--- title: HR 517. St. Patrick's Day Parade committee; Chairman Timothy P. Mahoney; Grand Marshall of the 2025 St. Patrick's Day Parade, James G. (Jay) Burke III; 2025 St. Patrick's Day Parade; Savannah, Georgia; commend collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr517 cite_as: HR 517, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr517 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr517.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr517/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71200 date: 2025-03-06 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr516.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr518.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 131 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr517.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 517 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-03-06 last_action: House Read and Adopted sponsors: - Jesse Petrea - Ron Stephens - Bill Hitchens - Carl Gilliard - Devan Seabaugh - Anne Westbrook text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR517/2025 upstream_id: 1994205 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Savannah - St. Patrick's Day Parade - legislative commendation - Chatham County --- # HR 517. St. Patrick's Day Parade committee; Chairman Timothy P. Mahoney; Grand Marshall of the 2025 St. Patrick's Day Parade, James G. (Jay) Burke III; 2025 St. Patrick's Day Parade; Savannah, Georgia; commend ## Text House Resolution 517 By: Representatives Petrea of the 166th, Stephens of the 164th, Hitchens of the 161st, Gilliard of the 162nd, Seabaugh of the 34th, and others A RESOLUTION Recognizing and honoring the members of the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee, Chairman Timothy P. Mahoney, and the Grand Marshal of the 2025 St. Patrick's Day Parade, James G. (Jay) Burke III, on the upcoming occasion of the 2025 St. Patrick's Day Parade in Savannah, Georgia; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, the 2025 St. Patrick's Day Parade in Savannah, Georgia, will mark the 201st occasion on which this festive event has been held in this beautiful historic city with proud Irish roots; and WHEREAS, this celebration was begun in 1824 by the Hibernian Society of Savannah, which was formed to aid the early Irish immigrants to Georgia; and WHEREAS, many Irish organizations have contributed to the longevity and success of this celebration, and the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee, which was formed in 1926, has carried on the tradition for the past 98 years; and WHEREAS, according to one of Ireland's former prime ministers, "Ireland is where strange tales begin and happy endings are possible," and the same holds true for the enchanting City of Savannah; and WHEREAS, it is due to the hard work and selfless dedication of the members of the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee that this event has become a popular celebration and that Georgia can be proud to welcome visitors from all over the nation and the world to this successful annual tradition; and WHEREAS, among the largest Irish celebrations in the nation, the St. Patrick's Day Parade is held in the lovely Savannah historic district and is always a joyous and meaningful occasion for the citizens of Chatham County and the State of Georgia. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that this body recognizes and commends the members of the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee, Chairman Timothy P. Mahoney, and the Grand Marshal of the 2025 St. Patrick's Day Parade, James G. (Jay) Burke III, for their tireless efforts and great work in organizing the 2025 St. Patrick's Day Parade and for their many important contributions to their community and state. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee, Chairman Timothy P. Mahoney, and the Grand Marshal of the 2025 St. Patrick's Day Parade, James G. (Jay) Burke III. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution commends the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee, its Chairman Timothy P. Mahoney, and Grand Marshal James G. (Jay) Burke III for organizing Savannah's 2025 St. Patrick's Day Parade. ### Plain-language summary This House resolution recognizes the volunteers and leaders behind Savannah's 2025 St. Patrick's Day Parade, which marks the 201st time the celebration has been held in the city. The resolution notes the parade's history, tracing back to 1824 when the Hibernian Society of Savannah began the tradition, and credits the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee, formed in 1926, with keeping the celebration going for 98 years. The resolution formally commends the Committee's members, Chairman Timothy P. Mahoney, and 2025 Grand Marshal James G. (Jay) Burke III for their work organizing the parade and their contributions to Chatham County and Georgia. It directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to prepare copies of the resolution for distribution to those honored. The resolution does not change any Georgia law. ### What it does - Formally recognizes and commends the members of the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee for organizing the 2025 Savannah parade. - Honors Chairman Timothy P. Mahoney by name for his leadership of the parade committee. - Recognizes James G. (Jay) Burke III as the Grand Marshal of the 2025 St. Patrick's Day Parade. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to make copies of the resolution available for distribution to those honored. ### Who it affects The resolution directly names and honors the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee, its Chairman Timothy P. Mahoney, and Grand Marshal James G. (Jay) Burke III. It also touches the Clerk of the House of Representatives, who must prepare and distribute copies of the resolution. ### Why it matters This is a ceremonial resolution rather than a change to Georgia law. Its practical effect is limited to formal recognition: the honorees receive an official copy of the resolution acknowledging their role in a long-running Savannah tradition. ### Key provisions - The resolution's whereas clauses recount the parade's history, noting it began in 1824 and has been run by the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee since 1926. - The resolved clause formally commends the Committee, Chairman Timothy P. Mahoney, and Grand Marshal James G. (Jay) Burke III for their work on the 2025 parade. - A further resolved clause directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to distribute copies of the resolution to the honorees. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-03-06) - Last action: House Read and Adopted (2025-03-06) - Sponsors: Jesse Petrea, Ron Stephens, Bill Hitchens, Carl Gilliard, Devan Seabaugh, Anne Westbrook - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71200 > The history, votes, and amendments (131 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr517.md?full=1