Taoiseach ‘proud’ to march in parade decried as homophobic
Mr Kenny said his participation in the parade — attended by more than one million spectators who lined Fifth Avenue — was “a real opportunity to continue to express the solidarity that we have with Irish America”.
“Many people in the parade today are members of the gay community, and they are marching proudly in the St Patrick’s Day parade as I will myself on behalf of my country.”
Mr Kenny did not pass the 50 or so protesters who had gathered along the march, because he was taking a break from the route to meet the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
Speaking before the parade, he defended his decision to march, referring to a 1993 federal court ruling on the issue — upheld by the Supreme Court — that the organisers were within their rights to exclude gay symbolism.
“A determination was given there. There are legal issues here and I don’t want to get into the detail of this.” Mr Kenny said.
“What I am saying is that this is St Patrick’s Day — the 17th of March, 2014: 180,000 people will march in New York today. Many of those are gay people and they march proudly in the St Patrick’s Day parade, as I do myself.”
Emmaia Gelman of Irish Queers New York organised the protest and said the parade was “the biggest annual celebration of homophobia in the world”.
She said it has been an exclusionary parade since the 1990s. “The courts said that it was legal for the parade to exclude because it is a private procession — that doesn’t make it right and it certainly doesn’t make it right for public officials to participate in the parade. It is a private exclusionary message but public officials represent all of the people,” she said.
Another protester, John Francis Mulligan, said: “The Taoiseach said he is marching today. He is from Mayo, he should know about boycotts — that’s where they began. There has been a boycott of this St Patrick’s Day parade for 23 years. He is not honouring that.
“He is not honouring what the gay community is asking in Ireland. Loads of organisations in Ireland have asked him not to march and he is saying that it is his right to march and that is so offensive.”
Mr Kenny told reporters the Government sent a representative, junior minister Ciarán Cannon, to an inclusive parade in the city earlier this month. “And I would remind you again that in Ireland we offer the people the opportunity next year to vote on the equality of marriage question. This, as I say, is Ireland’s day and I am proud to march for my country as this leader,” he said.
