03/19/2026
All month long we are going to spotlight our distinguished 2026 Parade Honorees and wonderful Parade Headquarters.
Today we are pleased to introduce Deputy Marshal Maureen O’Malley-Byrnes!
Maureen O’Malley-Byrnes is the founder and director of the O’Malley Irish Dance Academy,
established in 1994. Raised in a strong Irish tradition, Maureen draws deep inspiration from her heritage. Her father hailed from County Galway, where she spent her childhood summers, and her mother, a native of Park Slope and Maureen’s first dance teacher, nurtured her love of Irish dance from an early age.
A former champion dancer, Maureen has performed at Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, and aboard Carnival Cruise Lines. Today, she instructs more than 150 children and adults in Brooklyn and Queens. Under her direction, students have achieved great success at local, regional, national, and world competitions. Her dancers have performed on television and at iconic venues and events including Ellis Island, City Hall, and for the New York Mets, New York Nets, New York Liberty, and Brooklyn Cyclones. Community service is central to Maureen’s mission. Her dancers volunteer at more than 60
events each year, bringing Irish culture and joy to schools, nursing homes, hospitals, convents, centers for children with special needs, and military bases. The Academy proudly sponsors sports programs at Good Shepherd, St. Francis de Sales, and Blessed Trinity.
A graduate of Good Shepherd Grammar School, Bishop Kearney High School, and Brooklyn College, Maureen earned her B.A. in Economics cm laude, with a minor in Business Management. She enjoyed a successful career with a major Wall Street firm before leaving to focus on raising her family and expanding her dance school. She currently works full-time at the accounting firm VRC & Associates. Married in 1998 to her husband John, a retired New York City MTA employee, Maureen is the proud mother of three children: Katie, 25, who works for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office; Jack, 24, who lives in Louisiana and works for Tulane University; and Tommy, 21, a United States Marine Corps officer completing his degree at Iona University before commissioning.
Maureen is an active member of the Columbiettes Council 126 and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division 9. She previously taught dance programs for ten years at St. Bernard, Good Shepherd, and St. Edmund Catholic Academies. A dedicated parishioner, she has served on the Parents Association at her children’s schools and remains active in numerous community organizations. She serves on the Board of the Irish American Building Society, is a committee member of the Great Irish Fair, and is a member of the Good Shepherd Alumni Board.
Her dedication to Irish culture and community service has earned Maureen numerous honors. She has been named one of the Top 100 Irish Americans and served as an aide to the Grand Marshal of the Brooklyn St. Patrick’s Day Parade and as Deputy Marshal in the Queens County Parade. She has received commendations from the Brooklyn Borough President, the Mayor, and the Comptroller of the City of New York. Her awards include the Community Service Award from the Circle of Hope Cancer Foundation, recognition from the Rockaway Point Volunteer Fire Department for her efforts during Hurricane Sandy, the Good Shepherd Service Award, the Cultural Excellence and Community Leadership Award from the LAOH, and the Irish Culture Award from the Breezy Point Pipe Band. She was honored as one of the 2015 Brooklyn Women of Distinction, named the Brooklyn Cyclones’ “Winning Woman of 2017,” received the Harry Murphy Catholic Action Award from the Queens County AOH, and the Al O’Hagan Community Leadership Award from the Great Irish Fair.
For over three decades, Maureen has proudly “kept the tradition” of Irish dance alive in Brooklyn and Queens. She is deeply humbled to be recognized among her esteemed colleagues as an honoree in this year’s Bay Ridge St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Congratulations Maureen! See her and all the honorees marching down 3rd Avenue on Sunday March 22nd!
