The St. Patrick’s Day Parade, thrilling the city since before the American Revolution, will see a revolutionary change of its own when gays are allowed to march under their own banner next year for the first time.
The move reverses a controversial policy that had become a political flashpoint.
Following the surprise announcement Wednesday, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, who will serve as grand marshal for the 2015 parade, released a statement saying the parade’s organizers have his “confidence and support.”
The parade — first held in 1766 and now the world’s largest — had faced mounting criticism in recent years for its longtime policy banning lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups from marching under a banner identifying themselves as gay. Gays were permitted to march but had to join other groups.
At this year’s installment, Mayor de Blasio protested the policy by refusing to march, as did City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and a host of council members. Guinness, Sam Adams and Heineken yanked their sponsorship.
“This is progress,” de Blasio said after the parade committee’s announcement. “What I’ve called for, for a long time, is an inclusive parade. This is a city of inclusion.”
The committee announced that one group will be allowed to march up Fifth Ave. under its own banner next year — OUT@NBCUniversal, an LGBT support group at NBC, which broadcasts the parade.
Parade spokesman Bill O’Reilly said other groups identifying themselves as gay will be able to apply to march in future years. There are about 320 groups booked to march in next year’s parade.
The parade committee said in a statement that its “change of tone and expanded inclusiveness is a gesture of goodwill to the LGBT community in our continuing effort to keep the parade above politics.” The statement added that the parade was “remaining loyal to church teachings,” which oppose gay relationships.
The head of New York’s Catholics backed the committee. “My predecessors and I have always left decisions on who would march to the organizers of the individual parades,” Dolan said in a statement. “As I do each year, I look forward to celebrating Mass in honor of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland and the patron saint of this archdiocese, to begin the feast, and pray that the parade would continue to be a source of unity for all of us.”
Approval of the policy reversal was widespread — from advocacy groups, like the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation; to former Mayor David Dinkins, who boycotted the parade in 1992 and 1993; to former Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who is gay and also refused to march while in office, from 2006 to last year.
“Those of us who are Irish and LGBT would watch this city celebrate and know we weren’t welcome,” Quinn told the Daily News. “To have that end not only puts all of that behind us, I hope it sends a message to communities all over the world to not give up the fight.”
But one group didn’t believe the committee went far enough by letting just one LGBT group march next year.
Nathan Schaefer, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, said the committee’s decision “strikes us as disappointing and self-serving.”
“We call on them to take a bolder stand for inclusion by welcoming other groups that truly represent lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Irish-Americans to march in 2015,” he said.
With Jennifer Fermino, Celeste Katz and News Wire Services
