Hillary Clinton, who is campaigning for a Senate seat in New York, is to march in a St Patrick's Day Parade this Sunday. Unlike the main parade on March 17th, Sunday's parade will allow gays and lesbians to take part under their own banners.
Mrs Clinton aroused controversy recently when she said she would march in the main parade along Fifth Avenue on St Patrick's Day, apparently unaware that its organisers, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, bans the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organisation (ILGO) from marching as a group.
The ILGO criticised Mrs Clinton, who is noted for her strong feminist views, for her intention to march in a parade which excludes gays and lesbians if they carry a distinguishing banner.
Now Mrs Clinton has announced that she will also march in a St Patrick's parade this Sunday in the Queens area of New York which will allow gay and lesbian groups to participate with their banners. The parade has been widely portrayed as a gay and lesbian alternative to the main parade in Manhattan.
Mr Brendan Fay, a co-founder of Sunday's parade, and a member of another Irish gay and lesbian group called the Lavender and Green Alliance, said he was "honoured and delighted" by Mrs Clinton's participation and her "decision to share our message of inclusiveness". But others have criticised her intention to march still in a parade they see as "exclusive".
Mr Fay, who is from Drogheda, has denied that it will be solely a gay and lesbian parade and says that of the 77 groups expected to march, only four would be gay and lesbian. The AOH has refused an invitation to take part, he said.
Meanwhile, the ILGO has lost a court action seeking a permit to protest against its exclusion from the main parade on Fifth Avenue. But Ms Ann Maguire of ILGO said a protest would still go ahead. Ms Maguire also criticised Mrs Clinton for "trying to have it both ways" by being in the "inclusive" and "exclusive" parades.
Mr Fay said that a number of Catholic parishes in Queens would be represented and that some priests had sent donations for the parade.
Sunday's parade slogan is taken from the 1916 proclamation and reads: "Cherish all the children of the nation equally." The logo for the parade banner was designed by the artist Robert Ballagh. It can seen on the internet on www.lavenderandgreen.com.