Summit Resident to Lead Newark St. Patrick's Day Parade

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee, Inc., are the organizers of the oldest St. Patrick’s Day parade in New Jersey. The committee chose Summit resident Kevin Cummings, president and CEO of  as its Grand Marshal and Sr. Deborah L. Humphreys, Councilor of the Leadership Team of the Sisters of Charity, as Deputy Grand Marshal in its 77^th year. 

The parade will be held on Friday afternoon, March 16.  Grandstand ceremonies will begin at 12:00 pm followed by the official parade kick-off at 1:00 pm.  The parade will commence on Mulberry Street at the Prudential Center, making its way past the Gateway Complex, to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. The route will then pass Military Park on Center Street, to Central Avenue leading up to St. Patrick’s Pro-Cathedral and ending in front of the Newark Museum and Washington Park. 

“We are honored to have Kevin Cummings and Sr. Deborah Humphreys usher the Newark St. Patrick’s Day Parade into its 77^th year,” said Michael D. Byrne, General Chairman of the event.  “We hope Irish-Americans in the City and across the state will support this year’s parade.”

Byrne said the 2012 Grand Marshal and Deputy Grand Marshal have both distinguished themselves in their commitments to their vocations and their heritage. 

Cummings, has raised the profile of his bank both as a business and as a member of the community.  Since 2008, under the leadership of Mr. Cummings, the bank has doubled in size across the region and now has the largest presence in Newark of any bank headquartered in New Jersey.

Sister Deborah, meanwhile, has spent most of the last forty years living and ministering in Newark, particularly in the St. Columba area of the City.

Additionally, featured in the Escort Section of the Parade with the Grand Marshal and the Deputy Grand Marshal, will be family members and friends of the late Mary Rita McGovern to whom the 2012 Parade is dedicated. 

McGovern was homemaker very proud of her five children and 12 grandchildren.  She was supportive of the family business, McGovern’s Tavern in Newark, and was proud of her Irish heritage having taken leadership roles in the McGovern Association, the Women of Irish Heritage of The North and in the world of Irish Dance. 

For more information on the parade or the associated activities of Newark’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee, please contact General Chairman Michael D. Byrne at (973) 746-3280, NewarkParade@gmail.com, Facebook.com/NewarkParade or Twitter.com/NewarkParade.

By Nicole Magnacavello, BML Public Relations