New Jersey’s biggest St. Patrick’s Day Parade steps off this Sunday

The Belmar Lake Como St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2025 will be celebrating its 52nd anniversary when it steps off in New Jersey this Sunday, March 2.

According to TAPinto Belmar / Lake Como, there are 6,700 registered marchers for this year's parade and a lineup of 17 Pipe Bands from across the tri-state area.

While the parade is on Sunday, festivities get started on Friday, February 28 when the iconic 'Green Line' is painted down Main Street.

Then on Saturday, March 1, a special Catholic Mass will be held at Church of Saint Rose at 603 Seventh Avenue in Belmar at 10 am.

When is the Belmar Lake Como St. Patrick’s Day Parade?

Sunday, March 2

What time is the Belmar Lake Como St. Patrick’s Day Parade?

The parade steps off at 12 pm.

Where is the Belmar Lake Como St. Patrick’s Day Parade?

The parade begins at Main Street in Lake Como and Belmar. 

Directions to the Belmar Lake Como St. Patrick’s Day Parade

• From North: NJ Turnpike South to Garden State Parkway South, to exit 98. Take 138 east to end. Stay left to Rt. 35 North.
• From South: NJ Turnpike North to 195 East, Take 195 East to end. Stay left to Rt. 35 North.
• From West: Take 295 to 195 East, Take 195 East to end. Stay left to Rt. 35 North.
• RT. 35 North: about 1 mile to Belmar Marina, Park in Marina, Parade on Main St.

What is the Belmar Lake Como St. Patrick's Day Parade route?

Who is the Grand Marshal of the Belmar Lake Como St. Patrick’s Day Parade?

For 2025, there are two Grand Marshals - Matt Lee and Fran Griffin!

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Matt Lee, a resident of Port Monmouth, Middletown, is a member of the Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh club and pipe band in Old Bridge and the AOH Vol. Patrick Torphy Monmouth County Division 2 in Middletown.

Matt can trace his Irish roots back to Carrick on Shannon in Co Roscommon and Cloonagh, Curry in Co Sligo. His maternal grandfather's family also traces their roots back to Co Cork.

Those family connections were strengthened by his wife Mary, whose family comes from Co Monaghan and Co Kerry. Matt and Mary embrace their culture and history for their two sons Jack and Michael, maintaining close relationships with family still living in Ireland.

Matt says he pride in marching in the Belmar parade each year as a Shillelagh piper and club member. He is humbled by this honor as Grand Marshal and is excited to take that stroll down Dave Stanley Avenue with his family and friends.

Meanwhile, Fran Griffin, who joined the Belmar Lake Como St. Patrick's Day Parade in 2004, lives on Seaview Island.

Proud of her Irish American (and a wee bit of Scottish) ancestry, most of Fran's ancestors emigrated in the 19th century from Counties Cork, Galway, Meath, and Roscommon.

Through genealogical research, Fran discovered cousins in Co Galway and, in 2022, traveled there to meet them.

A maternal third great-grandparent’s father was born in Co Down, emigrated to colonial America, and served as a captain in the Continental Army; his mother’s ancestors were on the Mayflower and in Jamestown.

Irish cultural activities were common in the Griffin house, and Fran took step-dancing lessons for a few years. In 1974, the Irish American Association of Northwest NJ was founded, and Fran’s father was one of the original members. The Association organized their first St. Patrick’s Day parade in Wharton in 1979 and her father donated the organization banner in memory of his father which Fran, her brothers, and sister carried as they led that first parade with their parents proudly behind them. After college, Fran learned to play the bagpipes, playing with CuChullain and Rory O’Moore bands in many parades and at area festivals.

Fran says she is honored to have been selected as a Grand Marshal for the 2025 parade along with fellow Grand Marshal Matt Lee. She is looking forward to marching with family and friends and will proudly carry her great-great-grandfather’s blackthorn shillelagh walking stick that her father carried in that first Wharton parade.