All Aboard! for ‘Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day’ Celebration

Floating fundraiser on the Hudson takes place Sept. 13 on R.M.S. Cruises’ Emerald Princess

The late Jack Murphy was 2006 Grand Marshal of the Peekskill St. Patrick’s Parade and chaired its committee for about 20 years. (Peekskill St. Patrick’s Committee)

By Regina Clarkin, [email protected]

August 29, 2025

The annual Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day celebration this year takes place on the R.M.S. Cruises’ Emerald Princess, an aptly named boat for the fundraiser. The event is named after Mary Alice and Jack Murphy.

The fundraiser this year is on September 13 from 2:30 till 6 p.m.. Boarding is from 2:30 to 2:55.

Tickets are $70 per person, which includes the ride north on the Hudson, as well as light refreshments, music and a cash bar.

Named after the late Jack and Mary Alice Murphy, the Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day cruise is a six-month marker to the parade in downtown Peekskill on a Saturday in March.

Mary Alice and Jack Murphy were integral members of the St. Patrick’s Committee. In 2006, Jack was selected as Grand Marshal of the parade. He was the longest-serving chairman of the parade, holding that post for about 20 years. His wife Mary Alice served alongside him after they were married in 1997. The original Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day boat ride was named in her honor, with Jack’s name being added after his death in 2019.

Grand marshal for this year’s parade on March 14 is Lou Panzanaro Jr., with aides John Berlow, Fiona Brenna, Dana Dapson and Fr. Esteban Sanchez.

To order tickets, go to peekskillstpatscommittee.org

About the Contributor

Regina Clarkin, Publisher

When the Peekskill Herald weekly newspaper ceased publishing in August 2000 it was the first time in the history of the city that there wasn’t a local newspaper. The award-winning weekly was often referred to as the ‘glue’ of the community. Founded on January 9, 1986 by Regina Clarkin, Kathy Daley and Rich Zahradnik with a $7,000 credit card line, the paper filled the void created when the daily Evening Star was sold to Gannett and moved out of town. Founding publisher Regina Clarkin continued to live in the Peekskill Cortlandt area and turned her attention to other life endeavors. Through the ensuing 19 years, Clarkin was frequently stopped in town and asked when she would start up the Herald again. In January 2019, Clarkin decided it was less labor intensive to deliver a weekly blog than a print newspaper so she began posting one story a week about life in Peekskill. After a successful crowd funding campaign in 2020, the Herald was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in July of 2021. Peekskill Herald is a digital relative of the former print edition, featuring many of the favorite aspects of the beloved Peekskill Herald such as old pictures, personality profiles and well written stories about newsworthy events. Regina Clarkin is the editor and publisher of the site.