By Donald Wittkowski
Perhaps they’ll down a few pints of Guinness. Or maybe they’ll sip on some Irish whiskey.
While it is not yet known what they’ll be drinking, several ladies from St. Joseph Catholic Church in Sea Isle City are expected to continue their St. Patrick’s Day tradition on Saturday by stopping in at O’Donnell’s Pour House right after services.
“We have some ladies who come here directly from church,” explained Michael Roberts, co-owner of O’Donnell’s. “They’ve been here every year.”
The church ladies will likely be joined by big crowds filling Sea Isle’s bars, restaurants and shops for the holiday weekend in a burst of partying and parading at the Jersey Shore after a long, dreary winter.
“As soon as we open, we have a crowd,” Roberts said of O’Donnell’s, an Irish pub and restaurant on Landis Avenue in the heart of downtown. “Right when we open up, we stay busy all day.”
Roberts is also co-owner of the Ocean Drive, the legendary bar and nightclub on Landis Avenue that has entertained legions of seashore customers in a building that dates to the late 1800s.
Known affectionally as the “OD,” the Ocean Drive is also gearing up for a high-energy St. Paddy’s Day celebration over the weekend, Roberts said. Performing at the OD on Saturday night will be the popular two-man cover band “Secret Service,” a centerpiece of the bar’s entertainment since the 1980s.
St. Patrick’s Day usually signals the end of the winter hibernation at the Jersey Shore. With spring officially arriving next week, many of the people who own vacation homes in Sea Isle use the holiday to get an early start on preparations for the summer season.
“It’s a nice excuse for them to come down for the weekend,” said Christopher Glancey, president of the Sea Isle City Chamber of Commerce and Revitalization. “They can dust off the cobwebs from winter and get ready for summer.”
Glancey noted that the holiday crowds are expected to give a boost to local businesses, especially the dining and drinking establishments.
“This is always a nice weekend for Sea Isle. It’s a big weekend for the bars, liquor stores and restaurants,” said Glancey, who owns the Diamonds Liquor Store on Landis Avenue.
Adding to Sea Isle’s Irish-themed celebration is the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, a lively procession of green clothing, hats, wigs and shamrocks that marches down Landis Avenue accompanied by drums and wailing bagpipes.
The parade is scheduled to get underway at 3:30 p.m. on 83rd Street and will make its way along Landis Avenue to 63rd Street.
This will be the 28th year that Mayor Leonard Desiderio and his family have sponsored the St. Patrick’s Day parade. They also host the town’s Columbus Day parade.
Kix McNutley’s, the Landis Avenue bar and entertainment complex owned by Desiderio, will serve as the epicenter for the pre-parade partying as well as the celebration of festive music that will follow.
Last year’s parade unfolded on a blustery day with temperatures stuck in the 30s. Even the leprechaun who headed the colorful procession was bundled up in extra layers of green clothing.
Saturday’s forecast calls for sunny skies in the morning giving way to clouds in the afternoon and a high temperature of 47 degrees.
“The only thing we need is for the weather to cooperate,” Roberts said of the holiday weekend.
