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October 21, 2008, New York, NY: Council President, Michael J. Gibbons, has
been named Grand Marshal of the 2009 New York Saint Patrick’s Day Parade. Mr. Gibbons
will lead the marchers up New York City’s Fifth Avenue on March 17 next year for
the 248th staging of the world’s oldest and largest civic parade.
The Parade marched for the first time on March 17, 1762 - fourteen Years before
the Declaration of Independence. Regarded as the most popular parade in New York
City, the Parade is the largest and most famous of the many parades held in the
city each year. The New York Parade consists only of marchers and does not allow
floats, automobiles or other commercial displays. Each year, the Parade hosts some
250,000 marchers, along with many great marching bands, record numbers of bagpipers
in marching formations, high-school and college bands from throughout the United
States and from all over the world. The occasion is televised nationwide live for
four hours by host station WNBC Channel Four to millions of households. It
is also web-streamed live on the Internet and is also broadcast on cable television
via satellite on The Travel Channel.
Council President-Elect, Dennis D. Swanson, said "We are truly delighted that Mike
Gibbons has been selected as the 2009 Grand Marshal of the New York Parade. He is
a man who is beloved in New York's Irish-American community. He is an outstanding
American who has devoted a huge amount of his considerable energy and charisma to
building enduring and durable ties between Ireland and America. We know that his
selection will be a widely popular one, not just among members and friends of this
Council, but throughout the community of businesses and organizations that shape
the transatlantic commercial connections between Ireland and America."
Michael J. Gibbons
Michael J. Gibbons was raised in New York City’s borough of the Bronx. Mike’s father
hailed from County Mayo in Ireland and his mother was born and raised in Nova Scotia,
Canada of Scotch-Irish descent. Mike graduated from St. Francis College in Brooklyn,
New York and served in the U.S. Navy.
In 1967, he joined Estée Lauder, Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers
and marketers of quality skin-care, makeup, fragrance and hair-care products. In
his career there, he served as Vice President of Clinique and General Manager of
Aramis. He retired as an Executive Vice President and General Manager in 2007.
Mr. Gibbons is currently the President of The Ireland-U.S. Council – a non-profit
business organization dedicated to promoting business bonds and commercial connections
between Ireland and America. The Council operates a variety of scholarship and internship
programs, stages seminars and hosts frequent events in Ireland and in the United
States. During his six years at the helm, the Council’s roster of programs and activities
has been expanded and its stature has grown on both sides of the Atlantic.
He is currently a Director of Flax Trust America, a Member of the Mayo Society
and a Director of The Irish Institute. He is also a Member of The Taoiseach’s
Economic Advisory Board in the United States. Mr. Gibbons is a former Chairman
of the International Center in New York, a private, not-for-profit organization
that welcomes and assists immigrants and refugees to America. He is a past-Director
of the American Ireland Fund, the Eugene O’Neill Theater Foundation
and the former co-chairman of the Knights of St. Patrick. Mike and his wife,
Cynthia, have four children and four grandchildren. They reside in Palm Beach, Florida
and in Carmel, New York.
The Council is a not-for-profit business organization dedicated to building business
bonds and commercial connections between America and Ireland. Mr. Gibbons, who will
step down as Council President next month, has served in that role since his election
in November, 2002.
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