Special Guests, Contests & More Planned For Freehold Borough St. Patrick's Day Parade

FREEHOLD BOROUGH, NJ — When Grand Marshall Tim MacCutcheon and Community Grand Marshall Tommy Taylor step off to lead the Freehold Borough Arts Council’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 16, they’ll be joined by some special guests.

Freehold Borough and Rathangan, Co. Kildare, Ireland are officially “twinned” communities, borough officials said, and for this year's parade, a group from the Irish village is set to travel to the borough and further develop the “twinning” process.

Rathangan, which is the ancestral home to multiple Freehold residents, is also the ancestral home of Bruce Springsteen, whose great-grandmother Ann Geraty emigrated to the borough in 1853.

“New Jersey and Ireland, and, more importantly, those that call these two wonderful places ‘home,’ have a lot more in common than most people might realize,” Mayor Kevin Kane said. “We are as proud of our connection to Rathangan as we are of our connection to Bruce Springsteen, and we are going to celebrate that as much as we can.”

In 2024, Kane and a delegation of residents visited Rathangan to progress the twinning process.

At his May concert in Croke Park, Springsteen even gave a shout-out to Kane and his relatives from Rathangan, noting the towns’ connection. He then dedicated the song “My Hometown” to "his homies."

“Freehold Borough’s vibrant small business community will be awash in green for the St. Patrick’s Day parade,” said Councilman Jeff Friedman, who also serves as the Executive Director of Downtown Freehold and president of the Freehold Borough Arts Council.

“We look forward to welcoming visitors from across the area, and our special guests from Rathangan," Friedman continued. "On March 16, we will all be a little bit Irish!”

The March 16 parade will step off at 12:30 and be preceded by check-in at 10:40 a.m. Assembly will take place at 11:30 a.m. on West Main, and the Grand Marshal Induction Ceremony will be in front of the American Legion Freehold-Monmouth Port 54.

There will also be contests for Best Dressed Baby (under 3 y/o), Best Dressed Dog, Best Dressed Adult, Best Decorated Bicycle and Best Dressed Motorcycle.

The parade route will run down Main Street and end at Freehold Elks Lodge 1454.

For more information and to see the complete list of afterparties, you can visit the Freehold Borough Arts Council St. Patrick’s Day Parade website.

For those interested in marching or volunteering to help, you can email Councilman Friedman at jfriedman10@hotmail.com.