The 44th annual Nutley St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be on March 4. Preparations have officially begun. Parade day will begin with an Investiture Mass at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church at 10 a.m. After the Mass, parade lineup will begin at noon at the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church parking lot and parade step off will begin promptly at 1 p.m. If you would like to march in the parade but have a physical restriction that keeps you from marching, contact the Nutley Irish American Association and it can arrange to have a car for you.
In memory of Mary O’Connell, everyone is invited to place a statue of the Blessed Mother facing out of your front window the week before the parade. O’Connell would tell us that, if we did that, the Blessed Mother would bless us with good weather!
If you know a group or an organization that would like to march in the parade, email parade@nutleyirish.com.
The Post Parade Party will be at the Nutley Parks and Recreation building at 44 Park Ave. in Nutley from 2 to 7 p.m. Admission is $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Tickets for children 12 and younger are $10 and children 5 and younger are admitted free of charge. This is a family friendly event. Music will be provided by The Captain & O’Neill Band. If you wish to purchase tickets, contact Brenda at bcsherman1521@gmail.com.
On parade day, there will be a shuttle bus available to take members from Town Hall to St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church before Mass. This way, you can leave your vehicle at the end of the parade route, so after you are done marching, you can pick up your car to go to the Nutley Parks and Recreation building for the Post Parade Party.
2022-2023
President: Deidre Hollywood
Vice President: Shane McClafferty
Legal Counsel: Frank Costenbader
Treasurer: Brenda Sherman
Corresponding Secretary: Colleen Nielson
Recording Secretary: Ellen Bennett
Trustees
Ellen BennettJudy McIntyre
Deidre HollywoodColleen Nielsen
Dan KaneKaren O’Connor
John KruseBrenda Sherman
Shane McClaffertySteve Tucholski
All parade photos in this commemorative edition were taken by staff photographer Steve Ellmore at previous Nutley St. Patrick’s Day Parades.
“Thank you to the officers, trustees and members of the Nutley Irish for the honor and privilege to be the grand marshal of the 44th 2023 Nutley Irish St. Patrick’s Day parade,” said Francis J. Costenbader. Costenbader was born and raised in Belleville, the third of Ed and Marie Costenbader’s four sons. He graduated from St. Peter’s Grammar School, Seton Hall Prep and Mount Saint Mary’s College, Emmitsburg, Md. Costenbader received his juris doctorate from Seton Hall University School of Law and master’s of law degree from New York University School of Law, Graduate Division. He was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1963 and has been practicing law in Nutley since 1964. Initially an associate attorney with the Nutley law firm of Donohue and Donohue, Costenbader became a partner in Donohue, Donohue, Costenbader and Beck and then a partner in Donohue, Donohue Costenbader and Strasser. He has been a sole practitioner in general practice since 1994.
In 1966, Costenbader married Priscilla Bruschi of Maplewood and ultimately lived in Millburn, where they raised their four children, Jim, Paul, Kate and Kris. Priscilla was very supportive of his “Irish Thing.” Beginning in 1965, before they were married, they started a tradition with friends, Dave and Maureen Haight, to get together on March 17 for a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner, one year at their home in Belleville and next in the Costenbader’s home in Millburn. They did this every March 17 until the Haights retired to Pennsylvania in 2019. After Priscilla was called to her eternal life in 2007, after 41 years of marriage, the best 41 years of his life, instead of Millburn when it was his turn, they went to Shannon Rose or Michael’s Roscommon House to maintain the tradition.
Costenbader comes by his Irish heritage from his
father's mother, Ann Moriarity, who came from St. Johns, Newfoundland; his mother’s mother Mary Neilis, who came from Glasgow, Scotland; and his mother’s father, Michael Danaher, who was born in the 1st Ward N.Y.C.; but his father, Martin Danaher, came from Limerick, Ireland. He was smuggled out of Ireland to avoid conscription into the British Army. He didn’t want to fight for the British, but ended up fighting for the Union in the Civil War, for which he earned his citizenship, like so many other Irish immigrants. According to Costenbader’s DNA test, he is 74 percent Irish.
The “IrishThing” for him consisted of membership in the Nutley Irish and its annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, Member of the Year 2004, the annual March 17 dinner with the Haights, listening on Sunday afternoons to Ceol na nGael on WFUV, two trips to Ireland, naming his dachshund Guinness and teaching his African Grey parrot to say “God save Ireland, up with the Republic.”
Costenbader is presently legal counsel and longtime member of Nutley Irish American Association, legal counsel and past president of the Nutley Chamber of Commerce, past president and trustee of 1st Cerebral Palsy of New Jersey, life member and past exalted ruler of Belleville Elks, past president of Nutley Lions Club and treasurer of the Nutley Lawyers Club.
“Congratulations to my fellow dignitaries: Deputy Grand Marshal Joe McNish, Member of the Year JoAnn Dunleavy, Police Officer of the Year Steve Plumer and Parade Queen Allison Connor,” said Costenbader. “It is a special honor to have been chosen with them for the 2023 celebration. Looking forward to a grand day and a successful 2023 Nutley Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
“In the words of Richie Clark in 1978, ‘Let’s Have A Parade.’”
Sunday to Saturday 7am to 11pm
roughout his journey. The book discusses any and all topics you can think of when it comes to cigars. What makes this book special is also the author’s experiences, and he used photos that he’s taken throughout his journey and has been able to intricately use them to make his book a rather enjoyable, heartfelt read. The author’s journey as been an interesting one and he has been lucky enough to capture these moment and uses them to show some of his best, most memorable experiences in life. This is an informative book that almost anyone could enjoy, a book that teaches us a lot all the while making us feel good and may leave its mark on you for the years to come!
Joseph H. McNish Jr., better known to his family members as “Brud,” was born and raised in Belleville and said he is tremendously proud of his Irish heritage. His ancestors came from Ireland, settled in New Jersey and began a tradition of becoming civil servants in the community. McNish grew up with a close family and an incredible group of friends who remain an instrumental part of his life today. He graduated from Belleville High School, where he was captain of the wrestling team. McNish married his high school sweetheart, Maria, and moved to Nutley, where he currently resides.
McNish is the CEO of Advanced Therapy of America, a state-of-the-art therapy center providing speech therapy and occupational therapy to children and adults. He started his career in corporate America, working for a global fragrance organization, where he served roles in management, international travel, distribution, logistics and administration. After 16 years in his profession, McNish decided to change his career path to lead Advanced Therapy of America in business development and operations. He had a desire to embrace a profession that would make a difference and improve the lives of others. Under his leadership, the company expanded organically from one to four locations, fulfilling the organization’s mission of making an impact on as many lives as possi-
ble. McNish takes part in various charity events to raise funds for research and advancement of care for children and adults with special needs, while promoting awareness and an inclusive society. McNish leads his team with positivity, consistently assuring that his staff provides the highest quality of standards and most innovative treatments for individuals with disabilities worldwide.
McNish said he is extremely humbled and elated about the opportunity to celebrate with the Nutley Irish and such an accomplished group of honorees. He said he would like to thank Deidre Hollywood, officers, and board of trustees of The Nutley Irish American Association. He also said he would like to congratulate his fellow dignitaries for this incredible honor. McNish said he knows that his uncle Thomas J. McEnery’s Irish eyes are smiling up in heaven, delighted that the dream of his godson becoming a dignitary came true. McNish said he would also like to thank his wife and best friend, Maria, and all of his family and friends who are undeniable blessings in his life.
“May you have all the happiness and luck that life can hold and, at the end of your rainbows, may you find a pot of gold,” said McNish. “Remember to live every day like it’s the last, dream big and believe in the impossible.”
Allison Ann Connor is 26 years old and is a lifelong resident of Nutley. She is a 2014 graduate of Nutley High School and a 2020 graduate of William Paterson University in Wayne. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in disabilities studies. Connor currently works in childcare, where she is a private nanny for several children.
The Connor family trace their roots back to County Roscommon, Ireland. Connor’s paternal grandmother Anna “Grannie” O’Grady was from Lung, Ballaghaderreen. Her paternal grandfather Dank “Grandpa” was from Tibohine. The two emigrated from Ireland and came to Brooklyn, N.Y., where they lived for many years before moving to North Arlington. Her mother’s side of the family originated from Ireland and Germany. With extensive research, Connor's maternal grandparents are roughly the sixth generation to have emigrated from Ireland.
Connor has been blessed with growing up surrounded by her siblings, Tara, Andrew, Joseph and Matthew, and her 30 cousins. One of her favorite memories of growing up is spending Christmas with her whole family and, of course, St. Patrick’s Day, where she would join her family at her grandparents’ house each year for some corned beef and cabbage!
Connor is very involved and volunteers her time throughout the township of Nutley. Being a parishioner at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, she has helped with many events that have happened throughout the years there. She has assisted with the St. Mary’s Tricky Tray, in addition to serving Thanksgiving meals for those in need.
Being the Nutley parade queen was one of Connor’s dreams. She said she is so honored to be the 2023 parade queen and be able to march alongside her fellow dignitaries. Connor said she is so excited to be following in the footsteps of some special people in her life, including her Aunt Karen and Uncle Kevin. Along with them, she is following her mom, Maureen, who was the Member of the Year in 2016, and her sister, Tara, who also was the queen in 2018. She said she wants to thank the Nutley Irish American Association for this amazing opportunity. In addition, she wants to thank her mom, dad, sister and brothers for always being there to support her in every dream she has. Connor said she wishes her fellow dignitaries the best parade season and is praying for sunshine and many shades of green on March 4! Slainte!
“My sincere thanks to all of the officers and the board of trustees for the great honor of representing the Nutley Irish American Association at the 44th annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade as the ‘Member of the Year 2023,’ said Joann Dunleavy.
Dunleavy was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and, at the age of 4, moved to Bloomfield. She attended Saint Thomas the Apostle School in Bloomfield and then attended Immaculate Conception High School in Montclair. While working for Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co., she met her future husband, John. They married in 1960 and moved to Nutley in 1964.
This honor is being shared with her three children, Coleen, Michael and Kathleen, along with four grandchildren, Robert, Brittani, Christopher and Riley, and one greatgranddaughter, Khloe.
Dunleavy’s roots start with her mother, Kathleen Monica Riordan. She was the 13th child of John Joseph Riordan and Mary Ann Shalloo. Both of Dunleavy’s grandparents were born in New York City, but their parents were born in County Clare, Ireland. Dun-
Steven Plumer’s family emigrated from County Cork, Ireland, in the late 1800s and settled in New York City. Plumer’s great-grandparents eventually moved to New Jersey in the 1970s. Plumer was born in Jersey City and was raised during his early childhood years in Bayonne. Plumer then moved on to Kearny, where he went to and graduated from Kearny High School. Plumer went on to attend NJIT, where he was a proud member of his fraternity TKE.
It was in 2006 that Plumer decided to join The New Jersey Army National Guard, in which he just retired from this in September 2022. During his time in the service, Plumer had completed two overseas deployments, one to Iraq and one to Somalia, as well as numerous stateside assignments for states of emergency. He is now living in Nutley and married to his wife, MaryKate, 2016 NIAA parade queen, and together they have their 1year-old son, Luca.
Plumer graduated from the Bergen County Police Academy in 2013 and went on to start his career in the East
Orange Police Department. He was a patrolman and later on a detective in the Narcotics/Violent Crimes Task Force. In 2018, Plumer made the change over to the Belleville Police Department to continue his career in law enforcement. Plumer was a proud representative on the executive board, as well as in the state delegate position in both East Orange and Belleville’s respective Policemen’s Benevolent Associations.
Plumer has always been proud of his Irish Heritage and has participated in the Nutley Saint Patrick’s Day parade for years. He is also a proud member of The VFW, Nutley Post; The American Legion; the Kearny-Belleville Elks Lodge; McGovern’s Association; The Essex County Police and Fire Emerald Society; and many others.
Plumer said he is honored to be selected as the 2023 Nutley Irish American Association Police Officer of the Year, representing his community as well as the Belleville Police Department. He said he would like to thank the NIAA for this opportunity as well as congratulate all of the other dignitaries for the 2023 parade season!
