Mary Holt Moore
By Ray O’Hanlon
rohanlon@irishecho.com
Mary Holt Moore, for many years a prominent Irish American community leader and the second woman to lead the New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade, has died aged 88.
She led the 230th parade in 1991.
Holt Moore, who was fiercely proud of her Irish ancestry, was a descendent of General Joseph Holt, a leader of the 1798 Irish Rebellion in County Wicklow, and a cousin of Sean MacDiarmada, one of the leaders of the 1916 Rising.
Her parents, Ann O’Rourke from County Leitrim, and Charles A. Holt Sr. from County Wicklow, were both prominent Irish nationalists.
Holt Moore was born in the Bronx and was a graduate of Hunter College, where she founded the Hunter College Gaelic Society.
She received her Master of Science Degree from the College of New Rochelle and worked as a special education teacher in the Bronx for many years.
Among her many community positions, Holt Moore was vice-chairperson of the Tri-State Chapter of the Irish American Solidarity Day Committee, cultural chair of the Irish American National Unity Conference, a member of the Emerald Society of the Board of Education in New York City, a member of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, and both the County Leitrim and County Wicklow societies.
She served as president of the Bronx Gaelic League and Council of Gaelic Societies of New York and was inducted into the North American Feis Commission’s Irish Cultural Hall of Fame.
Mary was married to Thomas A. Moore, a Deputy Chief in the FDNY.
He predeceased her in 2012.
Together they had eight children and over twenty grandchildren.
Holt Moore was a devotee of, and an expert in Irish history, language, literature and music.
She taught both the Irish language and céilí dancing.
The Irish Echo honored Mary in its Best of the Bronx Awards in 2008.
A wake will be held at the Assuma Shankey Funeral Home in Pearl River, Rockland County, tomorrow, Friday, from 2 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.
A funeral Mass will be held at St. Margaret’s Church in Pearl River on Saturday at 10.30 a.m.
