Reidy is 2009 Irish Mayor for the Day

WINSTED — Keeping the St. Patrick’s Day tradition alive, Mayor Kenneth Francasso handed over the reins for the day to John Reidy, the 2009 Irish Mayor for the Day.

Reidy, 55, said Tuesday morning that while he had no intention of being the town’s mayor, a job where “there’s no winning,â€� he enjoyed his day of schmoozing and shaking hands with Town Hall employees and residents. His biggest decision of the day was where to have lunch; he said he would leave the budget to the elected mayor and enjoy the beautiful day as a guest mayor of Winsted.  

Reidy, whose grandparents came to the United States from Ireland, was raised in Winsted. The fifth of nine, he was the son of a doctor and enjoyed his father’s good Irish wit and sense of humor — which Reidy said he hopes he has acquired.

Reidy’s uncle, grandfather and great-uncle were also doctors and founded the Reidy Sanctuary, a hospital on Winsted’s Main Street, prior to the Winsted Hospital’s opening. The building, now know as the AT&T building, is located next door to Town Hall.

After completing school in town, Reidy moved to Boston. During a trip home for Thanksgiving, he was introduced to Sue Ellen Garrity, a Winsted woman. She also lived in Boston and was home visiting family. The two continued to date after they returned to Massachusetts and then married in 1984. They moved to Winsted in 1987 and have  two children, Jackson, 15, and Owen, 13.

In his professional life, Reidy works as a sales manager for Putnam Tennis and Recreation in Harwinton. Prior to that he worked as a real estate agent in Winsted and Cambridge, Mass.

While most of his spare time is spent with his children, Reidy said he enjoys playing golf and attending UConn games. He hopes to one day be able to see Ireland.

“Out of nine children and my mother, who is still alive, there’s only a couple of us that haven’t been and I haven’t. I would like to go some day,� said Reidy.

But until then, he can at least say he enjoyed a perk of being Irish: earning the title of Irish mayor and enjoying St. Patrick’s Day in a non-traditional way in a strong Irish town.

“I think in Winsted you’re either Irish, Italian or half-Irish, half-Italian, but of course I think everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. They’re given that one-day gift.�

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