Megan Cahill, Grace O’Connor, Queen Casey Doherty, Mary Finnegan, and Rachel Hoban

Fox’s Pizza, Guinness, Big Corner Tavern, Madden Funds and Flood Brothers Disposal present the Hibernian Radio Hour as we return to our First Responders Tour at our new recording location, Big Corner Tavern, and this week we welcome the 2023 Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade Queen Casey Doherty and her Court, Megan Cahill, Grace O’Connor, Mary Finnegan and Rachel Hoban. Houli begins by chatting to Megan and Rachel who share their experience of taking part in the contest and they tell us some of the duties they have during the year-long commitment that comes with being a member of the Queen’s Court. Both of these ladies have entered the contest 4 times but this is their first year as members of the Court. They mention meeting with visitors from Cork as well as preparing for St. Patrick’s Day as some of their recent duties and they fill Houli in on their day jobs as a full-time nurse and an attorney. We end this great interview with some advice to future contestants from Megan Cahill and Rachel Hoban, “It’s very important to keep trying and to be your best self. Have fun with it!”. We then welcome the other two Court ladies, Grace O’Connor and Mary Finnegan. Mary’s parents are old friends of Houli’s and she begins by explaining how she got the nickname Mairzy. Mary is an accountant and now works in Mergers & Acquisitions. Grace chats about her large family who are mostly based in St. Hilary parish where she grew up. She is currently attending Loyola Law School and will be taking the Bar Exam this summer. Grace’s paternal grandfather grew up in Killarney and her mother’s family hail from County Mayo.

2023 St. Patrick’s Day Parade Queen, Casey Doherty

This is her second year in the Queen’s Court and she chats about this also being her second year taking part in the contest with Casey and how they have become close friends. Both Grace and Mary plan on taking part in next year’s contest so best of luck when the time comes, ladies! Meeting celebrities at the polar plunge, their St. Patrick’s Day events and their connection to The Shannon Rovers are just some of the many topics covered by this wonderful group of young women this week. We then welcome the one and only Queen herself, Casey Doherty. This is Casey’s 4th time in the contest and she has been in the Court twice. She begins her insightful interview by looking back at the craziness surrounding the 2020 contest, right at the very beginning of the pandemic. Casey grew up in McHenry where her grandfather was Mayor for several years and she chats with Houli about her Irish heritage, her family having emigrated from Kilkenny. She takes us through her experience as Queen so far, especially her special role in many of the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. “I’m so lucky I get to do this with these ladies.. we’ve been able to grow so close!” Casey graduated from DePaul Law School in 2021 and currently works in Data Privacy, consulting companies on their privacy practices. She fills us in on some of her upcoming plans with her Court including the CPD polar plunge. Houli ends this wonderful interview with the well wishes, “Long may you reign!” to this year’s fabulous Queen, Casey Doherty. He then brings us up to date on this week’s obituaries and we take a quick trip to our favorite place known as “Houli-Town”. Another special St. Patrick’s Day show this year so don’t miss it, folks!