An inclusive St. Patrick's Day Parade looks like this...

Just a few pictures from yesterday...

Pete Hamill and Malachy McCourt having a chat & watching the Keltic Dreamers dance troupe...

The Keltic Dreamers dance troupe...

Parading along Skillman Ave...this is so much more festive than Manhattan, isn't it?

Wow, a banner about immigrant & workers rights...you won't see that in Manhattan.

Banners with Mother Jones and the Berrigan brothers...

Hombres Latinos de Ambiente from the Bronx...

HASA for All!

Free Mumia!

Veterans for Peace

RHA

And of course, a *tiny* number of misguided nutcases with bad grammar that don't understand that lesbians and homosexuals are the same f&%king thing. Whatever.

Speaking of homophobes, two of us Irish Queers had a funny experience while flyering folks along the parade route to come to our protest. Two women (which we assumed were sisters since the looked a lot alike) thought we were handing out anti-gay literature so they yelled "HATERS!" at us. I then explained that we were queer and they apologized. As strange as the situation was, I have to admit that I love the idea of parade-watching Irish Americans yelling at homophobes. If there are any other Irish Americans out there that have the guts to brazenly challenge bigots, you should come to our protest on March 17th. We'd love to have you join us!

More queer commentary on the parade can be found on Blabbeando.

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A lovely night at the Irish Arts Center

Irish Queers were in attendance at the St. Pat's for All fundraiser at the Irish Arts Center last night.

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Archived Meeting Announcements

We've switched to this blog for posting meeting announcements...
To see the old page, go here:
irishqueers.org/meetings.html

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Archived Event Listings

Irish Queers has switched to this blog for posting our events, but you can still see old event listings by clicking here.

...And a few that aren't on that archive page are below.

July 2007

Fri. July 6
The Shondes @ Luna Lounge in Bklyn
Check back or call for details!


June 2007

Dyke March
Sat. June 23
5pm, Bryant Park
IQ dykes join the NYC Dyke March! call (212) 289-1101 in advance to meet up.

Dyke March for Boys
Sat., June 23
5:30, 21st St. at Fifth Ave. (sidelines of the Dyke March)
IQ boys will be cheering for the Dyke March & throwing lollies.

BRONX PRIDE Festival!
Sat. June 16
12-8pm, Baretto Point Park
Call JF at (212) 289-1101 or cell (914) 489-9204 to meet up for transportation (probably around 3pm.)

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From Gay City News...

St. Pat's Politics in Queens, Manhattan

By: ANDY HUMM, 2/28/2008

The Irish parade season kicks off this Sunday, March 2, with the inclusive Queens St. Patrick's Day Parade led by grand marshals Christine Quinn, the out lesbian speaker of the City Council, and writer Pete Hamill. It starts at 2 p.m. at 43rd Street and Skillman Avenue (#7 train to 40th St./Lowery) and winds up at 61st Street and Woodside. For more information, go to www.stpatsforall.com.

The Manhattan St. Patrick's Day Parade on Fifth Avenue on March 17 will be protested once again by Irish Queers with an action along the route at 57th Street and Fifth Avenue, starting at 11 a.m. The parade, controlled by the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), has refused Irish LGBT groups the chance to participate with their banners since the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization, now defunct, applied in 1991. Then-Mayor David Dinkins let ILGO march with him that year. The gay marchers and the mayor were pelted with bottles and other abuse and ILGO and other openly LGBT groups have since been totally excluded.

Most major Democratic politicians, except for New York's two US senators, have honored a boycott of the Fifth Avenue parade. Quinn, who was arrested several times in protests against the exclusion but - like almost all elected officials - has not joined the picket in recent years, tried to broker a way for Irish LGBT folk to march when she first became speaker, but was decisively rebuffed. Her effort involved allowing marchers to participate with identifying gay sashes and buttons, a compromise approach Emmaia Gelman of Irish Queers rejects, saying anything less than being allowed to march behind a banner would not do. "We're not going to be downgraded," Gelman said.

On the "Gay USA" TV show I co-host with Ann Northrop, Quinn, several weeks ago, said, "I'm going to keep fighting and keep boycotting until we can get past this." While she conceded she was not optimistic about a change under the current AOH leadership, she said, "When you talk to the leadership of these organizations one step below - the next round of folks who are going to take over - when they're in charge we'll get beyond this."

Gelman said, "We can't have a committee decide who is Irish."

In a release, Irish Queers called on Quinn to "stop giving cover to politicians who ignore the boycott - Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, and Michael Bloomberg among them - by standing with them everywhere but on Fifth Avenue and glossing over their decision to support religious-right homophobes."

Irish Queers wrote Quinn about their concerns and said that in her emailed response she reiterated her commitment not to march, but did not respond to the issues they raised.

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Save these dates......

• Well, first there's our protest on March 17th.
• St. Pat's for All is this Sunday. Assembly will begin at 1pm and step off is at 2pm at 43 Street & Skillman Ave. in Sunnyside, Queens. Directions: Take the 7 to 40th Street Station. Walk west to 43rd Street and then turn north to Skillman Avenue.
• Next Tuesday night (3/3) Irish Queers will be holding a planning meeting at The Center at 8pm.
• Eileen Myles will be reading at the Telephone Bar and Grill on Thursday March 6th at 8pm.

• Irish lesbian singer Shaz Oye will be playing at An Beal Bocht Cafe in the Bronx on Sunday March 16th.

• On March 22nd Jews for Racial and Economic Justice will be hosting a Purim Spectacular Party. A group is working together to create a Purim play on Housing, Gentrification and Homelessness...it's gonna be great! For more information or to RSVP, click here.
  

• The fate of Pier 40 will be decided on March 27th. Support FIERCE, and stay tuned for details.

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Irish Voice: "Irish Queers press Quinn on march"

Feb. 27, 2008click to enlarge

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Irish community: no bigots need apply.

Here's the flyer that went out to people attending the big pre-parade event last weekend.

What is with the NYC Irish community, which is chock full of progressives, sitting back and letting the conservative loonies run the show?

I never realized how far to the right of other Irish American communities New York is until I spent some time in Boston... not that the Boston Irish community puts out such a progressive vibe either. But Irish immigrants there, particularly immigration activists, seemed pretty stunned by the racism, religious conservatism and general backwardness they saw coming out of NYC. And they seemed to feel just as steamrolled by it as Irish progressives in New York. Kind of an eye-opener about what a choke-hold the religious right has on Irish NYC -- I'd really started to believe the @#$%^ they were putting out about Irish identity.

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Supporting St. Pat's for All

This Friday, St. Pat's for All will be hosting a fundraiser at the Irish Arts Center. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased here. As the only inclusive St. Patrick's Day in New York City, it is very important for Irish LGBT and progressive folks to support this event.

I attended my first St. Pats for All in 2004 when I moved to New York, and I have to say that it was the first St. Patrick's Day Parade that I have ever attended where I felt at home. The parade is made up of a diverse set of community groups, unlike the Manhattan parade which consists of endless contingents of politicians, police officers, firefighters, and military personnel. There are no tanks or guns on display in Queens, just Irish American culture, in all of its diversity. The event also has an explicitly anti-racist message which is sadly another element that you would never see as an integral part of most St. Patrick's Day parades.

St. Pat's for All is an Irish parade that we can all feel good about, so come join us this Sunday in Queens. Our group is not marching, but we will be mingling on the sidelines and enjoying all the festivities. For more information, click here. Also, check out this recent article on the parade.

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