170 names were unveiled Friday on a plaque at the, honoring the long history of the Irish and of Kings Park’s contribution to police service.
From beat cops to a former police commissioner, Kings Park’s history of police service dates back to the 1600’s said Leo Ostebo of the
Former Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer, along with Smithtown Town Councilman Robert Creighton presented the plaque, which is hung outside the school’s auditorium. Creighton is a former Police Commissioner for the Suffolk County Police Department as well as a former Chief Investigator for the Suffolk County DA’s Office
Dormer, a native of County Laois, Ireland, came to America when he was 18, and moved to Kings Park. One of his first connections here was with Cy Donnelly, the first police chief of Smithtown and the first inspector of what was then the newly created Suffolk County Police Department.
Dormer, said of Donnelly, that he was “one of the first people he was taken to see,” upon arriving in America. Donnelly helped him land a job in the kitchen of Kings Park State Hospital, where many local Irish got their start.
Donnelly, was father to , who was on hand with her husband for the event.
“That’s our heritage,” said Ostebo. “There are 170 names there. Almost fifty-percent of the names are Irish. Half the Irish are first generation. Ten percent came off the boat,” he said. “These are our roots.”
Ostebo said he intended the hallway in which the ceremony was held to become a hall of honor where residents who serve in the fire department and military will also be honored.
