Comment du Jour

Saint Patrick's Day Parades!

Honoring Ireland on 17 March

New York's annual St. Patricks Day Parade is an amazing celebration of everything Irish, even by those who are not Irish. It's one of the happily popular cultural traditions where as they say in New York, "Everybody is Irish on St. Patrick's Day."

The Parade (is there any other really?) has been held since 1762 or fourteen years before American independence. This yeat marks the 248th St. Pat's Parade in New York, now held on the Queen of Avenues--Fifth Avenue.

But New York is not alone is celebrating St. Patrick. Boston with probably larger Irish population than New York hosts the 111th annual Parade in "Southie" South Boston. And indeed many towns across America hold parades big and small to honor the patron Saint of Ireland. And in Bondville, Vermont in the heart of ski country, there's been a St. Patrick's parade since 1974. The tradition continues now for the 38th year!

Montreal's St. Patrick's Parade is an important tradition which dates back to 1824. Called the "Parade St. Patrick" is deference to Montreal's French-speaking majority, the parade goes along downtown on St. Catherine's Street and ending at Phillips Square. Once home to a significant Irish community dating from the 19th century, today's Montreal Irish communities still come together for the parade and the celebration of Ireland.

Comment du Jour

Long Island Lighthouse Gains National Landmark Status

One of New York's oldest lighthouses dating to the days of George Washington, was awarded National Landmark status. The Montauk Point Lighthouse dating from 1796 has
been a mariners beacon on the East End of Long Island, about one hundred miles from New York Harbor.

According to historians, the lighthouse was vital for the early American Republic's trade from the 1790 until 1870.

"We’re already on the list of historic places," stated Eleanor Ehrhardt, a member of the Montauk Lighthouse Committee. "But a national landmark is far more prestigious,"
she told the Sag Harbor Express newspaper.

The National Parks Service Landmarks Committee approved the bid which was subsequently approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was instrumental in the process to issue the national landmark status. "The Montauk Point Lighthouse has a rich history and continues to serve as a vital navigation feature to this day," she wrote.

The Montauk Lighthouse has been a beacon for transatlantic trade since the 18th century and certainly deserves to be recognized as a National Landmark.