Mark Edwards was born in Brooklyn, NY on August 1, 1964. His father David was born in County Dublin and his mother Monica (nee Brennan) was born in Brooklyn, NY to parents from Counties Mayo and Kilkenny. He is the older brother to Brian, Paul and Tara.  The Edwards Family moved to Rockaway Beach in 1973 where Mark attended P.S. 114, J.H.S 180 and Beach Channel High School. Mark met Alice Foley while in high school in 1980.  They were married in 1989, and are the proud parents of three, Maeghan (31), a NYC school teacher, Sean (30), a NYC firefighter and Maura (17), a college bound student. In 1985, Mark began working for Con Edison, and in 1994, he became a High Voltage Troubleshooter in Con Edison’s Brooklyn Emergency Department. He will be retiring from Con Edison in August 2023 with 38 years of outstanding service. Mark’s love for Irish culture and music started at an early age. When he was 13 years old, he spent three months in Ireland with his aunt, uncle and cousins and grew to love the country and the culture even more. As a father, he passed on this love to his children with several family trips to Ireland over the years. With deep pride for his Irish heritage and faith, Mark joined the Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 21 Rockaway Beach/Breezy Point where he has served as President for the past 14-years. AOH Division 21 organizes the Rockaway Irish Festival, the proceeds of which benefit local Catholic churches and community minded organizations. Mark is also a past Vice President and Treasurer of the Queens County AOH, a member of the Knight of Columbus Division #2672, and a member of the Rockaway Graybeards.  Mark and his family are extremely proud he has been selected as Aide to the Grand Marshal for the 2023 NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade.