So good evening and welcome, as they say in Ireland, CAD Mila Falcha.

A hundred thousand welcomes.

I'm Catherine White, Executive Director of the Neurochell Chamber of Commerce, and I'm thrilled to be back again this year to take part in the Irish American Heritage Month recognition program, sponsored together by the City of Neurochelle and the employee resource group of the City of Neurochelle.

So thank you very much for having me and for having this event.

The Irish like to say there are two types of people, those who are Irish and those who wish they were.

But tonight we're going to be celebrating what might be an even more special group, the Irish Americans.

Those who took the best part of Ireland and spread it across America and the world.

And this year, 2026 has an even greater impact because we're celebrating the 250th anniversary of America.

But again, more importantly, we're celebrating New Rochelle through those 250 years.

Tonight, thanks to Barbara Davis, we'll be hearing about an Irish American Neurochellian who made a tremendous impact on Neurochelle's history.

And of course, we'll be honoring one of our own, New Rochelle's favorite Irish American, Lauren Falcone O'Connor.

She's, as everyone knows, and we're celebrating even in March, which is also, you know, Women's History Month.

She is the deputy commissioner of Parks and Rec.

So we love that.

And just again, celebrating even more American history, we have the first American mayor, the mayor of Neurochell, Mayor Yadira Ramos Herbert here.

Thank you.

So it is indeed a joy to be here tonight and celebrating Irish Heritage here in Neurochelle, a community that has always honored our cultures and traditions that shape who we are as New Rochelle.

Tonight we recognize the Irish spirit of resilience, generosity, and faith, qualities that have enriched our city for generations.

From building our neighborhoods, strengthening our schools, Irish Americans have helped make New Rochelle the welcoming, vibrant place we cherish today.

As a point of personal pride, Deputy Commissioner, point of privilege, rather, it is so easy to celebrate you.

You are just such a thoughtful, you are everywhere doing all the things.

I'm convinced you like take care of the goats, grow the trees, run the programs, fill the swimming pool with the water.

I mean, I I am impressed by just your professionalism, the fact that you can make 24 hours, probably fit in 36 hours worth of work into any 24 hour period, always with a smile, always with the generosity of spirit, and always with just the humility.

So it is, I'm thrilled.

I know you probably hate this being on the other side, but I am so like thrilled that the committee chose you because you deserve all of the recognition.

You deserve all of the praise and you make us look incredibly good.

So it's a good night to celebrate.

Thank you.

Happy Irish Heritage Day, and Miss Barbara, you know, I always look forward to hearing what you're going to teach us.

So I'm excited.

It's just a great day for all of us.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mayor.

And we'll now hear from the city manager, Wilfredo Melendez.

So thanks.

Uh first of all, I want to thank the diversity and inclusion office and the comms office that uh came together and brought this uh beautiful ceremony together.

Uh special thanks to our employee resource group and the members who volunteer all their time to support events like this.

As Catherine mentioned, we're celebrating America's 250th anniversary, and it goes without saying that the American story would be hard to tell without Irish Americans.

Um, some facts here in the National Museum of Ireland estimates that nearly six million people have immigrated to America from Ireland since 1820, and one-sixth of the of the U.S.

citizens are able to trace their heritage back to Emerald Isle.

So, as newcomers to this country, the Irish Americans played a major role in the building the of the building of the infrastructure of our nation in the 19th century, from railroads to canals to to infrastructure projects throughout the country and even in our state, the Empire State Building.

They became a huge part of the civil service fabric of our cities, joining the ranks of police, fire departments, and big cities all across America.

They entered the political landscape with 22 presidents that are able to claim their heritage as Irish.

So even here in Neurochell, uh that dedication, that hard work, the resilience, as the mayor had mentioned, is seen on a daily basis, including from tonight's honoree, uh Lauren Falcone O'Connor.

And Lauren, I just want to just reiterate what the mayor said.

So thanks everybody for joining us, and I hope everyone enjoys tonight's ceremony.

Thank you, City Manager.

And now Barbara Davis.

Good evening, everyone.

It's a pleasure to be here, especially to honor Lauren.

I will give my two bits in also.

She's got good genes.

He was a very, very remarkable individual.

But tonight I'm here just to tell you a wee bit about uh Neurochell's Irish history because those of you who were here last year heard a long presentation that I think is still available to see online, but I'm going to give you a small bit of that, and then I am going to give the story of one particular Irish American.

So the first Irish began arriving in Neurochell in the 1840s as a result of the potato famine, of course, in their homeland.

Between 1845 and 1855, more than one and a half million adults and children would leave Ireland to come to America.

Most were desperately poor, and many were suffering from starvation and disease.

The potato famine, by the way, killed more than a million people in five years.

So a great many came to Neurochell.

Neurochell was the first stop on the New Haven Rail at the time.

And after Ellis Island, once you made it to Grand Central, if you had any family or fair friends in Neurochell, get off the train.

They would help to take care of you.

The Irish that came here, however, were sequestered to one part of town.

Yes, there's some negative history here, but it's important that that's told as well.

And most of the people that came, the men were hired as laborers, the women as domestics.

Neurochale's first Catholic Church would be established in that area.

It was called St.

Matthew's, a wooden building that was built in 1848 by those new Irish immigrants.

So by 1865, 30% of the town of Neurochell was foreign-born.

And of the 4,000 residents, 800 were Irish.

So more than a quarter.

That was a huge influx into town.

And as Neurochell is a microcosm for the rest of the country, the anti-Irish sentiment that I just explained that happened in Neurochell was happening on a national level.

Newspapers in Neurochell and beyond had ads.

Irish need not apply.

Irish need not apply.

Irish need not to apply.

Then came the Civil War.

And in the North, it was the responsibility of all municipalities to send a certain number of individuals to fight.

The cities and towns could buy out of that.

And that would become the Irish Benevolent Society, still going today.

Matthews would evolve into Blessed Sacrament after it burned that was rebuilt on Center Avenue as Blessed Sacrament and opened in the late 1800s.

So on April 24th, that's coming up, 1899, the town of Neurochell, which was the southern area, the northern area, and the village of Neurochell combined to become the city of Neurochell.

At the time, there were about 14,000 residents.

Roughly a little less than half were Catholic, and many were Irish.

So that is just a very small fraction of a history that has been so meaningful in the city.

But this year, as we observe the 250th anniversary, I will be providing a spotlight on a few Neurochellians, relatively unknown.

We have the well-known ones in the Walk of Fame, and many more to go.

But these are people whose lives are relatively unsung.

Yet they're lives that reflect the American experience, the American dream.

Tonight I'd like to tell you very briefly about an Irish-born man by the name of Patrick E.

O'Connor.

Not related as far as we know.

Though who knows?

The O'Connors, who knows.

So here is his story.

When Patrick first came to America in the early 1860s, he was one of the vast numbers of Irishmen fleeing the economic and political adversities of his homeland.

Although he had received formal education at the University of Dublin, he was among the thousand of foreign born men vying for a new life in America.

Without any prospect of a job, he enlisted.

Like many of his counterparts, he attained his goal through gallant service in the Civil War as a member of the famous 69th Regiment of the Irish Brigade.

When he died, we're not there yet.

Hold on.

150,000 Irishmen who became Billy Yanks were welcome for their sparkling wit and dry humor as well as their fighting spirit.

Time and again, throughout the most critical battles of the Civil War, the Irish regiments of which the 69th was principal, fought with relentless bravery.

Of a battle on Mary Heights, Confederate soldier George Pickett wrote to his wife, quote, the brilliant assault of the enemies, the Irish Brigade, was beyond description.

We almost forgot they were fighting us.

And cheer after cheer at their fearlessness went up all along the line.

Soldier after soldier was wounded or killed.

While fighting in the Battle of Fair Oaks, Virginia, second lieutenant, Patrick O'Connor, was one of the casualties.

Although he was shot through the lung, which at the time was considered an inevitably fatal injury, he survived.

In fact, he later served in the Veteran Reserve Corps as second lieutenant.

He was very busy in practicing law, and he would become one of the city's first officials.

So the departments all started in 1899, and he was appointed to the then prestigious Board of Sewers Commissioner of Neurochell by the first mayor, of course, Mayor Dillon.

When he died at the young age of 60, his obituary referred to him as Judge O'Connor.

That's how he was known by his fellow Neurochellians, and even the paper headline said Judge O'Connor.

The Neurochell paragraph, one of the five weeklies here in Neurochell, said he was a whole-souled, upright, conscientious gentleman and made many warm friends.

The Neurochell Pioneer went on with an even longer obituary, and this is what they had to say.

On the night that President Lincoln was assassinated in Ford's Theater, O'Connor was present and constituted one of the body of men who started in pursuit of John Wilkes Booth.

He served as one of the honor guards at Lincoln's funeral as captain of the independent cavalry troop.

At O'Connor's funeral, attended by a large crowd of friends and grateful citizens, fellow veterans of the Flandreau Post 59 of the Grand Army Republic served as attendants.

Patrick E.

O'Connor, an Irish immigrant who found America in New Rochelle.

Thank you.

Wow, those O'Connors, they are really doing it.

So now we'd like to just bring up our honoree, Lauren Falcone O'Connor, say a few words, and then we'll probably do a presentation with the certificates.

So totally unnecessary, but I am truly honored.

I would like to thank the mayor, the city manager, Catherine and Barbara, Samantha and Sam who hounded me all week for taking this honor, the HR office and our employee group.

I also have to thank our Department of Parks and Recreation, and thank you, Vin for allowing me to be who I am here.

I decided to hold off on changing my maiden name so I could celebrate one last Patty's Day under the OC.

And to my surprise, I get to double up with this honor, luck of the Irish.

My mother is a mix of different backgrounds, which would include Irish, but my real roots came from my father's side.

My great-great-great-grandfather, John, came to America from the area of Belfast, Ireland in 1865.

He settled in Philadelphia, where he worked extremely hard, creating a life for himself and to grow a family.

John's job was a blacksmith, horseshoe, and caring for horses that were used for transportation.

Fun fact, he was also 6'4, which, as my father says, was gigantic back then, which clearly is where my 6'2 stature comes from.

Growing up, Irish Heritage was not really pushed upon my brother and I or my cousins, but as I look back in writing the speech, I realized that our parents really did raise us under the Irish culture.

My father is one of five, and my mother is one of eight.

So I was so lucky to grow up in a big family.

We got together for all of the holidays, special events, birthdays, or just a random weekend.

I remember that there was always laughter, music, and stories upon stories, which were all traits of the Irish culture.

I always felt protected and such a sense of family.

The door was always open, and others were always welcome.

Another strong trait of Irish culture is work ethic, and this was instilled in me from a very young age.

You dress up like a reindeer.

So thank you again for honoring me for not only being Irish, but for honoring me for being a part of Neurochell.

It truly is my home away from home.

I mean, I spend more time with Brian, Vin and Nina than I do my own husband.

So even though I have to give up the OC for Falcone and Pasta, my heart will always be green and potatoes.

But we did have we have two proclamations and one on behalf of the city council and city manager to you, honoring you for all of the tremendous work that you as you really deserve every praise.

You deserve all of the flowers, as the kids say.

And I'll just read a couple of the paragraphs, whereas through her leadership, enthusiasm, and commitment to service, Lauren strives to ensure that recreation programs and community spaces remain places where residents can connect, celebrate, and experience the best part of their day.

And whereas guided by the words of her grandfather, leave it between the lines, Lauren O'Connor Falcone continues to honor her family's legacy while making a lasting impact on the city of New Rochelle.

So we recognize you for all of your service with us.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

And I forgot to mention the ERG group has come up with this lovely uh tradition where we hang up a proclamation for the sort of um group or ethnicity that we're celebrating.

So the Irish one will hang, I'm assuming on the second row of this wall over here, and staff and visitors can read it at their leisure and just learn more about the Irish community in New Rochelle.

All right, well, that was amazing.

And Lauren, congratulations, you're well deserved, and thank you, Barbara, for that amazing presentation.

And we learned a lot about history right there, so that was great.

Again, in closing remarks, historically, as they say, Irish Ireland, Ireland's greatest export is not actually Guinness, despite what people would say, but it's their people.

The imprint of the Irish people goes across America and out into the world.

Yes, they face discrimination, they've had struggles, but the Irish are always, they always overcome and adapt.

The impact of their resilience is found everywhere.

You know, they say that an Irishman was the first person on Christopher Columbus's crew to step foot on American soil.

And as the city manager pointed out, 22 presidents claim to be Irish American.

From Andrew Jackson straight to Barack Obama.

And it and um the Irish Americans and their impact can be seen everywhere across the United States.

People you wouldn't necessarily think are Irish, but definitely proudly proclaim that they are.

From Michael Flatley to Walt Disney, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Brady, Kirk Cobain, Henry Ford, Mariah Carey, and so many others.

And the imprint can also be seen across our own city.

I own a university, for example, and the prep and the lower school, many other places.

Of course, there's always the Balton Cel the Boston Celtics, but in Ireland you would say Celtics.

Um, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, Shamrock Sheikh's at McDonald's.

And even the golf term Mulligan has roots in Irish history.

So really, Irish and Ireland can be seen everywhere across the United States.

But the true characteristic of Irish heritage with its gift of gab, whether you've kissed the Blarney Stone or not, is that everyone is welcome.

As they say, a hundred thousand welcomes.

You'll never step into an Irish house or an Irish pub where you're not offered a pint or a cup of tea, some good crack and a meal.

Everyone is welcome in Ireland.

And as my big name O'Donnell indicates, I'm pretty proud to be Irish American myself.

So, as they say, and they do say in Ireland, if you're lucky enough to be Irish, well, then you're lucky enough.

And on St.

Patrick's Day, everyone's Irish.

So, as they say, we go out, celebrate, raise a glass with good cheer, and enjoy the day.

Slantcha.

Thank you.