The United Irish Institute of New Jersey is a cultural, nonpolitical organization founded in Essex County, NJ, in 1965 to preserve Irish heritage and tradition.

The organization’s many divisions included a committee on Immigration, a Drama Department, which performed works by Ireland’s premier authors and playwrights, and the revitalization of the Annual Easter Commemoration in Newark.

During the late 1940’s, three Irish immigrants, Nick McCoy, John Elwood, and Tom Brennan had sponsored an annual Easter Commemorative March and Mass in Newark. One of the first projects of the United Irish Institute, following it’s formation in 1965, was to restore and regenerate this tribute. On Easter Sunday, April 10, 1966, the 50th Anniversary of the 1916 Irish Uprising, the organization once again took to the streets of downtown Newark to commemorate this event.

The Saint Columcille United Gaelic Pipe Band, under the leadership of Pipe Major J. Patrick McGonigal, escorted the marchers to Saint Patrick’s Pro Cathedral where the 12:15 Mass was offered in honor of those who had given their lives for the cause of Irish freedom. The Saint Columcille Band has continued to lead this march annually up to the present day.