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Morristown taverns donate $35K for St. Patrick’s Parade do-over

Families who own three Morristown bars have contributed $35,000 toward the re-scheduled Morris County St. Patrick's Day Parade, which will be held on April 10.

"We've been making money that we wouldn't have been making (on Parade Day) for the last five years....we figured maybe we'll lose this year, but if we put it in, taxpayers don't lose a dollar. We're all from the community," said Billy Walsh, a majority owner, along with his wife, Susan, of Sona Thirteen on South Street.

Billy's father, Bill Sr., is a majority owner of the Dark Horse Lounge and Tashmoo. Billy's brother Dave is a partner in Tashmoo and brother Pat is involved with the Dark Horse. Dave Gsell, who is a Walsh in-law, and Chris Knoll are partners in Sona Thirteen, and Matt Wirth has a stake in all three bars, Billy said.

"We've always been an Irish family," said Pat Walsh. "The St. Patrick's Day Parade is really good for our business. Anything we can do to make it happen is good."

Bad weather postponed the parade on March 13, only the second cancellation in 32 years. There has been some controversy about how much of the security costs should be paid by parade organizers.

John Butler, the parade Grand Marshal, said the taverns' donation should enable the committee to continue donating money to charity at a figure close to last year's $25,000. The parade is privately funded. A final decision on how to allocate the taverns' donation probably will be made in May, John said.

The committee is contemplating giving $20,000 towards police costs--in addition to the $8,500 it usually donates for that purpose, John said.

John said some $18,000 already was spent on bands that showed up for the March 13 parade, which was canceled just moments before the noon start time. At least 16 bands have indicated they will return.

"We'll supplement money to the municipality as best we can," said Richard Smith, finance chair for the parade. "We will be as generous as we can to take the load of taxpayers. But as we've said many times, we don't feel responsible for policing the bars at night."

Morristown's council approved the April 10 makeup date by a 3-2 vote this week. Councilman Kevin Gsell, David Gsell's brother, voted for the makeup date.

The Dark Horse Lounge awaits a hearing before the town on complaints against its liquor license. Billy Walsh said the case has been "in limbo" for months and he did not think the parade donation would affect the outcome.

Next year, the parade committee probably will include a rain date in its initial round of applications, John Butler said.

"Going through the second part of the (rescheduling) process is painful," he said.

This article was published on NJ.com on 25.3.2010. To read the full article or for contact information click here.

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