Elks to honor Irish Member of the Year

MIDDLETOWN — The Middletown Lodge #771 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks will hold its annual Irish Night / St. Patrick’s Day Dinner Dance on Saturday, March 17 at the Middletown Elks Lodge on Maynard Street.

A cocktail hour will begin at 6 p.m., with the Middletown PBA Pipes & Drums and Irish Step Dancers from the Griffith Academy of Irish Dance performing at 7 p.m. A traditional Irish corned beef dinner will follow at 7:30 p.m. with music and dancing until 11 p.m. Tickets are available from Gerry Daley at 860-347-9315.

The event will also honor the Middletown Elks Irish Member of the Year, Captain Sean Moriarty.

Moriarty moved to Middletown in 1980 and graduated from Middletown High School in 1984. He attended Middlesex Community College and has earned his Associate’s Degree in criminal justice.

He began his public service when he joined the U.S. Army Reserves in 1985 as a military policeman. He then served in the Middle East during the Persian Gulf War in 1990. Following in his family’s occupational footsteps, he has enjoyed a 30-year-career in law enforcement. His grandfather, Cornelius Moriarty, was a police officer in New London from the 1930s to the 1960s. His father, Thomas was a captain in the Connecticut crrectional system. Moriarty’s uncles and cousins were also New York City police officers.

He was hired at the Middletown Police Department in 1987 and rose through the ranks from patrolman, sergeant and lieutenant, and was promoted to Captain in 2011. He now manages over 80 officers on three shifts and various police units. He has experience investigating major crimes, overseeing the SWAT team and scuba unit, and reconstructing major motor vehicle accidents.

Recently, Moriarty worked with Middletown Elks Lodge 771, bringing the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program to the Middletown school system. It teaches children in pre-K to 4th grade four easy steps of what to do if they find a gun: “Stop, Don’t touch, Runaway, Tell a grown up.” He is now working to bring the program to a new generation of students.

Moriarty has served as a basketball coach for the Haddam Recreation Department and referee for its soccer league. He also coached boys and girls Haddam-Killingworth Travel basketball teams.

He has been involved in town politics since 2007 in his hometown and serves on Haddam’s infrastructure committee, and as a trustee at his church.

Moriarty is a proud American/ Irish citizen, having just earned his dual citizenship in Ireland. He has traveled extensively to his families’ homeland and maintains relationships with friends and cousins in Dublin, Killarney, and Ballinskelligs. His father’s side comes from County Kerry and his mother’s side is from County Antrim and County Cork. He is married to Tanja Buzzi Moriarty and is the father of two grown children, Erin and Christopher.