Fairytale of New York for Geraldine
‘It was without doubt the best night that would not have been possible without Officer Dicandia’s generosity and kindness’
THE chance meeting of a New York police officer and a Drogheda family hoping to see the hit Broadway production of ‘Hamilton’ sparked a media frenzy as the press descended on the seasonal ‘fairytale of New York’ story.
Geraldine McKenna and her daughters were in the ‘Big Apple’ on holidays recently and were determined to catch a performance of ‘Hamilton’ - but so were thousands of others.
They tried for tickets for four days and just when it seemed that they wouldn’t get them, low and behold, three tickets become available at the last minute.
When they went to pay for them at the theatre, they found they were $20 short.
They were given a short time to get the last few dollars and as they hurried from the theatre, met Officer Rick Dicandia of the Times Square Unit, NYPD.
They explained their story and the next thing, the big hearted policeman produced a $20 note and gave it to them.
When Geraldine arrived home, she sent a note to the Mayor’s office.
“We were totally overjoyed and beyond grateful when he opened his wallet and just handed us $20. My daughter was crying when she was speaking to him.
‘It was without doubt the best night that would not have been possible without Officer DiCandia’s generosity and kindness,’ she said.
“He understood the magnitude of the emergency and pulled a 20 out of his pocket so she didn’t have to throw away her shot,” the NYPD said in a Facebook post.
Though Geraldine was there to see the stage show, she used a title from a popular movie to describe her Broadway saviour: An officer and a gentleman.