HILARY T. BEIRNE
BIOGRAPHY
GAEL OF THE YEAR
Hilary Beirne is from Boyle, Co Roscommon and is one of ten children of the late John P. Beirne, Veterinary Surgeon, from Cortober, Carrick-on-Shannon and the late Ethel (nee Regan) Beirne from Coothall, Boyle.
Hilary attended the two teacher National School at Hollymount, Ardcarne, Boyle and St Mary’s College, Boyle before entering University College Galway and subsequently University College Dublin where he obtained a Degree in Agricultural Sciences. In 1981, Hilary attended the Franciscan Agriculture College in Mountbellew, Co Galway where he received a Diploma in Agriculture and was a member of the 1982 All Ireland Inter Agricultural Colleges winning team. Prior to emigrating from Ireland, Hilary worked with O’Hare Animal Feeds in Dundalk, Co Louth as an Agricultural Advisor and Volac Feeds Ltd as Area Manager in the West of Ireland. While employed with Volac, he introduced a then new agricultural innovation into the West of Ireland “Wrapping of Bailed Silage”, an innovation that can today be seen all over the west of Ireland.
In 1988 Hilary immigrated to New York and was employed by Monsignor Scanlon High School in the Bronx as a teacher and Science Department Chair before joining the staff at Eastchester High School in Westchester County in 2001. Hilary has featured a number of times in “Who’s Who Among American Teachers”. In 1994 Hilary was awarded a fellowship by the U.S. Department of Health to research Asthma in teenagers in New York City. For this study, he was awarded “Research Thesis of the Year Award” by the City University of New York and academic awards by Hunter College. Hilary graduated Hunter College, Suma Cum Laude with a Masters Degrees of Science in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences in 1997.
Hilary Beirne is well known and respected within the Irish American Community of the Tri-State area for his work on behalf of the New York City St Patrick’s Day Parade for the past 25 years. In recent years he has become one of the public representatives of the Parade giving newspaper, radio and TV interviews in matters concerning the Parade and Irish affairs. Hilary is an elected officer of the Parade Committee, and currently serves as the Parade’s Executive and Corresponding Secretary. He is a driving force within the Parade’s organization and under his and Chairman John Dunleavy direction the Parade has been brought into the modern technology era. He is involved in all aspects of the Parade, ensuring the operations of the largest and oldest Parade in the world run smoothly every March 17th.
In 2006, Hilary initiated the Parade’s website as a way to improve communications between the Parade Committee and the public; as a result, the Parade web site is now one of the most visited website in the world on March 17th with in excess of 3 million hits annually. In 2006, Hilary arranged for the first Grand Marshal in the history of the Parade to ring the opening bell at the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) and in 2009 successful negotiated the transition of the bell ringing ceremony from the AMEX to the New York Stock Exchange, which is watched daily by 150 million, thereby raising the profile of the parade tremendously across the world. In 2008, Hilary worked with WNBC’s production teams at 30 Rockefeller Center to launch the live web streaming of the Parade from Fifth Avenue. The web casting of the Parade has been hugely successful and along with the TV the parade is now watched live from Fifth Avenue by over two million across the world. Hilary Beirne serves as Chairman of formation on St Patrick’s Day, he is the chairman of the Grand Marshal and Aides Reception; the largest public event in the Parade calendar after the Parade itself. Hilary coordinates the press announcement of the Grand Marshall and produces many of the Parades publications and press releases.
In ilary was recognanised by the Parade Committee for his hard work on behalf of the parade. 2011 Hilary Beirne was honored by the Federation of Irish Societies in the UK, when he gave a keynote address at the first ever “Irish in the UK” conference in London. In 2010 he was honored by the County Roscommon Society of New York as their guest of honor at the society’s St Patrick’s Day dance. In 2009 Hilary joined other prominent New Yorkers when he was recognized by New York University (NYU) when he was included in the Archives of Irish America at NYU’s Division of Libraries. In 2008, he was honored with The Distinguished Service Award by the County Leitrim Society of New York.
Hilary Beirne is a member of the County Roscommon Society of New York, the County Leitrim Society of New York, the AOH, the Gaelic American club of Fairfield County, and is an honorary member of a number of other organizations in the Tri-Stare area.
Hilary is married to Marguerite (nee Carvajal) Beirne, Commissioner of Technology and Chief Information Officer of Westchester County government. They have one son Connor and reside in Larchmont, New York.