Michael J. Dowling Named Grand Marshal of 2017 St. Patrick’s Day Parade

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Limerick native Michael J. Dowling, president and chief executive officer of Northwell Health, has been named grand marshal of the 2017 St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

“As a native son of a small country village in Western Limerick, I am greatly privileged and humbled by this extraordinary honor and recognition,” Dowling said. “I am proud to follow in the footsteps of so many remarkable luminaries as we again celebrate the very best of Irish and Irish-American history, culture and heritage.”

John Lahey, chairman of the parade’s board of directors, made the announcement Oct. 7.

Since becoming president and CEO in 2002, Dowling has built Northwell Health into a regional clinical, academic and research enterprise. Northwell is the state’s largest integrated healthcare system with more than 61,000 employees, making it the state’s largest private employer.

Dowling had a distinguished career in education and public service before joining Northwell Health in 1995. He was a professor of social policy and assistant dean at the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Services, and director of the Fordham campus in Westchester County.

His service in New York state government included seven years as state director of Health, Education and Human Service. He was also commissioner of the state Department of Social Services.

Dowling earned his undergraduate degree from University College Cork (UCC), and his master’s from Fordham University. He holds honorary doctorates from University College Dublin and Hofstra University.

He is a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. He and his wife, Kathleen, have two children.