SALEM — “Irish” Mickey Ward can knock you out in many ways. Just ask the Hibernians who were served by him Sunday afternoon, St. Patrick’s Day.
“Today’s a special day. Not only do we have Mickey Ward upstairs signing autographs, but he’s down here tending the bar,” announced Tom Smith of the band “Rainbows End,” as his son Tom Smith Jr. sat at his drum set.
“Ask him for something,” junior said. “It’s another way he’ll knock you out.”
Ward was in Salem, specifically at the Ancient Order of Hibernians on Boston Street, as the century-old fixture hosted the Irish community yesterday for “our biggest day of the year,” AOH President Charlie Sinclair said.
But this year, the celebration came with an upgrade: a man whose nickname is literally “Irish.”
“It means a lot (to host Mickey), to promote our Irish heritage,” Sinclair said. “That’s the key to the whole thing — promoting the Irish heritage and keeping the Irish out there.”
The North Shore was done up for the holiday in typical fashion, with Irish pubs and bars decked out in green, white and orange, table spreads dominated by corned beef and cabbage, and Irish North Shore residents eager to partake.
Ward held a signing session in the Order’s Larry Slaven Hall for two hours as patrons funneled in for autographs and, later, for the atmosphere downstairs. By 3 p.m., corned beef and sides were flowing as idle chatter highlighted the impact of Ward’s presence Sunday.
Among them was “Philly Mike” Hutson, a Wilmington, North Carolina native, was in Salem as part of the Merchant Marines, which had just docked off of Blaney Street when he caught a rideshare to hit the AOH.
“I travel all over the world, and it just so happened that we docked at 1 o’clock at night,” Hutson said. “It’s a big deal for me. … He’s a legend. He’s a solid cat as far as I’m concerned.”
Stuart G. McMahon, a program coordinator for Sport Management at Salem State University, brought his 15-year-old twins Drew and Ian — both athletes of their own — to meet a champion.
“I was a world-class gymnast, so I know what it means to meet world-class athletes,” McMahon said. “I wanted them to meet a world champion, to inspire them — especially on St. Patrick’s Day. … They’re first-generation American, going all the way back to Ireland.”
Tony Amenta, a Beverly resident and AOH member, recalled being a caddy master at Salem Country Club and meeting Ray Bourque, Dwight Evans, and others.
“To meet him is a real honor to me,” Amenta said. “They’re regular people who do regular things, but they did extraordinary things in their careers. To shake their hands and stuff… that, to me, is an awful pleasure.”
Many getting autographs paid for multiple and secured them as gifts for others. That includes Tim Lane, a Peabody resident who said Ward “represents quite a few of us.”
“I had a friend I haven’t seen in a few years. We used to talk about fighting, boxing all the time, and I wanted to get him an autograph,” Lane said. “Mickey Ward represents all of us.”
For his part, Ward said working on a holiday “feels good,” to the end that he didn’t think of it as work.
“It feels good, especially on St. Paddy’s Day, being Irish,” Ward said, with Darren “The Chelsea Chop” McDonald by his side. “I don’t look at it like that (working). It’s something I like to do, give back to different communities or whatever it may be. I don’t care where it is as long as they give back to the kids.”
Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or [email protected]. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.
By Dustin Luca | Staff Writer
Source link
