Noreen Ryan
Title/Position: Yonkers Public Schools
Town, State: Yonkers, NY
Tell us about yourself and your family life:
Born in the Bronx and raised in Yonkers and Carmel, New York, I am the second of three children of Francis and Bridie Patricia (Kelleher) McManus. My grandparents immigrated from Kinawley, Fermanagh and Tubbercurry, Sligo, on my paternal side, and Listowel and Portmagee, Kerry, on my maternal side. I met my husband, Timothy at Gavin’s in East Durham and raised our family in North Yonkers. We have been married for 32 years and are the proud parents of David and Bridget. We are equally proud to be welcoming Kayla Perkins and Christopher Lee to our family in 2025. I was an aide to the Grand Marshall of the Yonkers St. Patrick’s Day Parade on McLean in 2023 and enjoy a Sunday seisiún at Moriarity’s, traveling to Ireland (especially Portmagee, Kerry), and spending time with family in Stone Harbor, NJ.
Tell us about your professional life:
Serving in multiple positions in the Education industry over the past 20 years, I worked at Iona University, College of New Rochelle, Manhattan College, and LIM College. I joined the Yonkers Public Schools in 2021 and currently provide strategic and operational administrative support to the Superintendent of Schools. I hold a BPS in Public Communications from Iona College and an MS in Organizational Leadership from Manhattan College. As the immediate past President of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians (LAOH) Our Lady of Knock, Div. 19-Yonkers, I am grateful for the chance to represent this dynamic group of women who exemplify the motto of Friendship, Unity, and Christian Charity.
What is your connection to Project Children?
As President of the LAOH Division 19, she and her sisters developed a close working relationship with Project Children through their work with the Aisling Irish Community Center. The organization hosted a screening of “How to Defuse a Bomb” at the Bronxville Theater in February 2020, raising money for the Mulcahy Scholarship. I also have a personal connection. My in-laws’, Dave and Mary Ryan, hosted Irish children in their Yonkers home through the Northern Irish Children’s Enterprise (NICE), a sister program to Project Children. Witnessing first-hand the impact that summers in the U.S. had on children from Northern Ireland, and the lasting connection that those summers had on the host families. Tim and I had the pleasure of attending many summer picnics through the 1990’s, enjoying spending time with the children but also with the incredibly funny and devoted chaperones.
Do you have a favorite PC memory?
Aside from the pride I felt watching my father buy John Cheevers a pint after the Bronxville screening, my favorite memory is when two of the Ryan’s “children,” Jackie and Maire, came to Yonkers to celebrate their 40th Birthday’s in 2011. Spending a week in Mary Ryan’s home, and like summers of the past, visited NYC for shopping and pizza in Little Italy. Capping off their visit by marching in the Yonkers St. Patrick’s Day Parade fully outfitted with green feather boas and shamrock head boppers, having the time of their lives! The ladies grew up to be beautify and accomplished women. Their visit was a joyful and special moment for the Ryan family.
Tell us what it means to be a PC ambassador for the PC Picnic and 5k and the Move to Monaghan:
The role as ambassador for Project Children’s picnic, 5K, and Move to Monahan Legacy Initiative is a privilege and honor for Noreen. Having tremendous respect for all that Project Children, Denis and Miriam Mulcahy, the Mulcahy Family, and all the families involved in the program have sacrificed and accomplished to contribute to peace in Northern Ireland, this opportunity allows Noreen to pay back a debt that she feels is owed to all. It also gives her the ability to solidify the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernian’s role in this historic moment in Irish History.
