At first, Kaitlin O’Brien was stumped when asked what it means to be named queen of Countryside’s ninth St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
“Kind of putting me on the spot,” she said with a laugh.
“It’s a good thing because I show my Irish heritage. I’ve never been to Ireland, but I want to go. I’ve seen pictures of it,” O’Brien said.
The parade kicks off at 1 p.m. Saturday near Plainfield Road and Brainard Avenue.
O’Brien will ride in a convertible rolling down the streets of Countryside. She’s been practicing her parade wave. “I’m getting there. Working on it,” she said.
She’s attended past parades, but this is her first time being in the parade.
O’Brien, 17, of La Grange, was crowned queen Wednesday night during the Countryside City Council meeting.
A junior at Lyons Township High School, she loves to play softball, enjoys baking and volunteers at the St. Cletus Food Pantry, Ald. John Finn (1st) said.
“Kaitlin comes from a long line of Irish ancestors,” said Finn, the city council’s point man for the parade each year.
Mayor Sean McDermott noted that her father, Tim O’Brien, is a village trustee in La Grange.
“Thank you for your assistance. We love having the O’Brien clan here celebrating Kaitlin’s crowning,” said McDermott, who is proud of his Irish heritage.
Gillian John, 15, of Western Springs, is the queen’s court.
She is a sophomore at Lyons Township High School where she plays soccer and lacrosse.
“I’m excited to support Kaitlin as the queen, to show my Irish heritage and be part of the community. It’s exciting to see other people,” John said.
This year’s princess is Abigail Dunlap, 9, of La Grange Highlands.
“Abigail loves art, crafting, dancing, singing and face painting. She spends her free time helping at food drives,” Finn said.
Her great-grandparents are from Belfast, he said.
Abigail began dancing when she was 4 years old at the Harling School of Irish Dance on 55th Street in Countryside.
She performed a dance during the council meeting.
She finds dancing “really fun.” Abigail is a fourth-grader at Highlands Elementary School.
The trio was escorted out of the council chamber by former parade grand marshal Kevin Dahill while he played the bagpipes.
Although it is a Countryside parade, none of the three girls live in the city.
“We’ve maxed out on our Irish teenagers,” the mayor said.
McDermott, a Deadhead who wore a bright green Jerry Garcia necktie to Wednesday night’s city council meeting, said it’s getting tougher to find girls to be parade royalty.
“We didn’t have great luck initially getting people to come forward. It seems to be more difficult every year. I don’t know (why),” he said. “Maybe we’re not doing a good enough job promoting it.”
As of Thursday morning, The Weather Channel’s forecast for Saturday is a dry 31 degrees with winds up to 20 mph
“We’ll get through it. I don’t care if it’s 25 degrees. As long as it’s not snowing or raining, we’re good,” said McDermott, who will walk the parade route with shillelagh in hand.
This year’s parade grand marshal is John Fitzgerald who in December retired as city engineer, a post he held for 23 years.
Fitzgerald is the son of Irish immigrants who came from County Cork, McDermott said.
“When we started this parade in 2016, one of the first individuals who stepped forward and said ‘What can I do to help?’ was John Fitzgerald,” McDermott said.
“We’re honored to have him serve as our grand marshal,” the mayor said.
Before the meeting, Fitzgerald said he feels honored to be named grand marshal and joked that although he retired two months ago, it’s hard to stay away from Countryside.
Once again, a free shuttle bus will carry folks between various drinking establishments that sponsor the parade, Finn said.
The shuttle runs from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday between Local 150, Flagg Creek Golf Course, Rafferty’s Irish Pub, Uncle John’s Sports Bar & Grill, The Mood and Wolfs Head Restaurant & Bar.
Each venue offers special deals like the $2 tacos and $5 margaritas at Uncle John’s.
The parade raises money for charities. It has raised more than $100,000 in the previous eight years, McDermott said.
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