and then Rudy showed up: a strange week for the irish in New York.
Date : Sun, 18 Mar 2007 21:56:00 GMT
Source : Sisyphus Shrugged
Link : http://jmhm.livejournal.com/1700208.html
March 14 was a proud day to be an irish-american and a firefighter in New York Sean Egan, an engraver at the famous Waterford factory in Ireland for 33 years, said he found a piece of discarded glass at work one day that seemed to resemble the arch of a stained glass church window. He put it aside and a short time later came across the widely used photograph of rescuers covering the dust-covered body of Father Mychal Judge, the New York Fire Department priest who was the first recorded victim of the World Trade Center attacks. Egan felt inspired to replicate it, using the discarded glass. Waterford CEO John Foley was so struck by the compelling piece that he asked Egan to create a larger version on the company’s time, providing fresh crystal. The craftsman will pay an early St. Patrick’s Day visit to a New York firehouse Wednesday to present the crystal sculpture he created to honor the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. “It was such an awful day,” said Egan. “Everyone in Ireland grieved. The firemen were rushing into the building as everyone was rushing out.” Egan hopes that others will be inspired. “I want people to see the pain on the faces of the firemen and police officers carrying Father Judge out,” he said. “At the same time I want them to see the peace in Father Judge’s reflection. There is peace among death and destruction. Father Judge is giving us a message.”He’s talking about this picture. Mychal Judge was a new yorker, a franciscan and a fire department chaplain. He was killed when he took off his helmet to bless the body of a dead firefighter and was struck by falling debris. He was the son of two irish immigrants. — the days before our world-famous parade: in which a gentleman named Dunleavy makes almost everybody in New York very unhappy indeed John Dunleavy of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (a service organization of irish americans which, among other things, runs the annual New York St Patrick’s Day parade) wasn’t at the dedication of the statue on the fourteenth. Mr. Dunleavy, the parade’s long-time organizer, was busy that day. For two years running, Dunleavy has managed to embarrass himself and the Ancient Order of Hibernians on the eve of the parade. Last year, in response to the perennial will-gays-be-allowed-to-march debate, he implicitly compared gays to neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members – at a time when the gay community and openly gay City Council Speaker Christine Quinn had raised barely a word of protest. This year, he’s decided to move the FDNY Emerald Society, always a highlight of the parade, from its customary third-in-line-of-march position – behind the “Fighting 69th” of the Army National Guard and the NYPD – to the middle of the pack. The decision, as FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said, “defies logic and reason.” It defies basic decency, too. The stated reason is that the Bravest slowed the parade last year by including visiting firefighters from New Orleans, who came to thank their New York compatriots for volunteering during the Katrina aftermath. So, a demonstration of compassion and unity with their brothers from New Orleans gets the FDNY punished this year? Apparently: “I’ve been telling them for years that the parade should only be for firefighters from New York, and when the New Orleans firefighters came up, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Dunleavy declared. That was an editorial in Rubert Murdoch’s vehemently conservative New York Post the next day, responding to Mr. Dunleavy’s decision to, for the first time in the almost-150-year history of the parade, move the FDNY from the front, where they traditionally march with the NYPD and the Fighting 69th Regiment, to a place behind high school bands from Pennsylvania, Maine, and Connecticut, as well as fife and drum bands from Finland, France and Spain (apparently he didn’t realize that those countries are technically not in New York). Well, it’s OK: if the Post didn’t like that reason (quite a few people here didn’t), Mr. Dunleavy had another one all lined up. As part of his self-proclaimed mission to burnish the reputation of irish-americans around the world, he chose to share this with the Irish Examiner (the fourteenth was a terribly busy day for the man) While the banner is making the headlines, Dunleavy has other concerns with FDNY regarding lax attention to registration procedures, drunkenness in uniform, and even a lack of precision in marching. In an open letter to Dunleavy Tom O’Connor, president of the Grand Council of United Emerald Societies, has called the decision not to restore the FDNY Emerald Society to the place of honor “disgraceful” and urged Dunleavy to reconsider his position “afford the men and women of the FDNY the respect they deserve.” The parade chairman said he “wanted to get their attention” about following procedures. He has clashed with the department before; a few years ago, he insisted that firefighters sporting knit green berets wear their compete dress uniforms instead (an issue that FDNY brass supported). Dunleavy says his job is to protect the parade, which he views as the foremost event showcasing the contributions of all the Irish to America. “We treat every organization equally. To me, the Ladies AOH Div. 5 from the Bronx is just as important as the fire department. If we didn’t have rules to keep things organized, we’d have groups from all over taking over the parade,” said Dunleavy, who takes issue with firefighters who march while intoxicated on the parade route and continue drinking while in uniform for the rest of the day. — At this point, I’d like to interject some pictures of our drunken, imprecise Fire Department marching in last year’s parade 343 firefighters march behind that banner carrying american flags. The banner and the flags represent 342 firefighters who were killed attempting to rescue survivors from the destruction of the World Trade Center and Mychal Judge. — Anyway, I think it’s safe to say that the next day, when New York heard what Mr. Dunleavy was saying about “New York’s Bravest” to the press, all hell broke loose. New York politicians were not pleased. The furor over the placement of New York City firefighters in Manhattan’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade reached a boil (on the fifteenth), with City Council members and FDNY representatives demanding that firefighters be returned to the front lines of tomorrow’s march and that parade organizers apologize. Irate officials staged a rally on the steps of City Hall after published reports yesterday quoted parade Chairman John Dunleavy as telling the weekly Irish Examiner USA that firefighters arrive at the parade intoxicated. “I don’t have a problem with the Fire Department. They’re the best in the world. What I have a problem with is members of the uniformed services showing up on the parade route intoxicated at 12 o’clock,” he was quoted as telling the publication. Dunleavy, who did not return calls for comment, initially attributed the switch-up to a delay last year when New Orleans firefighters unfurled a banner thanking the FDNY. “Everyone knows that the Fire Department is number one,” Councilman Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn) said as he stood in front of more than a dozen angry fire officials. “No one should participate in the parade in front of the firemen this year, at all. The Fire Department should be number one, to make a statement to everyone that you can’t fool around with the people that sacrifice their lives day in and day out,” Felder said. Following the rally, a Manhattan firefighter voiced disgust with Dunleavy. “It’s a disgrace that he said something like that, because I was on the job for Sept. 11 and just recently I was at that Bronx fire, and for some guy to call me a drunk or call my brothers a drunk after that, it’s a disgrace,” Firefighter Denis Donoghue said. During the rally, Councilman Miguel Martinez, chairman of the Fire and Criminal Justice Committee, pledged to jeer Dunleavy if the firefighters are not moved back to their usual spot in the parade, trailing only the NYPD and the Fighting 69th Infantry regiment. The FDNY has marched near the front of the parade for 142 years. “I will ask this gentleman to reconsider his position and to publicly, publicly apologize not only to the firefighters but to the entire City of New York, because firefighters represent the best of the City of New York,” Martinez said. “I’ll be the first one to organize a contingent of New Yorkers to boo him and to show him how offended we are.” not pleased at all Fire officials, along with city officials, were quick to strike back at Dunleavy on both counts. “He’s made a huge mistake in trying to brand all New York City firefighters on something that he says he saw,” said Uniformed Firefighters Association head Steve Cassidy about the drinking charges. “It’s nonsense.” Uniformed Fire Officers union head Peter Gorman called Dunleavy’s comments “the ultimate slap in the face” to those firefighters who turn out to march – including some whose participation is slowed by injuries suffered on the job. Firefighters march carrying 343 flags, one for each FDNY member killed on Sept. 11, 2001. City Council speaker Christine Quinn and Mayor Michael Bloomberg were among those perplexed by the FDNY’s removal from its usual starting point. “I think it is ridiculous and absurd that the organizers of the parade are moving New York’s fire department back,” said Quinn. “I think they should immediately move the fire department to the spot that they’ve historically been in the first place.” Mr. Bloomberg, our Republican mayor, had this to say on his weekly radio address I guess my advice to the guy running the parade is look, nothing’s perfect, lighten up. You have rules, rules are there to be guidelines, don’t enforce them at this level…. They’re our bravest, they protect us… Why dis them? I can’t understand why the guy’s doing it.” the Daily News As Pooh Bah of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, John Dunleavy calls the shots for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, but he seems to think his authority extends to dishonoring tradition at whim and offending at will. He needs to be taken down a peg or three – and we have the way to humble the man. Showing little of the respect that was evident at Engine 1/Ladder 24 yesterday (at the Mychal Judge ceremony), Dunleavy decreed the FDNY would be moved from its customary place, right behind the Fighting 69th and the NYPD, to back in the pack. He said he needed to discipline the FDNY because in 2006 New Orleans firefighters unfurled a banner thanking New York for its help after Hurricane Katrina. That made no sense, so yesterday Dunleavy gave a reporter from the Irish Examiner USA this outrageous explanation for his high-handedness: (you’ve already read it) Dunleavy owes the FDNY a huge apology, and he must restore the department to its rightful place. If not, the Fighting 69th and NYPD contingents should refuse to lead and instead line up where the FDNY has been relegated and march there. they also weren’t best pleased when they heard that our EMTs, who he didn’t accuse of any misbehavior, were going to be punished for being administratively connected to the firefighters Local press institution Gabe Pressman had this to say How sad that a wonderful New York institution, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, is taking a clobbering from its own chairman. There have been controversies surrounding this parade before. But this one is ridiculous. The parade chairman, John Dunleavy, has demoted New York’s firefighters. Instead of allowing them to march as usual, near the head of the parade, he’s kicked them to the middle. I have watched this parade for 50 years and, invariably, the fire fighters have been among the most enthusiastic of the marchers. With lively step, they have tramped right behind the Fighting 69th and the NYPD. In an era when the firefighters’ heroism stands out (343 of these brave souls lost their lives on 9/11), Dunleavy has punished them. He denounced them for skipping parade planning meetings, showing up drunk for the march and making the Irish look bad. ”My job,” says Dunleavy, ”is to preserve and protect the parade and present Irish America in its best possible light.” He acts like a schoolteacher disciplining a room full of unruly children, or like a guy who doesn’t like a good time. We didn’t know that was in Dunleavy’s job description. Nor are we aware that he has been giving Breathalyzer tests to fire fighters to see whether they have been drinking. Who the heck does he think he is? Billy Nolan, president of the FDNY Emerald Society, called the charges about drinking ”totally untrue” and ”insulting.” It isn’t that New Yorkers don’t recognize that some of our employees march in the parade with a cushion on. We know that for a fact. This time last year: The Mayor hosted his annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast at Gracie Mansion this morning. There were plenty of round and ruddy faces in attendance, sipping creamy Irish coffees as waitresses passed around mini shepherd pies and Irish sausage garnished with green paisley mustard. Next to green-dyed carnations, police officers named O’Reilly smiled for cameras. City workers wore green ties. (A tie-less Kevin Sheekey wore a green ball cap.) Martina Minihan, a representative of the northern Irish town of Sligo, wore an orange, green and white sash. “I can’t drink this thing any more,” said Minihan, putting down her coffee. “It’s got half a bottle of booze in it.” “The best part is the Irish coffees for breakfast,” disagreed Brian G. Andersson, Commissioner of the Department of Records & Information Services. Cardinal Egan, who Mr. Dunleavy said in his Irish Examiner interview is kept scrupulously informed about his decisions (the St Patrick’s parade is, the Hibernians hold, a religious observance) was also seriously displeased with Mr. Dunleavy. He was displeased because he thought the decision itself was unwise, and he was displeased because when the archdiocese attempted to share its feelings about the unwisdom of Mr. Dunleavy’s decision, Mr. Dunleavy ducked their phone calls Edward Cardinal Egan scolded the chairman of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade for removing firefighters from the front of the march – and told him he hopes the parade will avoid similar “unpleasantness in the future.” Egan wanted the firefighters to march near the front of the procession as they have in past years, said Archdiocese of New York spokesman Joseph Zwilling. But by the time Egan caught up with parade chairman John Dunleavy, all Egan could do was chide him. “(Egan) had been trying to get in touch with Mr. Dunleavy for several days without success to say to him that the archdiocese doesn’t direct the parade but it is important and we would hope that we would not have this kind of difficulty in the future,” Zwilling said. that last is most likely why by parade day, Mr. Dunleavy was acknowledging that drunkeness in the ranks of the Bravest was not the real reason for his decision Mr. Dunleavy, who has run the parade for 14 years, said that he would talk with fire officials, but that the shift was necessary to get their attention. He said several groups complained about long delays at last year’s parade. Mr. Dunleavy also criticized firefighters for showing up drunk on the parade route, though yesterday he said that the problem had occurred more in the past than in recent years. — huh? whatever could possibly have possessed the man to show his disrespect for the the Cardinal, irish americans in New York and the traditions of the Hibernians, upset all the local papers (including the conservative Sun and Post), make our parade a scandal and a hissing in the international press and piss off pretty much every politician in New York, left, right and center? It’s a mystery. A deep, dark, abiding mystery. — I did say almost everybody, remember? One former New York politician stepped forward to stand with his old friend and political ally Mr. Dunleavy One former New York politician stood pretty much alone in showing his support for Mr. Dunleavy’s decision Our former mayor, one Mr. Giuliani, stood by the Hibernians when they went to court to bar lesbian and gay organizations from marching with the parade on the grounds that the parade is a religious observance. Although his halo did tarnish a bit when his then-mistress, the current Mrs. Giuliani, marched with him past the cathedral in 2000 prior to his informing the then-current Mrs. Giuliani that their marriage was over (this is considered to be in poor taste at religious observances), 9/11, as you may have heard, changed everything. Although not our former mayor’s real taste for gutter politics. On Friday afternoon, the day after Mr. Dunleavy’s slur (which he now acknowledges to be untrue) on the firefighters (who have caused serious political embarassment for Mr. Giuliani and his presidential campaign this past week or so) got international publicity, Mr. Giuliani’s campaign made an announcement Sen. Hillary Clinton may be skipping New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade (see below), but the state’s other presidential contender is not. Rudy Giuliani will march in the parade with Congressman Peter King and Manhattan College’s contingent, his campaign just announced. And so he did and turned what he claims to recognize as a religious observance into a campaign rally. Rudy Giuliani laid claim to New York over his possible presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday, saying the Empire State had been “my home turf” longer than it’d been hers. The Republican Giuliani, who has kept his comments about Clinton to a minimum in the campaign so far, spoke just before he marched in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade up Fifth Avenue. Asked how he’d do in a general-election matchup against Democratic front-runner Clinton on her “home turf,” a chuckling Giuliani replied: “I have to just remind you that it’s my home turf, too. And in fact, it’s been my home turf longer than Hillary’s. “I was born in Brooklyn, I grew up in Nassau County for part of my life, I lived in Queens, I’ve lived in Manhattan, I went to school in The Bronx, and I did the best in Staten Island,” Giuliani added. “So (it’s) my home turf, too.” The former mayor also shrugged off a Quinnipiac University poll last week showing many New Yorkers would prefer Mayor Bloomberg over Giuliani as president. “New Yorkers are split over everything,” Giuliani said. … Giuliani campaign aides marched ahead on the parade route and handed out “Rudy” signs, which people held aloft on the sidelines. He got an overwhelmingly positive response, save for a handful of boos – including some from gay Irish protesters – throughout the route. Giuliani also stopped to chat with Edward Cardinal Egan outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral, telling him, “I’ll stop by and see you soon.” Giuliani marched with the contingent from his alma mater, Manhattan College, at the back of the parade. The move kept him away from the FDNY contingent and may have saved him a potential headache, because the national firefighters union had publicly went to battle with him in the last two weeks. Mr. Bloomberg, whose priorities are somewhat different, marched with the FDNY commanders and the firefighters, who decided that their pride in their heritage (unlike Mr. Dunleavy) and the memory of their fallen friends (unlike Mr. Giuliani) meant more to them than short-term political advantage or powertripping, marched, too. Where are they now? Our firefighters are back to running into burning buildings (we lost two of them a week ago) The tribute to Mychal Judge and the 322 firefighters who died with him can be seen on West 33d Street, in the firehouse he left from on 9/11. Mr. Giuliani, who has since age seven only been a new yorker when his job has required him to, is off for somewhere else to campaign for president standing on the dead shoulders of those firefighters. Mr. Dunleavy, who doesn’t live here, has left town too. I think we got the best of the deal.
