[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 29 (Tuesday, March 17, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E397]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E397]]
                    TRIBUTE TO PATRICK WILLIAM CADY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. THOMAS J. MANTON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 17, 1998

  Mr. MANTON. Mr. Speaker, the Washington, D.C. St. Patrick's Day 
parade took place this past Sunday. Today is the proper occasion to 
congratulate and pay tribute to Patrick William ``Pat'' Cady, who was 
honored as the Nation's Capital Gael of the Year. This is an annual 
award which recognizes an individual from the local Washington Irish-
American community for their efforts on behalf of Irish and Irish-
Americans everywhere. It would be difficult to find anyone more worthy 
of such an honor than my friend Pat Cady.
  I commend and encourage my colleagues to read the exceptional article 
I have included about Pat's extraordinary life written by Ms. Marie 
Matthews.

          Patrick William Cady: The Irish Eye Gael of the Year

                          (By Marie Matthews)

       The Irish Eye. If you've been to an event in Washington's 
     Irish-American community during the last twenty years, you've 
     seen him, camera in hand, recording our memories. The Saint 
     Patrick's Day Parade is proud and pleased to honor our Gael 
     of the Year, Pat Cady.
       Pat was born on March 8, 1923, in South Boston, 
     Massachusetts. Contrary to the belief of many people, he 
     didn't have a camera with him. His parents were Mary Joyce 
     and James Keady, immigrants from County Galway. They had nine 
     children, five boys and four girls. Some time before the last 
     child was born, the spelling of the name was changed to 
     reflect its Gaelic pronunciation.
       When Pat was in his early teens, he picked up a family 
     camera and began taking pictures. He shot hundreds of 
     pictures of his sister, Rita, who was the only child younger 
     than he and who was willing to pose when he asked. Soon 
     after, he joined the Boys' Club in South Boston and began 
     recording their activities on film--sporting events, marches, 
     just hanging around. He set up a darkroom at the Club and 
     taught other boys how to take pictures.
       The first camera he bought for himself was a large camera 
     designed for making postcards. Pat still has negatives from 
     that time and from his time with the Boys' Club.
       While in high school, Pat worked in the metal shop before 
     school started, lighting the fire in the furnace and 
     preparing tools to be used by the students that day. He 
     graduated from South Boston High School and joined the 
     Navy, expecting to begin a career as a metalsmith. He was 
     prepared to go to metal training, when a Lieutenant Cady 
     (no relation) offered him an alternative: he could stay in 
     boot camp several more months or he could go to New York 
     City to be trained as a photographer. It didn't take Pat 
     very long at all to make a career decision.
       The March of Time was the division of Time-Life that 
     produced short films shown in newsreel theaters. The director 
     of the March of Time believed the Navy needed more publicity 
     and had offered to train Navy photographers along with Time-
     Life staff. In addition to an interest in photography, 
     requirements were willingness and ability to carry cameras 
     weighing 125 pounds. Pat began his formal training there in 
     May 1941 and learned his craft by working with professional 
     cinematographers on location in New York, New England and 
     North Carolina. The training was scheduled to last six 
     months, but shortly before completion, Pearl Harbor was 
     bombed, and the country was at war.
       The new year found Pat on a ship bound for the Pacific. He 
     arrived in Bora Bora and began to document soldiers and 
     sailors establishing the first base away from American 
     shores. He learned to tell a story in the length of one roll 
     of film--one minute. Occasionally, longer stories were 
     necessary, and they were allowed two minutes. Just when he 
     and his team thought they had run out of subjects to film, 
     Admiral Byrd arrived for an inspection tour and gave them 
     additional assignments. He is still in touch with his 
     teammates from that time. After several months, Pat was 
     transferred to the Hebrides, expecting to continue filming 
     short subjects. The skipper there told him they didn't need 
     movies, they needed aerial photography. Pat found himself in 
     low-flying planes with the Army Air Corps (before it became 
     the Air Force), flying in the last plane in bombing missions, 
     documenting the results of the damage done by the planes 
     ahead.
       Two years later, Pat was transferred back to the States, to 
     Washington. It was here that he married his high school 
     sweetheart from South Boston in February 1944. Soon after, 
     Pat received orders to report to the Navy studio in 
     Hollywood, and he and Florence established a home around the 
     corner from Schwabs' drug store. Pat began serious training 
     with Hollywood professionals, making training films. A year 
     later, he had his own crew.
       When the Korean action began, Pat was sent back to the 
     Pacific as part of a combat camera group. He lived in Korea 
     and Japan. About this time, he was also shooting film that 
     was used by Warner Brothers in their movies. If you've gazed 
     at the ships heading out to sea at sunrise along with Henry 
     Fonda in Mister Roberts, you've seen Pat's work. The seamen 
     spelling out Navy Log on the deck of their carrier at the 
     opening of that television series were also filmed by Pat. 
     Today, he still sees film he shot during that period in 
     various television productions.
       Pat moved back to Washington and worked for the Naval 
     Photographic Center, making training films for the Navy and 
     the Marines. He became the first enlisted man to hold the 
     position of Motion Picture Project Supervisor. Pat retired 
     from the Navy in 1961, but continued to produce films for 
     them for another twenty years.
       In 1976, he attended his first St. Patrick's Day Parade in 
     Washington and began taking pictures. A year later, he heard 
     on the radio that the Parade Committee needed volunteers and 
     he offered to assist the Parade's photographer. He has been 
     giving his time, talent, film, good sense and ideas ever 
     since.
       Pat then became active in other Irish American groups. He 
     was a founding member of the John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 
     Division 5, of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Today, he is 
     the OAH's national photographer. He is also a valued member 
     of the Irish American Club of Washington, D.C.; the Police 
     Emerald Society; the Roscommon Society; the Nation's Capital 
     Feis Committee; the Ballyshaners; the Washington Gaels; the 
     Greater Washington Ceili Club; Project Children, and the 
     Belfast Children's Summer Program. These organizations rely 
     on Pat to photograph their events and to be a voice of reason 
     and conciliation. He has never let them down.
       Pat's beloved wife, Florence, and his daughter Rosemary, 
     passed away several years ago. Rosemary's husband, Bruce 
     Wagner, and their children, Denise, Sean, and James, live in 
     North Carolina. Son George and his wife Susan live in 
     Maryland. Patricia, her husband, Ross Wilcox, and sons Philip 
     and Patrick, live in Delaware. The oldest child, Florence, 
     and her husband Brian Gapsis, live in Ellicott City with 
     Briana, Austin, and Silke. And Florence's daughter, Karen, is 
     expected to deliver Pat's first great-grandchild between his 
     birthday on March 8 and St. Patrick's Day.
       Pat would like all of us to understand why the car carrying 
     him in the Parade is weaving down Constitution Avenue. It's 
     not because his driver has begun toasting St. Patrick a wee 
     bit early. It's because Pat is recording the Parade from a 
     new vantage point. Smile--you are becoming a part of our 
     memory of this event honoring a special Irish-American, 
     Patrick William Cady, Gael of the year.

     

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