Parade live from Fifth Avenue in Ireland and UK

Grand Marshal George Mitchell will lead the first New York parade to be broadcast live across the Atlantic.

By Irish Echo Staff

This year’s New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be Irish America’s primary salute to the men and women of 1916.

And it will be viewable in the GPO.

The parade will be broadcast live for the first time ever in Ireland and the UK by means of IRISH TV, which recently opened an office in Manhattan.

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“We are honored that IRISH TV allows us to share this great celebration of St. Patrick and of Irish-American traditions and values with the people of Ireland,” said St. Patrick’s Day Parade Board Chairman, John Lahey.

“As we march behind Senator George Mitchell, our grand marshal and a man respected and beloved in Ireland, and as we mark the one hundredth anniversary of the Easter Rising, we send a message of unity back to our brothers and sisters in Ireland,” Lahey said.

“When you think about the history of the parade since 1762, it’s such an iconic celebration of all things Irish, just a perfect alignment,” said Eamonn Donlyn, vice president of IRISH TV America.

“As we get set to launch IRISH TV across the U.S., it is great for us to be able to connect Irish communities on both sides of the ocean with this live broadcast, which is exactly the premise of the channel.”

IRISH TV will be partnering with WNBC which broadcasts the parade live in the New York metropolitan viewing area.

“IRISH TV is our ideal international TV partner and we are thrilled to have them on board, and we are thankful to have them join our wonderful host station, WNBC-TV 4 in New York, who have been great partners in bringing this international broadcast to fruition,” said Hilary Beirne, Executive Secretary of the parade.

IRISH TV’s coverage will keep the broadcast intact, with husband and wife team, Tommy Smyth and Treasa Goodwin Smyth anchoring the coverage as hosts for WNBC-TV 4.

“New York has always been so connected to Ireland, and in the year of 2016, we are excited to transport our viewers to New York for one of the best St. Patrick’s Day events on the planet,” said IRISH TV CEO, Pierce O’Reilly.

Irish TV is Ireland's first international TV channel and will be rolling out in the United States and international markets on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Google Chromecast, plus Apple and Android phones, tablets and Ipads this March and April.

The channel is available to over thirty million viewers on SKY TV 191 in Ireland and the UK, and is also available on FREESAT Channel 400 across Europe, on Eircom's eVision and on free to air boxes.

Backed by UK entrepreneur and 2014 Kerry London Person of the Year, John Griffin, Irish TV has witnessed exceptional growth since launched by its founders journalist and businessman, Pierce O’Reilly, and businesswoman Mairéad Ní Mhaoilchiaráin.

 

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