At the annual St. Pat’s for All parade, elected officials marched alongside Sunnysiders in a diverse celebration of Irish and LGBTQ pride.
GEOFFREY COBB | gcobb91839@Aol.com
Author, “Greenpoint Brooklyn’s Forgotten Past
SUNNYSIDE — I could hear it long before I could actually see it. On Sunday March 1st, I was heading to Skillman Avenue, to march along with hundreds of other New Yorkers in the St. Pat’s for All annual parade through Sunnyside and Woodside, Queens, once heavily Irish American parts of Queens. I arrived on Skillman Avenue just in time to see the FDNY Emerald Society Pipes and Drums marching up the avenue, resplendent in their kilts and red jackets, while they belted out unmistakably Celtic rhythms on their bagpipes and drums.
I went to find my group, the New York Irish Center, which was one of about a hundred incredibly divers groups marching in the parade. All kinds of people lined the parade route, many proudly wearing both the rainbow colors and different shades of green. Though the atmosphere was joyous and festive, I recalled a time in the 1990s when Irish gays and lesbians were shunned. Marching in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Fifth Avenue in the 1990s, I remember The Irish Gay and Lesbian Organization, ILGO, protesting their exclusion from the event. ILGO’s exclusion proved divisive and cast a pall over the parade. Many civic leaders refused to march in the Manhattan parade until 2016, when the St. Patrick’s Parade in Manhattan finally allowed the gay and lesbian Lavender and Green Alliance to march with its banner.
City councilmember Julie Won (center) made an appearance at St. Pat’s for All. Photo by Geoffrey Cobb.
In the year 2000, Brendan Fay, an Irish filmmaker, public speaker, Irish immigrant, and LGBT rights activist, founded the St. Pat’s for All Parade as a response to the exclusion of Irish gays and lesbians from parades around New York City, even though gays took part in St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Ireland. The Queens celebration immediately set a precedent for inclusive celebrations of Irish culture. Celebrating inclusion, St. Pat’s for All’s motto is, “cherishing all the children of the nation equally,” words taken from the 1916 Easter Proclamation of the Irish Republic. St. Pat’s For All claims to transcend categorizations as solely a gay pride parade or an Irish parade, embracing the fusion of both and providing a platform for individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation, to come together and celebrate Irish culture.
I asked the Director of the New York Irish Center Irish-born George Heslin about his organization’s participation in the event. Heslin said, “I am honored to say that the New York Irish Center has marched in this all-inclusive parade for more than fifteen years. “
As we marched up Skillman Avenue, we were joined by City Council Representative Julie Won, who is greatly respected in the Queens Irish Community for her solidarity with Irish Americans. Former City Council member and co-founder of the parade, Daniel Drumm, also stopped to pose for pictures with our group. In 2002, he made history becoming the first openly gay elected official in Queens, serving as Democratic District Leader in the 39th Assembly District. In 2009, he was elected to the New York City Council, where he became one of its first openly gay members, representing the diverse communities of the 25th Council District.
St. Pat’s for All continues to welcome individuals from diverse ethnicities and cultures, creating a platform for a vibrant and multicultural celebration. It is not surprising that it has become a cherished yearly celebration in New York’s most ethnically and culturally diverse borough and a symbol of the toleration that makes New York great.
