. In 1978 she visited her
mother, who retired in Sun City and her sister, Maureen and
loved the climate and scenery. In 1979 her family moved here.
She became involved in the Irish community through helping her
sister Maureen who was at that time the editor of the Desert
Shamrock, an Irish Newspaper, dedicated to reporting the news of
interest to the Irish community here in the valley. After the
death of her sister, Maureen, she took over as the editor of the
Desert Shamrock and is the Executive Director of E.R.I.N.,
Executive Resources for Irish Networking, a business and
professional organization.
The O'Mahar's are 4th generation Irish and have traced their
ancestry to Co. Carlow. In 2002 Julie joined the St. Patrick's
Day Parade Committee and every year there after has helped with
the program for the Colleen Pageant and the Parade.
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John Corcoran - Board Member
John was born in Castle Maine, Co. Kerry, Ireland and immigrated
to Chicago as a young lad of 17. He is a founding member of the
Parade committee and very active in all Irish activities. As
Chairperson of the Parade, he has the responsibility for all
correspondence dealing with parade entries. The parade as it
exists today is the fruit of his labor.
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Joe Delaney - Board Member
Joe Delaney is originally from Philadelphia, PA. Although he is
4th and 5th generation, his ancestry (to the best of his
knowledge) goes back to Ireland on both sides of his family. He
has lived in the Phoenix area for over 4 years and works in the
mortgage business. He became involved in the Saint Patrick's Day
parade committee after meeting board member Dr. Kevin Benson at
O'Conner's pub.
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Bob Joyce - Board Member
Bob Joyce is a New England native
from the Connecticut shoreline community of Waterford, which
borders New London. He and his wife Carole (of 44 years) were
raised in a strong Irish Catholic community and were involved in
Irish activities in the Catholic schools and community for
years. After 21 years of service and retiring from General
Dynamics/Electric Boat. Co. Navel Shipyard, Bob was offered a
position as a nuclear engineer with Bechtel Power Corp. Bechtel
relocated Bob, his wife, daughter and twin son’s to Phoenix in
1981.
Bob has been an active member of the B.P.O.E for forty years, he
was a former Harbor Commissioner and involved in maritime
activities. Since moving to Arizona, he has been an active
member with his family at St. Francis Xavier Church, a former
Maricopa County precinct committeeman, a member of the Celtic
Bar Association serving as their statutory agent, and active in
the Irish Foundation of Arizona, serving as Vice President
(2004) and President 2005-2006.
Now retired, Bob enjoys golf, time with his grandchildren,
international travel and makes trips with his wife every 2-3
years to the Emerald Isle. A special memory: The Joyce’s
celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary with close family
friends in County Meath. Bob’s parent’s are from Galway and
County Roscommon, he is tracing his family roots as far back as
1810 when relatives on his Father’s side came to the states. Bob
has been an active member of the parade and faire committee for
the past several years and would like to keep promoting the
importance of Irish Cultural Events.
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Harry Carroll - Board Member
Harry Carroll was born in Middletown, New York and attended Our
Lady of Lourdes grammar school and Brooklyn Preparatory High
School and then chose to finish his education at Marist College
located in Poughkeepsie, New York. In his senior year, he
enlisted in the Delayed Enlistment Program and after graduation
in 1969 he joined the Army ultimately graduating from Infantry
Officer Candidate School and Airborne School at Fort Benning,
Georgia. He was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division and
completed the Special Jump Master Course at Fort Bragg, North
Carolina.
He left the Army in 1972 and moved to Phoenix where he joined
the Phoenix Police Department and graduated first in his class
from the Police Academy. In 1973 he was awarded the Police
Department’s first Medal of Merit for “outstanding courage and
lifesaving”. During his years with the Department, he held
numerous positions in both patrol and detective divisions . He
served on the board of P.L.E.A. (Phoenix Law Enforcement
Association) for three terms and is still a member of P.L.E.A.
and the Fraternal Order of Police. While carrying out his duties
as a Police Officer he was asked to join the Army Reserves and
he served as a Company Commander for the 348th Transportation
Company for three years. He left the reserves in 1982 with the
rank of Captain.
Since his retirement from the Police Force in 1995, he has been
active on several nonprofit boards especially those involved
with the Irish Community. Harry served as Vice President of the
St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Faire Committee for two terms and
as President for 4 terms. Harry is also a Trustee for the Irish
Cultural Center and assists with the Arizona Colleen Pageant
which his wife, Sandra chairs.
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Sandra Carroll - Board Member
Born in Wichita, Kansas. Raised in Topeka, Kansas Graduated
with a Bachelor in Education from Washburn University in Topeka,
Kansas. Member of Alpha Phi Sorority. Taught kindergarten,
second, third, fourth and sixth grades in elementary schools in
Kansas and Nebraska. Moved to Arizona in 1972 and assisted in
starting the kindergarten program in the Alhambra Elementary
School District. Graduated with a Master's Degree in Education
from A.S.U. in 1974. Taught kindergarten, second and first in
Alhambra and retired from teaching after 31 years in 1998.
Member of Phi Delta Kappa, a professional fraternity in
education. While teaching, served as Vice President and
President of AFT, a teachers union and served on many committees
which worked to improved education within the district.
After retirement, I decided to join my husband in his Irish
activities. I joined the Parade Committee and subsequently was
elected as Secretary for the St. Patrick's Day Parade and Faire
Committee and was appointed as Chairperson of the Colleen
Pageant. I have held both positions for the past 5 years. My
ancestry is German on my father's side and half German and half
Irish on my mother's side.
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Bill Mulholland - Board
Member
Bill has been involved in the Irish Community since joining the
Irish Foundation of Arizona in 1991. He served as Treasurer for
several years and as President for 2 years, and remains active
in that organization. He joined the Parade Committee in 2003 and
was appointed as a Board Member in 2006. He is currently helping
Tom Murphy as Assistant Treasurer. He has helped out at the
parades and Faires for years. He currently is Director of
Financial Services for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in
Phoenix. He has lived in Arizona since 1957 and has been married
for 37 years to Carol. They have 3 boys, Bill, Sean and Todd,
and 2 grandchildren, Connor and Hannah.
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Tom Murphy - Board Member
Since 1980, Tom has been helping small businesses and their
owners reduce taxes, avoid IRS problems, expand their business,
increase profitability and plan for retirement. Tom has also
been very active in the Irish community for many years. His
grandparents hail from County Westmeath and County Longford.
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Jason O'Neil - Board Member
In Gaelic my name might be Seamus O'Neil. I am a native of the
Valley of the Sun & have been in Phoenix, Arizona. for 33 yrs
now. I've traveled to the Irish coast at least 6 or 7 times now,
and have met some of the most wonderful people in my travels.
I've honestly & truthfully enjoyed each & every visit. It seems
like each trip over just gets better & better. Though I've
visited many towns & journeyed through many counties, nothing
ever seems to be the same. Each time is always different from
the last. My family & I have been as far south as Co. Clare & as
far north as Sligo & Beleek. Though the country side, and
scenery changes as you journey northbound, it's all beautiful in
my eyes. I've grown quite fond of the Irish country side and
love to hear about all the history that has taken place over the
past million years. If you stop in each little town, it gives
you a chance to chat with the locals (who couldn't be any nicer)
and will take the time to sit down & give you a briefing of past
historical events & let you know just how proud they really are.
I guess this is just one of the many special ways of learning
about a magical, yet mystical island we call " Ireland ".
I'm not too sure how long I've been involved in the Arizona
Irish community, but I want to say at least 3 to 4 years now,
maybe 5. It's hard to keep track with the way time flies. It
seems like planning for each and every event takes for-ever, but
then it's over and you're already making decisions for future
events. This is one of the things I've learned being a volunteer
at the downtown Irish Cultural Center, we always learn from our
mistakes, and plan for a bigger & better next year, which I
think we've done each time. So, like visits to the Emerald Isle,
planning for Celtic events are never the same. Each year is
always bigger and better. Within these 3 or 4 years at the
Center I've somehow found myself to be deeply involved in many
activities. I'll never manage to find out how exactly it
happened, but, like I've told all the lads & lasses, I really
have enjoyed each & every moment of volunteering or just being a
part of the Irish community. Being involved, I've found myself
elected as a board member on the St. Patrick's Fair & Parade
Committee, and a Vice-President of the Arizona Irish Foundation,
and a volunteer for the Festival Committee.
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Patricia Phelps (Trish) - Board Member
My job in Pharmaceutical Research allowed me to move to Phoenix
from Chicago
a little over two years ago. I was introduced to the Parade and
Faire Committee through fellow board member, Irene Boland. Since
joining the committee, I have assisted with the Colleen Pageant
Preliminaries and silent auction as well as various fund raising
activities. My Irish ancestors came to this country from County
Meath.
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