Community Corner
South Side Irish Parade Names Its Queen
Margaret McGann will have the honor at next month's parade
The South Side Irish Parade crowned their first Parade Queen, Margaret McGann, at the pre-parade fundraiser party for this 2013 South Side Irish Parade on Friday, February 15, 2013.
McGann, 24, a Palos Heights resident, will ride in a vintage convertible during the South Side Irish Parade along side 2012 Chicago Rose of Tralee Margaret Rose Keating, Miss Heart of Illinois 2013 Marisa Buchheit and Miss Illinois -United States 2012 Nancy To.
The reigning Chicago Rose of Tralee Margaret Rose Keating crowned McGann at the recent benefit.
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“I am so honored to be named Queen of the 2013 South Side Irish Parade,” said Margaret McGann in a news release. “It means so much to be to be able to represent my community and be an ambassador of Irish tradition and heritage on behalf of the South Side Irish Parade.”
The Parade Queen is new to the South Side Irish Parade and the parade committee sees the new tradition as a way to highlight the Irish heritage and cultural pride of the community.
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McGann, whose Irish roots stem from County Roscommon, County Mayo, County Cork and County Kerry, Ireland, has been a fan of the Parade for years, and participated as a Closskey Irish Dancer as she marched down Western Avenue.
She attended Mount Assisi Academy and St. Ambrose University before returning to the South Side to work in her family’s business, Beverly Woods, a restaurant and banquet hall
“The South Side Irish Parade is a celebration ofIrish culture and heritage,” said Joe Connelly, co-chair of the 2013 Parade in a news release. “As the Queen of the Parade, Margaret McGann serves as a representative for the Parade’s values of community, heritage and family.”
A benefit of the newly crowned Queen of the South Side Irish Parade, McGann will be entered into a pool of contestants vying to be named the Chicago Rose of Tralee on Saturday, April 27 at the Irish American Heritage Center of Chicago.
The Chicago Rose of Tralee will then travel to Ireland to compete in the 54th Rose of Tralee International Festival August 14-20.
Submitted News
More South Side Irish Parade News
- South Side Irish Parade to Honor First Responders
- South Side Irish Pre-Parade Party Highlight Reel
- Patch Photo Booth: South Side Irish Pre-Parade Party
- Enter Patch's Irish Pride Photo Contest
- Tougher Parade Drinking Restrictions Approved by City Council
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