“Regardless of the number of people who came out, it was always a day where everyone was Irish for a day,” Coppola said. “But it’s a different parade [now] with much less people.”
“Their exclusion is based on an ignorant misunderstanding about what this day, the Catholic church, and these groups stand for, and we remain steadfast in our call for the Parade Committee to finally make the right decision and end their discriminatory prohibition on them from marching. But until then, we cannot in good conscience continue to host our pre-parade breakfast as we have done for so many years,” said District Attorney Michael McMahon in a statement.
Speaking to amNewYork Metro, Haggerty called the parade committee’s decision “idiotic,” and said that he would love to see all be included in future parades. In this picture from 2022, applicants associated with LGBTQ+ groups plead with Parade President Larry Cummings as he rejects their bid to participate in the annual Staten Island St. Patrick’s Day Parade.