by Debbie McGoldrick
THE Emerald Society of the Fire Department of New York will be returned to their customary spot at the top of the 2008 New York St. Patrick's Day Parade line of march - but in exchange, Emerald leadership will have to undertake efforts to discourage fire departments from outside of New York from participating in the parade.
The decision to restore the FDNY Emeralds to their 11:30 a.m. step-off time was confirmed at a meeting of the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee last Tuesday, September 11, in New York. Attended by a few dozen parade delegates on the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the U.S., Committee Chairman John Dunleavy said the Emeralds "behaved" well last year, and could therefore take their traditional place as one of the first units to march up Fifth Avenue.
"We are very happy that he is going to put us back in the line of march where we belong," FDNY Emeralds President Billy Nolan told the Irish Voice.
"We do not want any more trouble with the Parade Committee. We just want our members to march and enjoy the day, just like we always have."
The Emeralds were forced down the line of march for the 2007 parade as a form of punishment meted out by Dunleavy, who blamed them for a group of New Orleans firefighters who marched the previous year and displayed a banner thanking the FDNY for assistance in the Hurricane Katrina aftermath.
The banner, claimed Dunleavy, was out of line with parade rules, and the Emeralds were forced to pay the price with a demotion in this year's line of march.
The controversy over penalizing the beloved FDNY was made worse by subsequent remarks made by Dunleavy in which he alleged "drunken" behavior at the parade by firefighters. The flap made front page tabloid news, with Dunleavy widely criticized for his handling of the matter.
Last Tuesday's meeting - Dunleavy was also taken to task for scheduling the event on such a sensitive day, especially for firefighters - saw the parade chairman as defiant as ever in his apparent "disdain" for firefighters, according to one source, and he again spoke of drunkenness at the parade.
Though the FDNY Emeralds - who this year began their march up Fifth Avenue nearly 90 minutes later than they usually do because of the demotion - were restored to their spot, Dunleavy made it clear that he does not want the parade to become a "firefighter's march," according to Nolan.
"He started the meeting by apologizing for the September 11 timing, and then he started to bash the firefighters, and criticized us for what we supposedly ‘did' to him this year," Nolan said.
"He said we marched well this year, but he wants us to work to keep other firefighters from around the country and the world out of the parade. Doesn't he realize how this will affect the city, and especially tourism, for all the groups that want to come here for the day?"
Nolan agreed that he would use his contacts with other firefighter groups and alert them to the Parade Committee's stance with regards to participation in the internationally known event. "And that's all we can do," Nolan added.
Nolan said that Dunleavy claimed to have floated the idea of a "firefighter only" parade with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "He made his feeling about firefighters in the parade pretty clear," Nolan added.
The Parade Committee message for firefighters in 2008, Nolan said, is crystal clear - stay away, or else contact the committee for further guidance.
"The committee just does not want them," Nolan said.
The march will take place on Monday, March 17, even though it clashes with the start of the Easter period. Easter Sunday falls on March 23.
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