B47: St. Patrick's Day in New York 1996

5th Avenue, NYC - 16 Mar 1996

We all seem to be looking back to times past at the moment while Covid-19 has laid waste to all our immediate travel and entertainment plans.  Looking at the past reminds me of what I have in the present.  With St. Patrick’s Day fast approaching and parades cancelled pretty much everywhere, it brings to mind many memories. 
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St. Patrick’s Day was always a great day in our house starting off with a Mass “as Gaeilge” (in Irish) in the morning and going to see the Parade on the Main Street in Carrick in the afternoon…with my Dad, Mickey, often playing trad music on his button accordion on the back of a float and my brother, Martin, marching smartly decked out in his Civil Defence uniform.  Martin recently found my some of my green badges at home in Carrick that Peggy had saved, which must be nearly 50 years old.

My Childhood St. Patrick's Day Badges

That got me thinking of a great trip I had with Peggy to New York for Paddy’s Day 1996….25 years ago!!  It was Peggy’s first time to America and we had such a laugh together.  We flew on a Thursday on a midday flight with Aer Lingus from Dublin to JFK and sat beside a lovely Mullingar man.

​Only on my return to work did I find out that he was the father of my friend Margaret from Sanwa Bank; who my-then-company Sunrock shared a floor with in ICL House!  Small world indeed! 

Our hotel (above) - Loews, Lexington Avenue

So, anyway, Peggy and I decided to go over a few days early to NYC so as not to miss the Parade.  The comical thing is that we ended up nearly missing it completely….. as it was held on the Saturday March 16th  and not on the 17th as we had assumed!  🙄 By pure chance, Peggy and I were in the hotel reception (the Loews on Lexington Avenue now the DoubleTree) at about 10:45 that Saturday morning, planning our shopping route downtown, when I overheard someone saying the traffic was crazy because of the parade on 5th! 

​The penny dropped in horror as I confirmed with the concierge that “yes, indeed, the parade is starting at 11 today and not tomorrow”.  We took off at speed on foot, down one block to 50th Street then turning right to walk/ half-run the 3 blocks over to 5th Avenue with St. Patrick’s Cathedral on our right …..arriving with about 5 minutes to spare.  As it happened it was a great spot from which to view the Parade and we stood there for several hours; our cold feet almost stuck to the pavement when it was time to leave.

That day around one million people lined Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, the biggest US celebration of Irish heritage. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams was among an estimated 200,000 marchers. This was controversial at the time as he had been omitted from White House St Patrick's Day events in Washington that week, following the IRA decision to end a ceasefire after 18 months of talks broke down over the issue of disarming paramilitaries.  So this 235th parade stepped out against the backdrop of a renewed IRA campaign and, in response to the renewed violence, organisers dedicated the parade to “peace in Ireland”. The parade was headed by Grand Marshal Bill Flynn, who had risen to prominence as a member of the Irish American peace delegation to the North. 
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Anyone who remembers that time may also remember the ongoing battle the parade organisers had with some members of the LGBT community.  An hour before the start, New York City police broke-up a protest organised by the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization. For the fifth year in a row, ILGO had lost its bid for a permit to participate in the parade. 

Freddy sez Hello Irish; Just Say "Hi, O'Freddy" - NYC 16Mar1996

Before the parade, there was a mass that Saturday morning at St Patrick's Cathedral, which was reported as filled to overflowing. Cardinal John O'Connor, dressed in a red ceremonial cape, stood on the cathedral steps afterwards to greet prominent New Yorkers, including the then mayor, Rudolph (Rudy) Giuliani and the then New York state governor George Pataki.
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Irish flags fluttered in a chilly breeze under sunny skies as we all stood there behind barriers to watch the marchers. Peggy and I were amazed by how heavily policed it was; with an officer every 10 feet or so where we were.  It was the spectators who were the real stars for us; many dressed in green while some had fresh shamrock pinned to lapels and a number were sporting green hair. Of course you could dismiss some of it as “paddywhackery” but there was no doubting the fervour of the people standing near us…..particularly for the police, firefighters and military.

Video above includes Peggy singing "New York, New York"

But as I stood there that cold Saturday, it seemed to me that the Parade in New York wasn’t so much about a celebration of Ireland and the Irish as it was a celebration of being Irish American.  As I watched the Parade I could see very little reflected of modern Ireland with its young population and cultural and religious diversity.  Neither could I see any overt representation of the hundreds of Irish who had gone to the US in the 1980s.  But Irish-American identity truly fascinates me; especially as I’ve gotten to know some of my Irish-American cousins over the last ten years or so through my genealogy hobby.  It’s not the clichéd drunken ‘Irish Paddy’ or the ‘Shamrock’ instead it’s a deep affiliation between people who share the same values of family, heritage, music and Ireland. 

​There are so many layers that go behind this community and it’s not one size fits all.  The Irish-Americans I have come to know are as diverse as can be found anywhere.  Some are very engaged with Ireland; some not so much.  And then there’s many, many others whose connection goes further back, who don’t relate to any of the music, sport or culture but still if asked will mention their Irish roots.  So, for me I came to the conclusion that being Irish-American is whatever you want it to be.  And that’s fine by me.  In the end, there are ties that bind us. I’m all for a broad and inclusive definition of being Irish.

​ So what else did we do in New York?  Well, the very first thing we did was take the ferry from Battery Park out to the Statue of Liberty. Lady Liberty is well-known the world over so it was just amazing to see her up close.  It was a bit of a foggy day but we could still make out the Twin Towers of the WTC which were still standing tall until that fateful day in 2001.

​We then took the ferry to Ellis Island which we both found very moving; particularly the luggage display and the medical assessment where the hopeful immigrant would be examined for illnesses whereupon their coat was marked up with a code in chalk.  The successful ones could proceed down the stairs and the door to their future would open before them.  The others were either sent to quarantine or were deported.

​We did a “hop-on hop-off” Grayline Bus Tour; except we didn’t hop anywhere as we decided to stay on for the whole tour as the weather was so cold.  It took us from the Upper West Side, Central Park, Harlem and the Fifth Avenue “Museum Mile” (the Uptown Loop) to Times Square, the Empire State Building, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Little Italy, Wall Street and the Financial District, Lower East Side, the East Village and the United Nations building.  Our on-board tour guide provided and informative narrative along the way in a strongly Eastern-European accent although he had lived in NYC for 25 years.  Nevertheless, it was obvious that he had a deep love of his adopted city. I can safely say we saw almost every inch of Manhattan and observed New Yorkers going about their daily lives…..

​We visited the head office of NIAC, the sister company of my then employer, Sunrock, a Japanese aircraft leasing company.  My Dublin boss, Ohba-san had arranged for us to meet Hirai-san and to get a tour of their office in the Rockefeller Center.  The views of the city from the sky-scraper were stunning.  Peggy was super-impressed with how well she was treated.  Traditional Japanese culture honours seniority.  Afterwards, we were treated to a lovely lunch in a nearby Japanese restaurant where our steaks were cooked on hot stones at the table.  Afterwards we spent some time watching the ice-skaters in the rink below the Rockefeller Centre.

Visit to my NIAC colleagues, Rockefeller Center - Mar 1996

​We also got in some shopping of course….popping down to Macy’s on the subway.  We spent hours walking in Central Park watching the roller skaters.  Of course we had to visit the FAO Schwartz/ Toys R Us shop …at that time nearby on 5th Ave.  Our inner-child’s dream. Then we visited the Metropolitan Art Gallery which was phenomenal.  

​On the Wednesday (our last day), after a hearty New York diner breakfast we walked about 20 minutes to the Empire State Building on 34th Street and 5th Avenue.  As our hotel was on East 51st Street we just had to take a left and walk down to 34th Street and then turn right to walk three blocks across Park Avenue and Madison Avenue.  We had seen it from the Bus Tour but couldn’t see the top of it no matter how hard we craned our necks.  We lost no time getting up to the 86th floor observatory where we both were gobsmacked by the 360-degree views of NYC, albeit foggy views that particular day.

​ I’ve had the pleasure of returning to New York a few times since…but that first trip with Peggy will remain special.  PS Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘☘

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Bucket List Items Ticked Off in the above Blog 47
​Number 57 - Travel - 7 Continents

• North America

Number 58 - Travel - 80 Countries

• USA

​Number 59 - Travel - 80 Hotels

• Loews Hotel, Lexington Avenue, New York (now DoubleTree)

​Number 60 - Travel - 80 Cities/Towns

• New York, USA

Number 62 - Visit 8 US States

• New York, USA

​Number 76 - Experiences - 80 UNESCO World Heritage Sites

• Statue of Liberty, New York, USA

Number 80 - Experiences - 80 Tall Vantage Points

• Empire State Building, New York, USA

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​Other Blog Posts
Blog 11 - Sydney, Australia
Blog 12 - Hong Kong, China
Blog 17 - Beijing, Xi'an & Shanghai, China
Blog 19 - California, USA
Blog 27 - Scotland
Blog 28 - Barbados
Blog 29 - Canada
Blog 30 - Alaska
Blog 31 - Everglades, Florida

Have you ever visited New York City?  Tell me about your experience in the comments section below.
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