Joan Lycke Brings Her Deep Irish Roots to Sunday's Parade

If you ask Joan Lycke, she will proudly tell you that she is a "V.I.P", a Very Irish Person.

This year, her feelings for her roots are intensified even further, thanks to being named the Grand Marshal of the 49th Annual .

She said her passion for all things Irish came from being around my grandparents and parents and the Irish music they shared. "I was especially inspired by my grandfather John Joseph Finn, who was an Irish step dancer, who taught me the Irish Jig," she said.

Lycke, whose maiden name is McLaughlin, has an ancestry deeply rooted in Ireland, on both her mother's and her father's side. On her regular visits, family homes in County Kerry and County Galway are always on her itinerary. In the early 1940s, her parents, Mary Ellen Finn and Francis Timothy McLaughlin moved the family to the South Bronx. But the call of the sea and the similarity to the light and landscape of Ireland drew them to the uniqueness of Montauk, specifically Ditch Plains.

Lycke remembers her dad's exact words: "We will try it for a year." That year (1948) turned into five. In 1953, their house was winterized.

Her first job in Montauk was at the Montauk Lumber Yard, owned by Ellis and Francis Tuthill. While she worked there in 1960, she met and married John R. Lycke of Montauk, with whom she had 3 children: John, Darlene and Karen. She now has four grandchildren: Brendan, Lauren, Jack and Brian.

In 1986, Darlene tragically died of breast cancer at the age of 23. Joan established scholarships in her memory at both of Darlene's alma mater's; and Roger Williams University in Rhode Island.

Darlene's death came two years after her mother realized her dream of owning and operating a local laundromat. Supported by her husband and her brother John McLaughlin, was built for her on South Elmwood Avenue in July 1984.

True to her heritage, every summer, Lycke brought groups of Irish girls over to work at the laundromat. She said the girls have become more like family members whom she visits on her Ireland trips, attending their weddings and other important personal events. 

Besides keeping Montaukers in clean clothes, Lycke has a deep commitment to the Montauk she loves. The Mothers Club at , the Ladies Auxiliary, the Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts, and the have all benefited from her generosity and volunteerism over the years.

Currently, much of her volunteering energy has been directed towards the success of restoration, where she is a founding member of the Board of Directors. Over 50 years ago, Lycke's husband worked as a projectionist at the old Montauk Movie Theater, which was located in what is now the Playhouse building. 

She was honored as the 2005 Person of the Year, and the Honoree of the Year in 2006. 

Lycke is anxiously looking forward to Sunday's parade. "I am honored and thrilled beyond words to be the 49th Grand Marshal of the Montauk St. Patrick's Day Parade."