The St. Patrick's Day Committee has announced the following activities related to the upcoming 22ND annual St. Patrick's Day Parade set for Saturday, March 15:

The parade begins at 1 p.m. March 15th on the Boardwalk at New Jersey Avenue. It will include pipe bands, string bands, marching bands and floats.

Contact Mike Riordan at 290-7723 or Sheila Harvey, city special events coordinator, at 343-6326.

Contact: Ann McGettigan (609) 652-6476

c/o Atlantic City Saint Patrick's Day Parade

PO Box 1524

Atlantic City, New

 Jersey  08404

In 1981, members of the community of Bayonne joined together to form a committee for the purpose of establishing a Parade Committee o organize, support, and present annually in the month of March,a parade honoring the Patron Saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick.

In March of 1982, after an absence of over 70 years,Bayonne community members once again formed its first Saint Patrick's Parade.The four Irish organizations in the City of Bayonne are referred to herein as the sponsoring organizations.  They are:

Ireland's 32
The Irish American League
The County Corkmen's Association
The County Donegal Association

The governing body of the organization is the steering committee, from which there are elected officers to direct the activities of the organization.  Those officers are:

Bill Dwyer - Chairperson
John Gillespie - Vice Chairperson
Agnes Gillespie - Treasurer
Margaret Calverley - Corresponding Secretary
Theresa Hennessey - Recording Secretary

From its inception the Bayonne Saint Patrick's Parade is held on the Sunday which follows Saint Patrick's Day,except when it falls on Saint Patrick's Day itself.
The 2008 parade will be held on Sunday, March 9th.

To contact the Bayonne Saint Patrick's Parade Committee
please write to: PO Box 4043 - Bayonne, NJ  07002

The St. Patrick's Season is sneaking up on us. We've just announced the upcoming 2008 Fundraisers that help get the parade off it's feet come March 2nd, 2008.

2008 Fundraisers!

JANUARY 13th, 2008
FRIENDLY SONS OF THE SHILLELAGH OLD BRIDGE
15 Oak Street, Old Bridge
Starts at 3PM - 7PM
Complimentary Drink - Hot & Cold Buffet - LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
DONATION: $10.00

JANUARY 27th, 2008
BAR ANTICIPATION (BAR A)
703 16th Ave, Lake Como
Starts at 2PM - 6PM
Complimentary Drink - Hot & Cold Buffet - LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
DONATION: $10.00

FEBRUARY 10th, 2008
JACK'S RIB & ALE HOUSE
Route 35, Neptune City
Starts at 2PM - 6PM
Complimentary Drink - Hot & Cold Buffet - LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
DONATION: $10.00

FEBRUARY 17th, 2008
THE BOATHOUSE
Main Street, Belmar
Starts at 2PM - 6PM
Complimentary Drink - Hot & Cold Buffet - LIVE ENTERTAINMENT: Billy Lawlor
DONATION: $10.00

FEBRUARY 24th, 2008
507 MAIN
Main Street, Belmar
Starts at 2PM - 6PM
Complimentary Drink - Hot & Cold Buffet - LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
DONATION: $10.0

MARCH 1st, 2008
10 A.M. INVESTITURE MASS
ST. ROSE BELMAR
FREE

LUNCHEON AT DOOLAN'S
RT. 71 SPRING LAKE HEIGHTS
DONATION FOR LUNCHEON $25.00

MARCH 2nd, 2008

BELMAR - LAKE COMO SAINT PATRICK'S PARADE - 12:30pm

FOR TICKETS, CONTACT THE PARADE OFFICE: 732.280.2648
OR THE IRISH CENTRE in SPRING LAKE: 732.449.6650

The 27th Annual St. Patrick Day’s Parade will be held on Sunday, March 16th, 2008 at 2:00 pm.  The line of march starts north of the National Guard Armory in Teaneck, New Jersey, and continues north up Washington Avenue in Bergenfield to St. John’s Church. 

Honorees in this years’ parade come from all over Bergen County; Cliffside Park, Closter, Cresskill, Dumont, Teaneck and Ridgefield Park.  The Grand Marshal is Dick Moloney, of Dumont, who was elected by the Bergen County Council of Irish Associations, which sponsors of the parade.  Also elected were Deputy Grand Marshals; Roberta Murphy of Closter and Mike Cremin of Dumont.  The Honorary Grand Marshals are Father Michael Morris of the St. Patrick Fathers of Cliffside Park, Mickey Dawson of Teaneck, Michael R. Dressler of Cresskill, Patricia Early McLoughlin of Ridgefield Park and the Gunning Award recipient, Brian Murphy of Dumont.

Dick Moloney was born and raised in Queens, New York.  His grandparents came from County Clare.  His parents, Nora and Bob, lived across the street from each other on King Street in Manhattan.  Dick met his lovely wife, Eileen, who was the Grand Marshal in the 21st St Patrick s’ Day Parade, at Benjamin Moore & Co., from which he retired after 40 years.  A graduate of Dominican College, Rockland, New York, Dick has served on active duty and as an Army Reservist in the Sixties.  He served two terms as a Councilman in Dumont, New Jersey and also served on the Parish Council of St. Mary’s Church, Dumont.  Dick is particularly proud of the number of years he served on the National Executive Committee of Irish Northern Aid.  Additionally he has served on and is active in the Bergen County Council of Irish Associations, having just completed two years as President.  Dick has been active, and chaired, many community fundraisers and dances over the years.

Dick and Eileen married in 1961, and settled in Dumont in 1968.  They are the proud parents of three girls; Claire, Colleen and Colette.  All three girls have married native-born Irishmen, and live in Dumont.  Eileen and Dick are the very proud grandparents of six grandchildren; Kieran Shane, Deirdre, Mairead, Colin and Megan.  Eileen and Dick spend a lot of wonderful time with their grandchildren.  In an attempt to keep in shape, Dick and his two oldest grandchildren study Tae Kwon Do with Master Kim in Dumont.

Deputy Grand Marshal Roberta Murphy, born in Brooklyn, has roots in Galway and Cork.  Roberta met her husband John as a teenager and married in 1958.  They settled in Closter and raised four children; one daughter was a champion step dancer, while one son became a piper for both Clan na Vale and the Bergen Irish Pipe Bands.  There are now six grandchildren, one, a prize winning step dancer like her mother.

Roberta has been involved with the Bergen County Council since the first parade, marching with George Gunning, the first Grand Marshal, in Hackensack to the present Bergenfield parade.  She has been an officer, a trustee, and was awarded the Gunning Award in 1995.  Roberta was involved with Gaelic League for over 30 years and has been active in the Irish American Social Club for the last several years.  Over this whole period Roberta has been involved in both Irish and community affairs.

Deputy Grand Marshal Mike Cremin is a native Cork man having been born in Cullen, County Cork.  Mike is the eldest of thirteen children.  He immigrated to the United States in 1962.  He has worked for Pan American Airways and United Parcel Service.  He and Mary McMorrow, a native of Corry, County Leitrim, married in 1969 and relocated from the Bronx to lovely Dumont in 1975.  Mike is active in the Knights of Columbus and the Bergen Irish Association.  He has held various offices, including as a member of the Board of Directors, Recording Secretary and Vice President, and has chaired dances and golf outings.

Mary and Michael are the proud parents of two daughters, Sharon and Joan, and four grandchildren; Brittany and Bryan, children of Sharon and her husband Robert Hallenbeck, and Shealyn and Kyra, daughters of Joan and her husband Michael O’Connor.

Honorary Grand Marshal Father Michael Morris of Loch Gowna, County Cavan is the Superior at the St. Patrick Missionary Society’s house in Cliffside Park.  Ordained in 1969 Father Morris spent 10 years in Zimbabwe, Africa.  Coming to the United States in 1992, Father served in Chicago before arriving in Bergen County.  Father is the Chaplin to the Irish American Social Club and the Bergen Irish Association.

Honorary Grand Marshal Michael R. Dressler is serving his second term as the Bergen County Surrogate.  Michael, who received his law degree from Seton Hall University Law School, has been active in politics since 1974.  First as a Councilman in Cresskill and then as Mayor, additionally he has served as the counsel to the county of Bergen and counsel to the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority. 

Honorary Grand Marshal Patricia Early McLoughlin has been involved with Irish dancing and music all her life.  Patsy opened her first dance school in 1968 in Manhattan, and has branches in New York and New Jersey.  Patsy has also been a long standing and respected member of the Irish Dancing Teachers Association on a national and regional level, as well as a proud member of the Bergen Irish Ladies Association.

Honorary Grand Marshal Michael Dawson was born in Letterkenny, County Donegal.  Immigrating to the United States in 1994, he worked in various bars before opening The Cottage Bar on Cedar Lane in Teaneck, New Jersey, along with Liverpool native John Dillion.  The Cottage has become a popular location for socializing, eating and catching live soccer action from across the water.

The Gunning Award, awarded for service behind the scenes for helping the Bergen County Council and parade, has been awarded this year to Brian Murphy of Dumont.  Brian, a graduate of Ramapo College, married Christa Maloney, also of Dumont, in 2006.  Brian has helped with the organization of the parade and the annual Great Hunger Memorial.

All of these individuals have been involved with both the Irish American community and the community at large here in Bergen County.           

Bergen County Council of Irish Associations

Contact: Dick Moloney – 201-384-7985

The Borough will become “Glocca Morra on the Bay” on Saturday, March 24, with more than 100 marching units, including bagpipers, bands and floats, lined up to march in the Highlands Business Partnership’s Fifth Annual St. Patrick’s Parade and Celebration.

Mr. Raymond Cosgrove of Bahrs famous seafood restaurant will lead the parade as the Grand Marshall along with Freeholder Anna C. Little, as Deputy Grand Marshall stepping off promptly at 2PM.   Ray Cosgrove was chosen as Grand Marshall for owning the longest standing business in the borough; Bahrs restaurant is celebrating 90 years. Anna Little is a resident and also has her law practice in Highlands.  The Highlands Business Partnership is proud to have HBP Members serving as the Grand and Deputy Marshals for 2007.  Anna has also served on Highlands Borough Council from 2002 – 2006. 

The parade will begin at Huddy Park, with hundreds scheduled to march along a one-mile stretch of Bay Avenue in the Highlands business district.

The Highlands Business Partnership will host the “Competition of Floats”; all of the Businesses and/or Organizations in the Highlands will be competing in three (3) categories; “Best of Show”, “Prettiest” and the “Most Original”.  A trophy will be awarded to the winners.  The floats will be judged at Check-in time. 

The parade will feature a Stilt Walker, unicycle, and a juggler along with many marchers representing the military, including the Color Guard.   Political, civic, church, environmental and community organizations represented will include county Freeholders, members of local American Legion and VFW posts, fire companies, first aid and rescue units, the Highlands Recreation, the Lakewood Blue Claws with the baseball team’s mascot. 

The Parade entertainment will include the Ocean County Emerald Society, the NJ State Police Pipes and Drums, the Lia Fail Pipes and Drums of Mercer County, the Middlesex County Police and Fire Pipes and Drums, St. Brendan the Navigator Pipes and Drums and the Greater Trenton Pipes and Drums Band, the Union County Pipe and Drum, the Irish American String Band, the Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh and back by popular demand is the Monmouth County Police Pipes and Drums.
 

“Be on the lookout for the all of the festive floats which will be throwing many goodies to the crowds,” said Carla Cefalo-Braswell, president of the Highlands Business Partnership.  “This parade is shaping up to be pretty big, and if the weather’s good, we should get a huge turnout,” she said.

Hundreds of green balloons and bows will decorate participating businesses along the line of march, and a VIP grandstand for dignitaries, Borough officials and their families will be located in front of Borough Hall at 171 Bay Avenue where Shamrocks will be painted in the streets as a marker for the marchers and bands to make a brief stop.  We are honored to have Pastor Marty McGrail of the New Life Christian Church to emcee the Parade at the Grand Viewing Stand.

Members of the Highlands Garden Club will be selling green carnations to spectators along the parade route, and parade-goers can be sure to receive many free giveaways thrown from the many floats competing in the parade. 

If you have not had enough pipes and drums, be sure to pick up a visitor guide and visit one of Highlands’ twenty restaurants where a band will be performing and enjoy their many great Irish specials.

This parade is made possible by the Highlands Business Partnership and our generous sponsors, Comcast, Seastreak, and Foodtown/Food Circus. For additional information visit www.highlandsnj.com or call 732.291.4713.      

Media Contact: Carla Cefalo-Braswell, President - 732-291-4713

Come to Highlands to enjoy one of the largest and most colorful Irish celebrations around! Every year on St. Patrick's Day weekend, Highlands becomes a festive, musical, happy-go-lucky Irish festival. Hundreds of green balloons and bows decorate the businesses on Bay Avenue where the Annual parade takes place.

The St. Patrick's Day Parade is always on the Saturday following St. Patrick's Day. The Parade begins at Huddy Park on Waterwitch and Bay Avenues. It starts promptly at 2PM and features over 100 marching units, including 7 different Bagpipe & Drum bands, and floats. Others that take part in the parade include area Militia, Fire companies, First aid and Rescue units, Fishing Associations, Stilt Walkers, classic cars, and the Henry Hudson Regional School Band. The Highlands Business Partnership is the host of the parade and all the businesses participate with many decorative floats. There is a competition of Floats among the many fine establishments here in the Highlands.