George Casey will be the grand marshal of this year’s Irish Day Parade.
Jacob Espinosa | The Lima News
LIMA — George Casey was caught off-guard when he was told he would be the grand marshal of this year’s Irish Day Parade.
But when he was asked if he was doing anything on the day of the parade, March 11, following a short confirmation that he was free, he jumped at the chance.
“I have cancer so I have so many different hospital appointments that I had to ask my wife if we were doing anything,” he said at Monday’s media night at Lima Eagles where he was honored. “She said, ‘Nope,’ so they said, ‘Congratulations, you’re the grand marshal.’ It kind of choked me up and caught me off-guard.”
Casey has been involved in the parade since the get-go, according to organizer Darby Bourk.
“It’s been going on for 29 years and this is how the north-end Irish grew up,” he said. “Our founding fathers started this parade about 30 years ago not knowing that it was going to grow into this and it’s been generation after generation that has stepped up.”
For Casey, it means a lot to be chosen when thinking about the size of the Irish community in Lima.
“I’m so humbled,” he said. “The Irish community is so large and there are so many deserving Irish people out there right now who deserve to be grand marshal and feel the way I feel. And it gives me goosebumps.”
And for both parade-goers and Casey, there is a lot to look forward to with the parade.
“There will be a lot of fun going on with the parade,” organizer Brooke Casey said. “There will be a lot of fun with people passing out candy in the parade and there will be a lot of local Irish families involved.”
“Watching all the people down Main St. having fun and enjoying all the floats and all the families,” George Casey said about what he is looking forward to.
The 29th Annual Irish Day Parade will start at noon on March 11 at the corner of Robb Avenue and Main Street and will end at Town Square.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
