(click on music bar to hear Maureen singing "Danny Boy" if you have 'Real Player loaded)

"Where have all the flowers gone?.."

The world keeps turning - technology keeps advancing; the wide screen has become wider, the soundtracks have become louder, and the heroes and heroines have given way to computer digital enhancement.  What a wonderful thing to know that actress Maureen O'Hara is still out there - still glowing, and very subtly, yet surely, becoming an icon in the real world. The image of Maureen O'Hara that began in this country in 1939 as her film role of Esmeralda in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," now embodies over 50 years of quality classic films. So indelible is her persona as a strong, intelligent, beautiful woman, that you can feel an almost desperate need to cling to all she represents.  We still need our heroes and heroines and Maureen remains a very special lady of elegance with a most regal presence at the age of 87.
by: June Parker Beck © (updated 3-9-08)


Grand Marshal of the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade 1999
The New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade is the largest parade in the world.  Over 2 million people  attend
the parade and another 2 million watch on TV.   There are over 350,000 people marching  with bands from all over the world including the Tokyo Bagpipe Band and bands from Ireland, Irish American Veterans and military from the U.S.  The 1999 parade is dedicated to the immigrants of the 20th century.  Maureen O'Hara is only the third woman to be selected as grand marshal in the history of the parade.
The annual parade down Fifth Avenue to honor the patron saint of Ireland is a New York tradition that dates as far back as 1766. The festivities kick off at 44th Street and Fifth Avenue  with bagpipers, high school bands, and the ever-present politicians making their way up Fifth Avenue to 86th Street, where the parade will probably finish around 2:30 or 3:00 pm.  The best viewing spots are toward the north end of the parade route, away from the shopping and work-a-day crowds that throng The sidewalks below 59th Street. Try sitting on the upper steps of The Metropolitan Museum of Art for a great view or catching a close-up view of the marchers where the parade turns east on 86th Street.  The New York Convention & Visitors Bureau says that the St. Patrick's Day Parade is the largest and most famous of the many parades held in the city each year.




                                      
                               Irish Film and TV Awards - Lifetime Achievement 2004              Irish America Magazine "Woman of the Year" Award 2005                                                                                                                           
To see other Awards bestowed on Ms. O'Hara throughout the years, please visit "Film-Bio" page


 


"This Is Your Life Maureen O'Hara"
Maureen and her parents, Charles & Marguerita FitzSimons
Ralph Edwards Productions - 1957


The FitzSimons Clan
Sister Margaret Mary, Maureen, Florrie, Charles, Margot & James
(click photo above to read about "The Amazing FitzSimons Family."



  


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