Two million people watch New York parade

New York

Up to two million people lined Fifth Avenue in New York to watch the marching bands, majorettes and army veterans making up the annual St Patrick’s Day parade.

In true American style, the affair began with the thundering roar of Ford Mustang muscle cars, which quickly gave way to the New York National Guard’s 1st Battalion 69th Infantry – leading the parade as they have done since 1851 – and the thump and skirl of the first of dozens of pipe bands.

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 3

In the spirit of St Patrick’s Day: The Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, grand marshal of the parade, took up his position on the steps of St Patrick’s cathedral to greet the marchers.

“I’m as radiant as the sun, so thanks be to God for the honour and the joy,” said the Catholic archbishop of New York.

His presence was seen as a blessing for the first openly homosexual group to join the parade following the controversy last year when sponsors pulled out and several leading city officials boycotted the event over the exclusion of gay groups.

This year, the marchers included OUT@NBC Universal, representing gay employees of the broadcaster NBC, a major parade sponsor.

It was enough to coax Guinness back as a sponsor, with the gay group’s presence causing barely a ripple among most of the spectators.

New York city mayor Bill de Blasio stayed away for the second year running, saying the inclusion of a single such group was not enough.

Overall though it made for just another addition to the eclectic mix of groups claiming Irish affiliation – from Japanese choirs and Argentinian bands to trades unions, Irish historical societies and, of course, the huge contingent of New York police officers and firefighters with Celtic roots.

The boisterous crowd, many of whom appeared to have ignored Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s advice to enjoy the day responsibly, fell silent only when 343 Stars and Stripes flags passed by, representing each of the firefighters who died in the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001.

Belgium

Minister for State

Dara Murphy

lead St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Brussels , as part of a four-day programme of events.

Events took place in the Belgian capital to mark the festival, culminating in the “greening” of the Grand Place. The Unesco World Heritage site was illuminated yesterday evening, the second year the medieval square has taken part in Tourism Ireland’s “Global Greening” initiative.

On Sunday, the traditional St Patrick's Day parade took place in Parc Cinquantenaire near the European Commission in Brussels, with the Brussels GAA club holding Gaelic games throughout the day.

This year also saw the traditional donning of a miniature Aran jumper by the Manneken Pis, the tiny 17th-century statue located just off the Grand Place in Brussels.

Mr Murphy has been representing Ireland at a number of ministerial meetings at the European Council, including yesterday's meeting of foreign affairs ministers.

He also visited the medieval Flemish town of Bruges, before hosting an evening's St Patrick's Day reception at Bozar, Brussels' museum of fine arts, which was held jointly by Ireland's Ambassador to Belgium and Ireland's Permanent Representation to the European Union.

European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker were among those in attendance at last night’s event at Bozar.

While Brussels is the seat of the main EU institutions, Belgium is also an important trade partner for Ireland.

The country is Ireland’s third-largest trading partner, in part due to the large volume of Irish exports shipped through Belgian ports, although the country of 11 million people is a major consumer of Irish beef and other Irish food products. Exports to Belgium were valued at €11.2 billion in 2013.

Mr Murphy is taking part in a number of Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland events today in the Belgian capital.

Australia

If Australian prime minister Tony Abbott is aware of the Taoiseach’s displeased response to his St Patrick’s Day message, he has not let it stop him.

Mr Abbott, who previously said the last Labor government “was a bit like the Irishman who lost £10 betting on the Grand National and then lost £20 on the action replay”, used parliamentary question time yesterday to accuse opposition leader Bill Shorten of going off the point. “Sounds a bit like an Irish joke,” he told Mr Shorten.

Irish Ambassador Noel White was in the parliament’s visitor’s gallery at the time, alongside Fine Gael Minister of State Tom Hayes.

The Irish Embassy in Canberra had complained about the previous joke.

In a video made for St Patrick’s Day events in Australia last week, Mr Abbott said he could not make it to the functions but would have liked “to share a Guinness or two or maybe even three”.

During his visit to the US on Monday, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he rejected the “long-term view of a stage-Irish perception”.

“I’ve heard the prime minister’s comments,” said Mr Kenny. “He made them. I don’t agree with that. I think that it is perfectly in order for so many Irish people in Australia to have an enjoyable celebration of St Patrick’s Day and St Patrick’s week, and to do so in a thoroughly responsible fashion.”

The Taoiseach’s response was widely reported in Australia and became the most read story on Fairfax media’s Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane websites.

The story was also reported on the websites of the country's two national newspapers, the Australian and the Financial Review, and on radio and television.

Defence minister Kevin Andrews also caused outrage on Twitter after he tweeted a picture of himself holding a can of Guinness yesterday morning, with the caption: “Too early? Happy St Patrick’s Day!”

A woman called Lizzie O’Shea replied to the Tweet, saying: “As an Irish person I reject you and your gross politics.”

John Patrick Cronin tweeted: “Guinness could not do much more damage to Mr Andrews’ political nous or his galloping Abbottitis.”

Paris

St Patrick’s Day in Paris has expanded into a four-day mini-festival exploited by the Irish Embassy to advance Irish economic interests and by the Irish Cultural Centre to raise its profile and attract a broader audience.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton will have participated in more than 20 meetings and events by the time he returns to Dublin tonight.

On St Patrick’s Day, these included an appointment with the banking giant BNP Paribas, delivering a speech in French to a gathering of EU education ministers that was organised following Islamist attacks in Paris and Copenhagen, a lunch for potential investors and a visit to a high-tech incubator for 60 start-ups.

Mr Bruton was due to end the day discussing labour markets with the French economy minister Emmanuel Macron, the leading reformer in the François Hollande administration, followed by a call on the secretary general of the club of developed nations, the OECD.

“Ireland is a place of promise and prospects,” said the glossy 24-page booklet handed out to investors at the St Patrick’s Day lunch.

The Return of the Celtic Tiger was the title of a brochure given to French journalists who lunched with Mr Bruton (below) the previous day.

The word “recovery” best describes the mood at the embassy reception for 600 people on Monday night.

Ireland has asked that the EU reassess its growth potential so that Dublin can invest in, for example, broadband, energy and water in next autumn’s budget.

The topic was expected to come up in Mr Bruton’s discussion with Mr Macron last night.

Ireland wants only “a proper evaluation framework that would allow us to make prudent, affordable and justifiable investments,” Mr Bruton said.

There have been light moments, despite the economic tilt of Mr Bruton’s visit. The Sacré Coeur has been “greened” by coloured spotlights for the past three nights, in honour of St Patrick’s Day.

Some 700 people attended a free concert by the Alan Kelly Gang in the Luxembourg Gardens on March 15th. The crowd then followed “Momo, the gentle giant on stilts”, as he led them, Pied Piper-like, up the rue Soufflot and into the Irish College for more entertainment.

The cultural centre set up a 600sq m tent in the courtyard for the duration of its St Patrick’s festival. A concert by the trad-world music group Kila was sold out last night.