Rosemary “Rosey” Comiskey O’Reilly said her brother was in a doctor’s office in New Jersey when a nurse asked him if the Rosey who last year organized a Bronx party in Calabash, N.C., was his sister. When he answered yes, the nurse told him she heard it was one of the best parties ever.
O’Reilly of Carolina Shores, N.C., said that because more than 300 people attended the event, she and Frank Ward of Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., decided a second The Bronx, N.Y., Day was necessary.
“We had to turn people away last year,” Ward said.
He remembers the wide variety of people who attended. Ages ranged from 50 to 80 years, and people came from all backgrounds: Irish, Polish, Italian, Jewish, Catholic and more.
Ward and O’Reilly said they have streamlined the party, so this year they will have signs indicating areas of the Bronx, such as Sacred Heart parish, Highbridge; Tolentine parish, Fordham Road; Parkchester; and others.
“This is so people have a place to congregate,” O’Reilly said. “Once they know the part of the Bronx someone is from, they know what questions to ask.”
She teases her husband, Tom O’Reilly, by saying he missed out because he grew up in Queens, N.Y. Read more..









