ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Benedictine has produced numerous Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade Grand Marshals

The Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade is one of the city’s most time-honored traditions — and no institution has shaped its leadership more than Benedictine Military School.

This year’s grand marshal, Martin S. “Marty” Hogan, is the latest living embodiment of that legacy of BC men.

Around midday on Feb. 23, Hogan (BC Class of 1986), said being elected Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade Grand Marshal a day earlier still hadn’t quite sunk in. His phone had been buzzing for hours with calls of congratulations from friends, family, and business associates in Savannah, New York, and even Ireland. But the reality of being named grand marshal of the 2026 Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade was only beginning to settle in.

“It’s slowly but surely kicking in,” Hogan said. “I’m so grateful to represent not only my Catholic faith and to celebrate the Feast of Saint Patrick, but all those BC men that were before me, including my classmate John Forbes for the big one on the 200^th, and just guys like Tommy Brunson (BC ’62, 2000 grand marshal), and Mike Foran (BC ’76, 2016 grand marshal), and Dave Roberts (BC ’76, 2014 grand marshal). I can go on and on with the tradition. I just hope I live up to it.”

When Hogan takes his place at the front of Savannah’s 2026 parade procession, he won’t just be leading one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the country. He will be stepping into a role shaped, decade after decade, by graduates of Benedictine Military School – which was established in 1902 and is the only Catholic high school for boys in Savannah.

Through 2026, 97 men will have served as grand marshal of the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Of those, 59 are Benedictine alumni — nearly two-thirds of all who have held what is widely considered the highest honor a Savannah Irishman can receive.

The numbers are striking. The history behind them is even deeper.

J. Joseph Doolan (BC Class of 1918) served as grand marshal twice in 1930 and 1931. There was no grand marshal from 1942-45 because of World War II. And there was no grand marshal in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Michael W. Roush (BC Class of 2020) was grand marshal in 2020 but there was no parade due to the pandemic.

Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade Grand Marshal is a position elected by the approximately 800 members of the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee on the last Sunday of February. It is viewed as the pinnacle achievement, representing a lifetime of service to the community and a deep connection to Irish heritage.

The grand marshal serves as the public face of the city’s Irish community for the entire season. This includes attending approximately 60 events during the four weeks leading up to the parade, including these 2026 functions: March 1, Grand Marshal Public Investiture; March 6, Greening of the Fountain; March 14, Tybee Island Parade; March 16, Sergeant William Jasper Ceremony; March 17, Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Clearly, Savannah, its St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and Benedictine Military School – particularly the roots of BC’s Irish families – are intertwined. You cannot tell the complete story of one without the others.

“It’s been BC’s good fortune to be able to participate in this community event,” Benedictine Military School Headmaster Fr. Frank Ziemkiewicz, O.S.B., said. “We are proud to be part of the Irish community, the Catholic community, the Savannah community, and we see our participation in this parade as a means of underlying that. BC, through the years, has helped drive the leadership core of Savannah and Georgia. BC takes substantial pride in the education they have provided for the youth, and this parade is a means of highlighting it. Its contributions to civic pride, to its awareness that we understand the roots of our freedoms, to be able to express our freedoms, and this parade is, again, another aspect of that. This parade is something that our graduates cherish, that our families hold dear, and that so many people within the community simply delight in.”

Savannah’s Irish roots stretch back to 1734, when Irish settlers arrived among the earliest colonists in Georgia. In 1812, a group of 13 wealthy Protestant Irish immigrants formed the Hibernian Society to assist impoverished newcomers arriving at the port. Twelve years later, on March 17, 1824, the society’s president invited the public to join him in a procession through the city streets to commemorate the Feast of St. Patrick — the first public observance of what would become a defining civic tradition.

In the 1830s and 1840s, scores of Irishmen, who were willing to work cheaply, came to build canals and railroads throughout the state. By 1845, when the Great Potato Famine struck Ireland, an estimated eighth of Ireland’s population emigrated, mostly to America, to flee the starvation caused by the loss of a third of Ireland’s staple food product. The workers who settled in Savannah established communities based on the part of Ireland from which they hailed.

By 1870, the modern version of the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade had taken shape, complete with a grand marshal. Over time, as waves of Irish immigrants rebuilt the city after the Great Fire of 1820, worked on railroads and canals, and made Savannah one of the few Southern ports still welcoming Irish laborers during the 19th century, the parade became more than a celebration. It became an expression of identity, faith, and civic pride.

When the Civil War and Industrial Revolution moved masses of people into larger cities in the north for factory work, jobs became scarce. Businesses in New York and Boston turned away the Irish at the ports to keep jobs open for native-born Americans. Savannah, however, needed the Irish workers to help in the shipping, railroad, and agricultural industries.

In 1903, another Savannah institution entered the story. Twenty-five Cadets from what was then Benedictine College marched in the parade for the first time, beginning a tradition that continues more than a century later. The Corps of Cadets would become a familiar sight each March 17 and, in time, Benedictine graduates would come to define the parade’s leadership. At times, that leadership has passed almost like an heirloom.

Bob Ciucevich (BC Class of 1986), in his book “Benedictine Military School in Savannah,” wrote, “During the early 1900s, the Cadets were well known in Savannah and were often asked to take part in various civic occasions, ceremonies, and military observances. However, the Corps of Cadets is best known for its annual participation in Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. This tradition was begun by P.J. O’Connor, the president of Division One of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), which was affiliated with Sacred Heart Church. Fr. Aloysius O’Hanlon, O.S.B., the pastor of Sacred Heart, served as division and county chaplain for the AOH during the early 1900s. During the early years of the school’s development, the Cadets served as an honor guard for the AOH in the parade.”

Fathers and sons have taken turns at the head of the procession. Francis Patrick Rossiter Sr. (BC Class of 1931) served as grand marshal in 1972; his son Dr. Frank Patrick Rossiter Jr. (BC Class of 1958), would do the same in 2008. “We’ve been involved in this forever,” Dr. Rossiter said in a Feb. 24, 2008, Savannah Morning News story. His paternal great-grandfather arrived in Savannah from Ireland in 1850. In 1956, Rossiter’s grandfather was a marshal’s aide, as was Rossiter’s father in 1947. Almost 30 years later, his father was the grand marshal.

Charles R. Ray Sr. (BC Class of 1941) led the parade in 1989; his son James A. “Jimmy” Ray (BC Class of 1969) would do the same in 2013. After serving 40 years on the committee, following in his father’s footsteps as grand marshal was “unbelievable,” Jimmy Ray said in a Feb. 24, 2013, Savannah Morning News story. “It’s something that you’ve known since you were a child, and now here I am, a 62-year-old, and it’s just amazing – the love and affection that people have given my family and me throughout the whole year … it’s just been wonderful. And I hope everybody has a good time, because that’s what it’s all about. And, of course, it’s all about our patron saint, St. Patrick.” Ray’s Irish heritage goes back to the Limerick and Cork areas of Ireland. His ancestors came to Savannah for work in the 1800s. “I’ve had my family here for 150 years, and they’re all buried here in the Savannah area,” he told the Savannah Morning News in 2013. “My mom and dad, and my brothers and sister, were all born and raised right here in Savannah under the Catholic church.”

William J. Foran (BC Class of 1936) led the parade in 1983; his son Michael A. Foran (BC Class of 1976) would do the same in 2016. Michael served on the executive board for 13 years and was the committee’s general chairman in 2011 and 2012. “I was actually on the committee 40 years ago,” Michael Foran said in a Feb. 28, 2016, Savannah Morning News story. “It’s one of the things you do when your daddy is Irish, and you graduate from Benedictine. You join the parade committee.”

John J. “Jim” Forbes, Jr. (BC Class of 1961), led the parade in 1998. His son John P. Forbes (BC Class of 1986) was elected grand marshal for the 200^th Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 2024. In a Feb. 24, 2024, Savannah Morning News story, John Forbes said he was most looking forward to the Celtic Cross Mass. “It is where we honor the past, present, and future of the Irish in Savannah,” said Forbes, whose fourth-generation grandparents were from Cork County in Ireland. “The Irish societies go to Mass at the (St. John the Baptist) Cathedral and are then processed to the park for a small ceremony.”

James G. “Jimmy” Burke Jr. (BC Class of 1953) led the parade in 1992; his son Jay Burke (BC Class of 1983), would do the same in 2025. Jay is a direct descendant of the Burke Clan of County Cork, Ireland. His ancestors emigrated to the U.S. during the potato famine. “During this time of year, we celebrate those families who braved inconceivable hardships and struggle to create a new life in our United States of America,” Jay Burke said in a March 2, 2025, Savannah Morning News story. “The whole day is going to be very special – the Mass, marching with my family, then getting blessed at the Cathedral by the Bishop, and just enjoying the parade.”

Again and again, the pattern repeats: Irish heritage, Catholic faith, civic service — and a Benedictine education.

Now, in 2026, it is Hogan’s turn. Born in New York City’s Greenwich Village to Irish parents, and nicknamed “Yankee” after moving to Savannah as a child, Hogan has been involved with the parade’s organization since 1991. Though he never served as a general chairman, he worked behind the scenes for decades — planning events, supporting leadership, and watching classmates and fellow BC alumni step into the role he now holds.

This year, BC is celebrating a “Marty-gras” of sorts because of Hogan’s election. March 17 will be a massive moment for him, as well as his wife, Coleen Clifton Hogan, and their children Colin (BC Class of 2019), Rosie (St. Vincent’s Academy Class of 2023), and Liam (BC Class of 2024).

“I’m just so grateful for my family to be a part of this, and all of my family and friends, and I just really look forward to leading the parade and having the best time of my life or one of at least the highlights of my life,” Hogan said. “I never was a general chairman, which is just totally time-consuming. It’s a lot. But I did have the opportunity to serve under great general chairmen and run a couple of events that were pretty successful. It was a team effort, all the way from the executive committee to the membership, all the way to the adjutants, the white coats, who put on the parade. We’re just fortunate. People from the outside, they go to a parade, and they think it’s just a few hours and everyone goes home but there’s so much planning. These guys get a week off after March 17 and they’re already planning the next year. There’s so much that goes into it with every aspect of the city and insurance and just everything going on. It’s just a lot to handle. Hat’s off to everyone, and then of course, you have the wives who, every Monday, we’re at certain events and they’re not with their husbands because we’re putting the time in (at parade planning meetings). You’ve also got to look at that, of the whole life. It’s been going on for a couple of hundred years and, hopefully, the way it is, will go on for another couple of hundred years and we’ll continue to spread the word of Saint Patrick.”

Hogan said he wants Savannah’s St. Patrick Day Parade festivities to become more faith-based and family-based.

“There are enough places, there are enough holidays, where you can go on (party) binges,” Hogan said. “And in Savannah, yeah, you can do that, but Savannah also is a sanctuary for Catholics to know what the meaning is of Saint Patrick, and believe it, live it, practice it. The world would be a better place for everyone if people did that. No one is saying you can’t have fun. You can still have fun. It’s just like keeping the Christ in Christmas. We need to keep the meaning of Saint Patrick where, in the 5^th century, he converted a nation into Christianity. Let’s not forget what it’s about.”

Marching in the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade is almost indescribable. Whether you’re representing a school, an organization, or a family, you’re part of something bigger than you. You’re part of a team where everyone is pulling in the same direction.

“That’s another aspect, when people root for you,” Hogan said. “Everyone is always wanting people to fail in life, and people get envy. But it’s just great when the whole community, and your people, come around and root for you.”

And that is what makes Savannah unique. Savannah is family. You don’t have to be from here to be part of it. You can join in a variety of ways, whether it’s through the Knights of Columbus, Benedictine Military School, St. Vincent’s Academy, or any of the parochial schools. It seems like the majority of residents, for the most part, look after each other and genuinely care about each other. It’s like the saying ‘It takes a village …”

“You said it. You just said it,” Hogan said. “Savannah is a place where you can make headway. It’s not (about) who your dad is. It’s something that, if you want to be a part of a community and get involved in things, people are going to accept you. And that’s the beautiful thing about Savannah. One of the many beautiful things. It’s Southern hospitality at its finest.”

Hogan, who works in third-party logistics and trucking, said his cellular phone has been blowing up with calls, voicemails, and text messages of congratulations from friends, family, and business associates in Savannah, New York, and even Ireland.

“It’s going to take me a year to get back to everyone and thank them,” he said, laughing. “It may take me a while to thank them, and when I thank them, they may say, ‘What is he thanking me for?’ It was from five months ago when you congratulated me. But I’m going to make a real concerted effort to do that, to thank people for congratulating me and for keeping me in their prayers. I love it.”

Hogan is beloved throughout Savannah because of his upbeat personality, kind heartedness, and generosity. He is passionately involved with Savannah’s Catholic, Irish, and business communities, as well as with Benedictine Military School.

“I like to give,” he said. “My kind of theme is ‘Time, talent, and treasure.’ If you just give a little it pays off. You can do it some way, shape, or form.”

Hogan, whom many people do not realize is a shy person, said he is humbled to have been chosen to lead the parade procession through the streets of historic downtown Savannah.

“I judge a celebration on how many people come; not how many people leave,” he said. “I don’t know any Savannahians that go to Boston, New York, or Chicago (for St. Patrick’s Day) but I know plenty of them who come down here. Just remember, it’s OK that you participate in the Feast of Saint Patrick. But it is the Feast. It’s not just a day (of partying). It’s a day of atonement. In the fifth century, Saint Patrick brought Christianity to an island without bloodshed. If we focus on that, this world will be a much better place, and I think families will be more bonded if we just keep the saint in St. Patrick’s Day.”