Montauk St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2026: 5 Things to Know Before You Go 

Before you trek to The End to paint everyone’s favorite drinking village with a fishing problem green with some off-season seaside shenanigans, it is best to plan ahead and not rely on the luck of the Irish to get you there and back.

“The parade is always full of colorful floats, unexpected surprises, and just enough shamrocks to keep us feeling lucky,” Montauk Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jessica Dye said. “It truly is a joyful time for all.”

Most of the unexpected surprises paradegoers find will add to the joy of the 64th annual Friends of Erin Montauk St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Here is a guide to making sure joining the parade’s estimated 40,000 spectators doesn’t go arseways, as they say on the Emerald Isle.

Friends of Erin Montauk St. Patrick’s Day Parade Guide

WHO’S IN CHARGE?

The Montauk friends of Erin named retired East Hampton Town Police Lt. Tom Grenci, a lifelong Montauk resident, to lead this year’s festivities as the 64th Grand Marshall of the Montauk St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Catch him marching with the Amityville Highland Pipe Band.

“I knew and know most of the former Grand Marshals and I’m very proud to be among those great people,” Grenci told our friends at the Montauk Sun.

“The Montauk St. Patrick’s Day Parade has become a part of the fabric of the community over it’s many years, and while the faces in the crowds lining the streets have changed, what has not changed are the smiles on those faces, young and old alike, and the fun all are welcome to join in at this community event,” Montauk Friends of Erin President Brian Matthews wrote in a letter to the community.

THE REAL MCCOY

As Marc Horowitz chronicled for Dan’s Papers, part of the lure of this particular St. Pat’s parade is how it’s tough to spend a day in Montauk without hearing an Irish brogue. The flow of Irish students and summer workers into Montauk has slowed down since its heyday in the 1970s and ’80s. But even today, the snippets of conversation you overhear around the community sometimes sound like they blew in on the wind from County Cork rather than Suffolk County.

The Montauk Friends of Erin was founded by a group of Irish families (dubbed “the original 12”) in 1961 to celebrate their ancestry. The Friends of Erin have staged the Montauk St. Patrick’s Day Parade for the last six decades. If you’re a part of the Irish-American scene in Montauk, you’re probably tied in with the Friends of Erin in one way or another.

DON’T BE AN EEJIT

Like any event involving large crowds and ample alcohol, it would not be unheard of for some revelers to imbibe a few too many libations and make a bad choice or two.

But being in Montauk is not an excuse to start a bar brawl or drive drunk — the same New York State laws against such things apply here.

There are plenty of local crime blotter items of people getting arrested after the parade over the years. Don’t go adding to the annual headlines.

RELATED EVENTS

The main event is on Sunday, but parade-related festivities run all weekend long in Montauk.

The John Behan Grand Marshal Luncheon is scheduled for Friday, March 27, but this event is sold out, so unless you know a leprechaun with some tricks up their sleeve, you’ll likely have to sit this one out.

But there’s also the Cocktail Gala on Saturday March 28 at Gurney’s Ocean Resort, one of the key annual fundraisers that help keep the parade afloat. That one is still open for those looking to make a weekend of the revelry.

And this isn’t an official event, but if you’re in town for the occasion, don’t forget to partake in the traditional “Pause for a Cause,” a time to break and quench your thirst with an honorary shot at the legendary Shagwong Tavern.

THE DEETS

The parade starts at noon on Sunday, March 29 on Edgemere Road and is expected to last about two hours. For more information, visit montaukfriendsoferin.org