Episode 2.6 (Mary McCluskey): Marching to an Ancient Beat

In season two of the "Finding Home" podcast series, Irish American Archives Society Executive Director Margaret Lynch interviews an array of Clevelanders with specialized knowledge and stories about the history of the Irish in Cleveland. This episode features an interview with Mary McCluskey. The Ladies Drill Team of the West Side Irish American Club dates back to the club's first decade in the 1930s. And yet, the recently retired Mary Hastings McCluskey was only the team's third leader. Succeeding Carol McGinty, who followed team founder Colletta Masterson Jablonski, Mary McCluskey led the group for more than 50 years. McCluskey first started coming to the West Side Club in the 1950s with her father, Thomas Hastings, who had helped to found the men's Fife and Drum marching unit. Mary joined the drill team as a freshman in high school in 1957. In this interview she recalls six decades of carrying a vibrant community tradition forward.