Disgraceful Dunleavy

WHY is anyone surprised by the actions and words of John Dunleavy and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee in New York?

Mr. Dunleavy has been an embarrassment to New York and to the Irish and Irish American communities for years. He has consistently shown himself to be a bigoted megalomaniac.

He said last year that he wanted nothing to do with the Irish Immigration Reform Movement and the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform. He and the Parade Committee have continued to perpetuate the stereotype of the prejudiced, drunken Irish Neanderthal in their handling of an exclusionary parade.

Contrast the New York parade with Dublin’s. The lord mayor of Dublin saw fit to invite Christine Quinn, our City Council speaker, to march with him, members of the Dail (Irish Parliament) and the Dublin City Council. She accepted, and other members of the New York City Council will march with her.

Her participation in the Dublin parade helps negate the image here that Dunleavy presents as he and the New York Parade Committee continue their practice of denying places to many groups who have contributed to the Irish community in New York and in Ireland.

His discriminatory practices and his tyrannical hand have come home now to the FDNY. He has been out of step with today’s Irish for a long, long time.

Kevin P. Coogan
Riverdale, New York

The Squabbling Irish

APPARENTLY there is more than one form of March madness, judging from the main story in last week’s Irish Voice. Granted the FDNY Emerald Society was justifiably aggrieved about being bumped from their premier position to a more plebian one as punishment for an alleged minor infraction of the parade rules.

The FDNY has a cherished place in the lore of New York City. However, the response to such a slight or demolition was way over the top. It seemed a case of making a mountain out of a molehill.

Given that the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform’s rally in Washington and the elections for the Northern Assembly were imminent, it was strange to see this non-existent crisis emblazoned across the front page.

Inside this undiplomatic event garnered copious amounts of print, consuming a page and a half plus a substantial part of the editorial page. The coverage seemed excessive for such tomfoolery that was precipitated by a person you labeled as the “chief bottle washer” of the parade.

Then, suggesting that the top cardinal in the U.S. be designated as a mediator in this squabble is extreme, if not simply ridiculous.

Giving inordinate attention and prominence to these shenanigans just perpetuates the stereotype of the squabbling Irish. The parade squabble is a mere footnote, not front page news.

Frank Brady
Yonkers, New York

Jewish Heritage

SOME history for St. Patrick’s Day Ireland welcomed approximately 2,000 Jewish refugees fleeing Eastern Europe between 1880 and 1910. The Irish Jewish Museum located in Dublin’s Clanbrassil Street area (known as Dublin’s Little Jerusalem) was opened by Dublin-born president of Israel Dr. Chaim Herzog in 1985.

Herzog attended Trinity College and spoke Yiddish with an Irish brogue. He loved the Irish people. When he was elected president in 1985 Herzog started the first St. Patrick’s Day parade in Israel.

The museum contains memorabilia of the Jewish community’s contributions to present day Ireland – for example, Mr. Robert Briscoe was elected lord mayor of Dublin in 1956 and ’61. And his son Ben Briscoe was lord mayor in 1988.

Joyce’s Leopold Bloom (Ulysses) was born on Clanbrassil Street. A plaque on the house next door to the museum reads: “Barry FitzGerald (William Shields) … 1901-1988 … Abbey Theatre … Oscar winning actor lived here.”

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Brother Ed Kent
Fresh Meadows, New York

Atrocities Against Republicans

I AM writing in response to John Gregg’s letter “Justice for Unionists” (February 28-March 6). The sad part is that he thinks like Irish Voice columnist John Spain. Gregg talks about Enniskillen, Bloody Friday and the Darkley Mission Hall massacre. But what about Loughall, Gibraltar, the hunger strikers, Bloody Sunday (both of them). How about Unionists throwing hand grenades at the kids in a Catholic school not too long ago?

How about the three boys who died in Strabane in 1983? One of them had 32 bullet holes in him.

Then Gregg talks about Republican bigots. If that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black then I don’t know what is.

How about the biggest bigot of them all, Ian Paisley? Need I say more?

Sinn Fein and the IRA didn’t start this war, you know. The Brits did by throwing Irishmen out of their homes and giving them to their retired soldiers.

I’m not like Mr. Gregg. I don’t think that Sinn Fein or the IRA are angels, but the Unionists are as much to blame for what is going on as well.

How about the signs in stores years aga that said: “No Catholics Need Apply.” Mr. Gregg, get with it!

Jim Harrington
Arlington, Massachusetts

Praising Diversity

THE Sunday, March 4, Sunnyside/Woodside Parade will be one of many. Still, it was and will be different from the others.

The distinction is its absolute diversity. The parade is open and welcoming to all.

Further, and very importantly, it encourages gays and lesbians to break the silence, to be proud and to exit the closet. This parade leads the way. We hope and pray others will follow.

Many thanks and God bless.
Stanley Rygor
Long Island City, New York

Thanks for Parade

MY 12-year-old daughter Rachel and I traveled from Amherst, Massachusetts to participate in the St. Pat’s for All parade in Queens on Sunday, March 4. We were thrilled and proud to be a part of such an outstanding community event.

The tireless dedication of the parade organizers Brendan Fay and Barbara Mohr, combined with all the other individuals and groups that participated, created a celebration of diversity, inclusion and pride in our Irish heritage that my daughter and I will cherish for many years to come.

The concert at the Irish Arts Center on Friday, March 2 was our introduction to the incredibly talented, dedicated, and welcoming circle of new friends who organized the St. Pat’s for All parade and put on a show that amazed and amused us with dancers, story tellers, music and song.

We thank everyone who welcomed us and made us feel at home in your community, and we look forward to coming back to New York for the next St. Pat’s for All parade.

Kathryn A. Perry
Amherst, Massachusetts