The world’s biggest St Patrick’s Day parade went ahead in New York on Monday, under the shadow of a gay rights controversy, without the blessing of the city’s mayor and shorn of its most prominent commercial sponsors.



Guinness became the latest and most prominent company to withdraw its support, less than 24 hours before the parade was due to begin, because the parade’s organisers refused to allow LGBT marchers to identify their sexuality.

Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York, held the traditional St Patrick’s Day breakfast at his official residence, Gracie Mansion, with the prime minister of Ireland, Enda Kenny. But he declined to join the parade.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators lined Fifth Avenue in New York to watch the parade of kilted Irish-Americans and bagpipers, but observers estimated that the crowd was only about half the size as in previous years.

A similar controversy in Boston led to its mayor, Marty Walsh, sitting out the parade after failing to negotiate a compromise between organisers and gay groups, including war veterans, who wanted to take part.

The groups renounced their affiliation to the event because of a ban on allowing LGBT groups to identify their sexuality if they wanted to participate in the parade. A similar ban prompted Boston mayor Martin Walsh to sit out his city’s parade and Sam Adams to withdraw sponsorship.

Sometime between Friday and Monday, organizers for New York City’s parade removed the list of sponsors from their website. LGBT advocacy group Glaad has been contacting sponsors and has a list of groups named as supporters from the parade’s website on Friday. A number of politicians have also defended their continued participation in the parade.

With Guinness out, here is what and who is still supporting the parade:

Ford Motor Company

A Ford Mustang on display at the Geneva International Motor Show. Photograph: Pochuyev Mikhail/Itar-Tass/Corbis Photograph: Pochuyev Mikhail/ Pochuyev Mikhail/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis

According to Glaad, auto giant Ford is the only remaining national corporation sponsoring the event. “No one person, group or event reflects Ford’s views on every issue,” Ford said in a statement. “What we can tell you is that Ford is proud of its inclusive policies. Every member of the Ford team is valued, and we provide employee benefits regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation.”

New York Police Department commissioner

Bill Bratton has said he would participate in the St Patrick’s Day parade. Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP

NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton said on Friday that despite his track record of supporting gay rights, he will march in the parade because it “is a celebration of heritage”. Bratton, who is Irish, said the reasons he is participating in the parade are simple. “My own family – my sister is gay, married in Boston,” said Bratton. “So I am very comfortable with where I am on gay issues.”

Local universities

As of Friday, five universities in New York and nearby Connecticut were listed as event sponsors: Quinnipiac University, Fordham University, Manhattan College, Iona College and Fairfield University. Quinnipiac is the only one of these schools which is not affiliated with the Catholic church.



Ireland prime minister Enda Kenny

Prime minister of Ireland Enda Kenny speaks at the annual St Patrick's Day breakfast in Boston. Photograph: Dominick Reuter/Reuters Photograph: DOMINICK REUTER/REUTERS

While De Blasio is only the second New York mayor to sit out the city’s parade, and Boston mayor Walsh skipped his, Enda Kenny was the first Irish prime minister to attend Boston’s annual parade on Sunday. He was attending New York’s on Monday. “The St Patrick’s Day parade [in New York] is a parade about our Irishness and not about sexuality, and I would be happy to participate in it,” Kenny said.

The entertainment industry

Tour company CIE Tours International was listed as an event supporter on Friday. The company specializes in vacations to Ireland and Britain. New York’s Empire City Casino was also listed as a supporter on Friday.