Ireland’s first female ambassador to the United States named as the grand marshal for St. Patrick’s Day parade on McLean Avenue.

Anne Anderson, Ireland’s first female ambassador to the United States who retired in July, has been named as the grand marshal for the 2018 Yonkers St. Patrick’s Day parade on McLean Avenue.

Anderson, a native of Co. Tipperary, had a distinguished 45-year career in Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs, serving as ambassador to France, the European Union and the United Nations. In each of those positions, she was the first female to represent Ireland.

The aides to the grand marshal are Kevin Clifford, Shannon Daughtery, Denis Flavin, Christine Kenney O’Rourke, Joan Magoolaghan, Kayla M. Maher, Erin Loughran and Thomas P. Smyth 

The parade will take place on Saturday, March 24, with the installation dinner set for Saturday, March 10 at Empire Casino in Yonkers.

In November, Anderson was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Chamber of Commerce in Dublin at an event that was attended by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.  In her acceptance speech, Anderson expressed concern about the isolationist trend in America under President Donald Trump.

"I do believe there are some grounds for concern today," she said. "Of deeper significance, we see the isolationist trends taking hold in America and hear the drumbeat of sovereignty that is becoming more insistent. Europe, like the rest of the world, is reading these signals and beginning to plan accordingly."