Dennis Dunn watches the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Fifth Avenue. (REUTERS)
Bagpipers march today in the parade. (R. Umar Abbasi)
City officials, including Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, are seen marching today. (R. Umar Abbasi)
Paul Mitchell from Ireland watches the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. (REUTERS)
A late winter snowstorm couldn’t wash away the green today on Fifth Avenue, where the 252nd annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade drew nearly a million Irish — and plenty who were just Irish for the day.
Bagpipers, baton-twirlers, men in kilts and bearskin hats, high school marching bands and military units led the procession from 44th Street to 79th Street before an estimated two million strong.
“It’s really not too cold. It’s beautiful … It’s a good time!” gushed Katie O’Keefe, 21, a Westchester resident who says she’s attended every St. Pat’s Parade since she was a little girl.
The day kicked off with a church service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral attended by politicians including Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Cuomo, and presided over by Archbishop Emeritus Cardinal Edward Egan.
Then came a pair of competing political breakfasts, including one at which elected officials complained of parade organizers’ refusal to allow any displays of gay pride.
Finally, it was time for the grand parade itself, led by 750 members of the New York Army National Guard. The 1st Battalion of the Guard’s 69th Infantry has been marching in the parade since 1851.
The early afternoon snowstorm couldn’t put a chill in the spirits of the giant crowd.
“What a day — church in the morning, then drinks all afternoon,” said Raymond Kilkenny, 62, a retired auto mechanic from Long Island.
“The Irish make the best of everything, no matter what it is,” said Pauline Mulcahy, 45, of Yonkers.
Mayor Bloomberg marched part of the parade twice, first with police officers and later with firefighters, waving to a cheering crowd.
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, on a goodwill trip to the US, marched much of the way just behind the mayor.
Sen. Charles Schumer, GOP mayoral candidate Joseph Lhota and Independence Party candidate Adolfo Carrion were among the politicians marching.
But many elected officials skipped the event, including Gov. Cuomo. Mayoral candidate and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn refused to march because parade organizers bar display of gay pride messages.
“I think it’s very unfortunate that, after so many decades, we’re still stuck on this spot,” Quinn said at a breakfast at a T.G.I. Friday’s in Times Square.
“In Dublin, the LGBT group marches visibly and in a terrific way,” Quinn noted.
Other Democratic mayoral hopefuls skipping the parade included former councilman Sal Albanese and city comptroller John Liu.
Bars and eateries along the parade route did brisk business. Firefighters shut down one spot, Johnny Utah’s on West 51st Street just off Fifth Avenue, because the crowd got too big.
“We paid $20 for wristbands, and we got kicked out before we could even get a drink!” said Sarah Whistler, a 22-year-old student from New City. “Good thing is the wristband is for a barhop, so on to the next bar, I guess!”
Police reported no serious incidents during the march up Fifth Avenue.
One man was arrested in a fracas between groups of parade-goers on the northern end of Times Square, several blocks off the parade route.
In New Jersey, however, 16 revelers were hauled off an NJ Transit train from Secaucus to Ramsey during an unscheduled stop in East Rutherford, and two were given tickets for disorderly conduct, officials said.