Naugatuck and Prospect honored residents of Irish descent as Irish mayors for the day last week.
Last Friday morning, John Patrick Kennelly, 60, pulled up in front of Prospect Town Hall in style.
Kennelly received an escort to his day in office as Prospect’s Irish Mayor for the Day in a limousine. Prospect’s Irish Mayor for the Day typically arrives via a police escort, but the town stepped it up for Kennelly, who is used to riding in police cars as a retired Waterbury police officer and current Prospect police officer.
Members of the Police Pipes and Drums of Waterbury, a marching band Kennelly helped establish, played for Kennelly as he entered Town Hall to be sworn in with his wife, Carla, daughter, Maeve, and friends by his side.
“It’s a great honor and I appreciate the selection,” said Kennelly about being chosen Irish Mayor for the Day.
Last Saturday morning, St. Patrick’s Day, the Naugatuck Ancient Order of Hibernians and Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians honored John Ford as Naugatuck’s Irish Mayor for the Day.
Ford, chairman of the board for Alderson-Ford Funeral Homes Inc. and a longtime community volunteer in Naugatuck, was recognized during a celebration in the St. Francis Church hall that featured performances by dancers from The Horgan Academy of Irish Dance.
