Woodbridge St. Patrick's Day Parade Is March 12 This Year

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — The Woodbridge St. Patrick’s Day parade will kick off at 1:30 p.m. March 12 this year. It starts at Woodbridge High School and ends at Town Hall.

Hosted by the Woodbridge American-Irish Association, a group that is very involved in the Woodbridge community, this is the largest St. Patrick's Day parade in New Jersey, attracting the most crowds and turnout, year over year.

Woodbridge resident Kenneth Egan was named the 2023 parade's grand marshal. Parade chair is Ben Campbell.

"Family and community service are at the center of this year’s honorees," said the Woodbridge American-Irish Association.

“Nothing would be possible without the love of my family and friends," said Egan. "Thank you all for sharing in this great day to be Irish.”

Every year, Egan takes on the challenging job of bringing pipe & drum bands and other entertainment groups to the parade. He works on the parade year round.

Egan is from the Menlo Park Terrace section of Woodbridge and traces his Irish roots to Nenagh, a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. He attended Saint Cecilia’s Roman Catholic School and Woodbridge High School, where he met his wife, Nancy Jean. They were blessed with three children. Patrick, Melissa (called to Heaven in 2015) and Danielle (plus her husband, son-in-law Joseph). The couple also has grandchildren Richard, Annabelle and Giuseppe Renato.

Like his father and brother before him, and his son after him, Egan enlisted in the U.S. Navy and the Naval Reserves. He became the youngest senior chief stationary engineer in the history of New York state. As part of his job, he was a first responder during both the ‘94 WTC attack and on Sept. 11, 2001. He has been the past Woodbridge American-Irish Association director, president, parade chair and Irish Man of the Year. He is the Faithful Navigator of the Woodbridge Knights of Columbus, Fourth Degree and Council 857. Ken is also a eucharistic minister at Our Lady of Peace.

Irish Lady of the Year: Mary Natale (White), known as Mrs. White by students who were fortunate to have her as their first grade teacher at Mawbey St. School #1. She has two daughters, Kerri Tagliareni (son-in-law Vincent) and Allison White. Mary cherishes her two beautiful granddaughters Sophia and Olivia, and her fur baby Molly. A past parade chair, she currently heads our Justin McCarthy Scholarship Committee.

Irish Man of the Year: Jim McFadden. A retired principal for the Carteret school district. He served as girls basketball coach, girls gymnastics coach and track coach. He also dedicated a year chairing the 2021 parade, which was canceled by the pandemic. However, he then initiated and chaired Woodbridge's first-ever "Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day" celebration. He and his wife of 48 years, Kathy, live in Colonia. Their children are James (wife Nicole), Aileen (partner Christopher) and Thomas (wife Nicole). Grandchildren Gaby, Aly & Finn are constant sources of love, laughter & joy in his life.

Miss American Irish: Victoria Gomez. Victoria’s grandparents are American-Irish Association members Connie (from County Donegal) and Fran O’Donnell. Victoria graduated from Colonia High School, where she was inducted into Honor Societies (National, Quill & Scroll and Spanish) and was in the color guard. One of her proudest achievements in high school was being awarded a top honor of having nearly 500 hours of community service. Many of those hours were spent at Hand in Hand dances for Woodbridge's special-needs adults. Victoria is currently a student at Kean University.

Irish Lady in Waiting: Brittany Bader. Brittany graduated from Woodbridge High and is the niece of Association members Ken & Janine Gardner. She is a freshman at The College of New Jersey. At Woodbridge High School, Brittany was a senior class officer, captain of the soccer team and a member of the track team. She was inducted into Honor Societies (National, Spanish, Math, Science & Social Studies). She has done community service at St. James Church and with the American Irish Association.

The Woodbridge American Irish Association is a civic organization that meets monthly, sponsors the Justin McCarthy Scholarship, maintains the Charlie Shaughnessy Park, visits the Menlo Park Veterans Home and puts up handicap ramps around town, plus more.

The parade is funded with ads from local businesses and donations. To participate please go to Amerirish.com or visit them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ameri...