Pandemic sidelines Morristown’s St. Patrick’s parade for second year

Looking sharp at the 2019 Morris County St. Patrick's Parade. Photo by Katharine Boyle
Wait till next year...again. The Morris County St. Patrick's Parade, postponed in 2020, has been sidelined again in 2021 by the pandemic. Photo from 2019 by Katharine Boyle
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No luck of the Irish this year, either.

Last winter, the Morris County St. Patrick’s Parade was among Greater Morristown’s first major cancellations, a signal that the pandemic was for real.

The parade will be sidelined again for 2021, organizers said on Sunday.  Grand Marshal Mary Waller is a patient woman.

Mary O’Connor Waller, named Grand Marshal of the 2020 Morris County St. Patrick’s Parade, now will wait until 2022.

“After consulting with local officials, the Trustees of the Morris County St. Patrick’s Parade have decided to postpone the 2021 parade in Morristown with Mary Waller as the Grand Marshal due to the current pandemic,” said Michael Leavy, a spokesman for the parade committee of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and the Irish American Association of Northwest New Jersey.

Parade trustees released a statement:

“Our hope is to conduct the parade at a later date when “when existing gathering restrictions are lifted.”

Morris County’s parade, which describes itself as New Jersey’s largest, dates to 1979.  Ever optimistic, organizers of the nonprofit event, which has raised more than $350,000 for charity, had hoped for a do-over parade last September. But the coronavirus had other ideas.

The parade committee thanked the business community and sponsors for their continued support.

“Thanks to their generosity, we were able to support our local charities in this time of need,” the statement said.

There were parades last year. But they were motorized affairs, organized by the St. Patrick’s committee to deliver food to hospital workers on the front lines of the coronavirus:

Emerald Caravan: Video by Kristen Byrne, April 6, 2020:

Parade for heroes, May 7, 2020:

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Oh well, looks like we’ll have to wait until 2022 or by some miracle manage to reschedule it to halfway point. Either way it’s worth the wait, so stay safe and healthy everyone, and also have a safe St. Patrick’s Day too.
    Your amazing friend,
    Josh Gomez aka The Shamrocker Who’s hoped of joining the parade someday.
    PS
    Musha Ring Dumb a do dumb a da, whack for my daddy-o whack for my daddy-o there’s whiskey in the jar-o. just like what Thin Lizzy sings

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