Four Fairfield Students Win St. Patrick’s Day Parade Scholarship Program
The Greater Bridgeport St. Patrick’s Day Celebration Committee announced the winners of the 2019 Mr. and Miss Shamrock Scholarship Program. They were selected among 21 applicants of 13 young ladies and 8 young men. Mr. Shamrock 2019 is Brendan Devine a senior at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, son of Terence and Ann Devine. Miss Shamrock 2019 is Mary Ingram also a senior from Fairfield Ludlowe and the daughter of Jeannine Foran and William Ingram.
Miss Shamrock Mary Ingram shared her love of learning how to bake her great-grandmother’s Irish Soda Bread in a circle, a product of her Southern Irish heritage. She is a member of the French, English, Math, Science and Social Studies Honor Societies at Fairfield Ludlowe where she is on the Varsity Ice Hockey team. She is a member of the Democrats Club and is learning American Sign Language in her spare time.
Named after the famous Irish Saint and navigator, Mr. Shamrock Brendan Devine traces his roots back to 1854 in Derawley, Drumlish Co. Longford and still has relatives there. It was his great-grandparents who emigrated to the US. He is an Honor Roll student at Fairfield Ludlowe, an Eagle Scout, Sea Scout and an Altar Server at St. Pius X. He has a twin brother Patrick and his sister Emily was Miss Shamrock in 2015.
Mr. Shamrock Runner-Up is Michael Fickes from Fairfield College Preparatory School, son of Eileen Fickes and Miss Shamrock runner-up is Kate Morton daughter of Elaine Hogan from Fairfield Warde High School.
The Mr. & Miss Shamrock Scholarship Contest is held annually at the Gaelic American Club, Fairfield. All high school seniors of Irish descent in the greater Bridgeport area are encouraged to submit an application to the Parade Committee. All candidates are interviewed by an independent panel of judges and winners are chosen based upon their knowledge of their Irish heritage, traditions, history, the meaning of St. Patrick’s Day, their involvement in their community, their interests and activities.
The winners receive a monetary scholarship award of $3,000 for future educational endeavors. Runners-up also are awarded a monetary scholarship of $1,750 and all will participate in all the events with Mr. and Miss Shamrock throughout the year. The awards will be presented by the 2019 Grand Marshal Peter Carroll of Stratford on January 18, 2019 at the Grand Marshal’s Ball at Vazzano’s Four Seasons of Stratford.
Mr. & Miss Shamrock will participate in the Greater Bridgeport St. Patrick’s Day Parade festivities including riding on the float during the parade in downtown Bridgeport on Friday, March 15, 2019. For more information visit, https://stpatricksdaybridgeport.com/
Visit this link to view the full gallery of images.
To access the gallery, use the following case-sensitive password: shamrock
Use the following 4-digit PIN to download photos: 8876
Photos by Laura St. John Photography