Here in New York, it's not just Happy St. Patrick's Day or week, but a whole month of parades.

Yesterday, the Brooklyn Irish American Parade Committee led contingents of bagpipers, ste dancers, Hibernians and school children through the streets of Park Slope. Onlookers filled the curbs along Seventh Ave. on a gorgeous second day of spring. The Luck of the Irish has smiled on the parades this year with unseasonably warm days.

Among the marchers were Mary Nolan leading the members of the Commodore Barry Club of Brooklyn, which was founded in 1951. Irish human rights activist Cody McCone marched behind the Shamrocks Gaelic football club banner. The AOH gentlemen from Flatbush and young ladies from the St. Saviour H.S. Gaelic Society, who are parade regulars, strode down the avenue.

Hopefully, the Bay Ridge St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday, March 28, in which our friend Mary Lennon will serve as an Aide to the Grand Marshal, will be favored with the same gorgeous weather.

Friends of Irish Freedom Marched in Manhattan

Many supporters of the Friends of Irish Freedom marched up Fifth Ave. in Manhattan in the 249th St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 17.
The warm sun was at their backs as they strode up the avenue passing thousands of onlookers sporting their green. Cheers rang out as the Pat Mullin chapter passed. Seeing the FOIF green banner struck a chord with some who were far from home.
There were a few shouts of “England out of Ireland” heard.
Before the parade stepped off, members had a chance to share their varied experiences of Ireland and to discuss the situation in the north. Because what happens on the ground in the north of Ireland is barely reported in the New York press, chatting one-on-one can be very enlightening.
Even better, next time you go to Ireland, pass up the nights in Temple Bar and take a trip up to the six northern counties. Go to Derry or Tyrone. If you aren’t up to driving on the left side of the road, it is very simple to get on a train at Connolly Station in Dublin and travel two hours up to Belfast. Chat with your fellow travelers on the journey and then take the time to walk around the city, talk with locals in a pub or cross over the Motorway and walk around West Belfast. Go see things for yourself. Pick up a local newspaper.
If you can’t make it to Ireland this year, come to the Friends of Irish Freedom annual Easter Mass & Commemoration on Easter Sunday at the Green Tree Restaurant at the corner of Riverdale Ave. and W. 259th St. in Riverdale in the West Bronx, north of Gaelic Park.

Setting the Musical Mood for St. Patrick's Day

Morning rain gave way to hints of sunshine, just like an Irish morning. So, I thought I'd take a chance and head out to the Irish Arts Center's Open House in Manhattan on Sunday, March 14. By the time I got into the city from Brooklyn, lashing rain, even more like Ireland, was pouring down as I walked briskly along West 51st Street to #553 in Clinton (Hell's Kitchen).
I found one of the few remaining seats in the first-floor auditorium and settled in to enjoy performances of Irish music by the IAC Ceili Band. Adult members of fiddle, tin whistle and step-dancing classes joined them. Three fiddlers played traditional music including the lovely Four Green Fields. It took me back to the Cork Folk Music Festival performances at An Spailpin in Cork City a few years ago.
The Ceili Band featured fiddles, tin whistle, banjo, and guitar. An elderly Irish woman played the keyboard with such intensity in her face. I wondered if she might have been playing all her life. She had too be at least 80. It was all about the music, a collection of musicians playing beautiful music with great joy and sharing that with the audience.
What a great way to get in the mood for St. Patrick's Day on Wednesday. I'll be sure to go back to the IAC soon.