NY parade rings in new era of inclusion

Associated Press

NEW YORK

From the green line painted on Fifth Avenue to the tartans, pipes and drums, New York’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade reveled in its long traditions. But to the marchers behind a green-and-lavender banner, it also marked a new era of inclusion at the nation’s largest celebration of Irish heritage.

A year after a limited easing of the parade’s prohibition on gay groups, organizers opened the lineup more broadly to include activists who protested the ban for years.

“I never thought I’d see the day when I could march up Fifth Avenue in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade with my husband,” said Brendan Fay, chairman of the Lavender and Green Alliance. “When we started in 1991, after getting arrested so many times for protesting the parade, wow, what a moment this is.”

Roughly 200,000 marchers followed the Fifth Avenue route, flanked by onlookers forming a sea of green.

“We love New York City and the parade and being Irish for a day and having a drop,” said Anna Silver, of Nutley, N.J., laughing with three friends who all wore bright-green T-shirts with green ties and stovepipe hats. “I’m part Irish on my mother’s side, but today I’m totally Irish.”

This year’s parade honored the centennial of Ireland’s Easter Rising against British rule. It was also broadcast live in Ireland and the United Kingdom for the first time. The grand marshal of the parade was former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell of Maine, who negotiated the Northern Ireland peace accord.

The parade traces its history to 1762. For years, organizers said gay people could participate but couldn’t carry signs or buttons celebrating their sexual identities. Organizers said they didn’t want to divert focus from honoring Irish heritage.