Rumson – Holy Cross Church will be celebrating its 2nd Annual Gaelic Mass and Irish Parade/Festival in honor of St. Patrick’s Day on Saturday, March 13.

The event will begin with a gathering before 8:00 a.m. on Ocean Avenue in Sea Bright near the base of the Sea Bright Bridge followed by a parade of flags and bagpipes marching over the Sea Bright Bridge at 8:15 am – emulating St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland.

The parade, consisting of children, parents, and friends of the parish, will lead to the doors of Holy Cross Church for 9:00 a.m. Irish language Mass.

Rev. Andrew O’Connor of Holy Family Church in the Bronx will celebrate the Mass in Gaelic while worshipers follow along with bilingual materials.

Following the Mass, the bagpipers will lead the participants to the Holy Cross Gymatorium where the parish will host an Irish Brunch and Festival featuring three hours of Irish themed activities for children and adults.

A traditional Irish breakfast of eggs, bangers and mash, sausages, soda and brown breads, scones, coffee and tea will be served in addition to traditional Irish music provided by the band Trinity and solo performance by David McCarthy, Irish step dancing, folklore telling, poetry readings of Yeats, and guest speakers of Irish descent. A magician, Irish themed face painting and a balloon artist will help the children celebrate St. Patrick’s spirit with creations of Celtic Crosses, shillelaghs, shamrocks, and flags.

This is the second year Holy Cross will be hosting the Irish Festival which was sold out last year. Event organizer Pete Hogan attributed the success of the event by saying “This type of event is long overdue for people of Irish descent. There’s much more to being Irish than corned beef and cabbage – it’s faith, tradition, and heritage.”

The parade and Mass are free of charge and open to the public for admission. Tickets at the door for the brunch/festival are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $10 for children with a family maximum of $70.
For more information and order tickets in advance, please call Holy Cross at 732-842-0348 press ext.2 for the HC parish center, then ext.1 for Eileen George or email egeorge@holycrossrumson.org