On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Rumson St. Patrick’s Day Parade, I would like to publicly thank Former Mayor John Ekdahl, Mayor Joe Hemphill, and the Rumson Council for their vision and leadership in helping to see the Rumson St. Patrick’s Day Parade become the community event in the borough that we have all come to anticipate and cherish.
 
Our partnership with the borough has been instrumental in the success of the event going back to when Mike Larkin first approached the mayor and council in 2012 with his vision of a town parade.  That vision has grown into an event that attracts over 10,000 people, has supported numerous local charities, and is a good time for families and friends in the Rumson area.

Receiving full support from the Mayor and Borough Council, the first-ever Rumson St. Patrick's Day Parade took place on March 10, 2013. with seven bagpipe bands, 720 marchers, and over 4,000 spectators, the one-hour and fifteen-minute parade was a huge success and has only gotten better over the years.

As a non-profit corporation, the mission of The Rumson St. Patrick’s Day Parade is to celebrate Irish heritage and provide charitable gifts to local organizations that improve the Greater Rumson community.  To date, the Parade has provided financial support to over 22 local organizations that also believe strongly in the spirit of giving.
 
Thanks to the generosity of local businesses, individual donors, corporate sponsors, participants and volunteers, the Rumson St. Patrick’s Day Parade is a community event that will continue to give back for decades to come. 
 
We look forward to seeing everyone next March 10th for the 7th Annual Rumson St. Patrick’s Day Parade, an event that could not have happened without the blessing and support of the Rumson Borough Mayor and Council.
 
Sláinte,
 
Jamie McManus
Board President
Rumson St. Patrick’s Day Parade

In New York City, the first parade honoring the Catholic feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is held by Irish soldiers serving in the British army.

Saint Patrick, who was born in the late 4th century, was one of the most successful Christian missionaries in history. Born in Britain to a Christian family of Roman citizenship, he was taken prisoner at the age of 16 by a group of Irish raiders who attacked his family’s estate. They transported him to Ireland, and he spent six years in captivity before escaping back to Britain.

​Believing he had been called by God to Christianize Ireland, he joined the Catholic Church and studied for 15 years before being consecrated as the church’s second missionary to Ireland. Patrick began his mission to Ireland in 432, and by his death in 461, the island was almost entirely Christian.
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Early Irish settlers to the American colonies, many of whom were indentured servants, brought the Irish tradition of celebrating St. Patrick’s feast day to America. The first recorded St. Patrick’s Day parade was held not in Ireland but in New York City in 1762, and with the dramatic increase of Irish immigrants to the United States in the mid-19th century, the March 17th celebration became widespread.

​Today, across the United States, millions of Americans of Irish ancestry celebrate their cultural identity and history by enjoying St. Patrick’s Day parades and engaging in general revelry.

© Reprint without permission from History.com. Staff, 2010.