The Irish-American mayor of Boston boycotted the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday after organisers would not allow a group of LGBT campaigners to join the march.

Mayor Marty Walsh tried and failed to negotiate a deal with the conservative Allied War Veteran’s Council to allow members of MassEquality, one of the state of Massachusetts’s largest gay activist groups, to join the parade.

The Council argued that to do so would conflict with their Roman Catholic heritage.

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“So much of our Irish history has been shaped by the fight against oppression,” Walsh, the city's first Irish-American mayor in 20 years, said in a statement.

“As mayor of the city of Boston, I have to do my best to ensure that all Bostonians are free to participate fully in the civic life of our city.

Shape Created with Sketch. St Patrick's Day 2014 Show all 20 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. St Patrick's Day 2014 1/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 The zebra crossing on Abbey Road, St John's Wood, is turned green by Tourism Ireland to celebrate St Patrick's Day in London 2/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 The leaning tower of Pisa is colored in green to celebrate Ireland's national holiday on the eve of the St Patricks Day 3/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 The leaning tower of Pisa colored in green is part of the initiative 'Global Greening', sponsored by Tourism Ireland, with many famous monuments in many cities of the world which are colored in green to show friendship towards the European island 4/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 A giant shamrock waves to spectators during the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in Montreal 5/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 'The Rose of WB' makes his way to the float at the start of the 'World's Shortest' Saint Patrick's Day Parade in West Boylston, Massachusetts 6/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 A participant dressed as a leprechaun on stilts enters Keepers Pub at the finish of the 'World's Shortest' Saint Patrick's Day Parade in West Boylston, Massachusetts 7/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 A float passes through during St Patrick's Day parade in Central London 8/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 A man wears a full body suit with Irish colors and a woman dressed like a leprechaun attend the St. Patrick's Day parade in central London 9/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 The Chicago River being dyed green ahead of the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago 10/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 A child wearing a green hat with a shamrock takes part in a parade celebrating St Patrick's Day, in Bucharest, Romania 11/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 Spectators smile as the watch the annual St. Patrick's Day parade AP 12/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 Japanese youths dance on the street during the 22nd St Patrick's Day Parade at Omotesando fashion district in Tokyo. Some 1,000 people took part in the annual parade Getty Images 13/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 A waitress serves wine during St. Patrick's Day celebrations at Sheraton Hotel in Surabaya, Indonesia Getty Images 14/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 Japanese people march as they play musical instruments on the street during the 22nd St Patrick's Day Parade at Omotesando fashion district in Tokyo Getty Images 15/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 People stand along the river Vilnele to watch as it is colored green to celebrate St Patrick's Day in Vilnius, Lithuania Getty Images 16/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 Dancers dressed in Irish themed costumes participate in the annual St. Patrick's Day Festival as it passes from Piccadilly to Trafalgar Square through Haymarket Getty Images 17/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 Members of Penrith Gaels Football Club celebrate St Patrick's Day inside the Three Wise Monkeys Hotel Getty Images 18/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 Kim Thompson and Simon Kearns celebrate St Patrick's Day inside the Three Wise Monkeys in Sydney, Australia Getty Images 19/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 Irish Drag Queen Peachy Queen (second from right) poses alongside supporters and prepares to march in the St Patrick's day parade on behalf of all gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people for the first time in Sydney, Australia Getty Images 20/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 Waitress dressed as St. Patrick serve cake and beer during St. Patrick's Day celebrations at Sheraton Hotel on in Surabaya, Indonesia Getty Images 1/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 The zebra crossing on Abbey Road, St John's Wood, is turned green by Tourism Ireland to celebrate St Patrick's Day in London 2/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 The leaning tower of Pisa is colored in green to celebrate Ireland's national holiday on the eve of the St Patricks Day 3/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 The leaning tower of Pisa colored in green is part of the initiative 'Global Greening', sponsored by Tourism Ireland, with many famous monuments in many cities of the world which are colored in green to show friendship towards the European island 4/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 A giant shamrock waves to spectators during the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in Montreal 5/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 'The Rose of WB' makes his way to the float at the start of the 'World's Shortest' Saint Patrick's Day Parade in West Boylston, Massachusetts 6/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 A participant dressed as a leprechaun on stilts enters Keepers Pub at the finish of the 'World's Shortest' Saint Patrick's Day Parade in West Boylston, Massachusetts 7/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 A float passes through during St Patrick's Day parade in Central London 8/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 A man wears a full body suit with Irish colors and a woman dressed like a leprechaun attend the St. Patrick's Day parade in central London 9/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 The Chicago River being dyed green ahead of the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago 10/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 A child wearing a green hat with a shamrock takes part in a parade celebrating St Patrick's Day, in Bucharest, Romania 11/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 Spectators smile as the watch the annual St. Patrick's Day parade AP 12/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 Japanese youths dance on the street during the 22nd St Patrick's Day Parade at Omotesando fashion district in Tokyo. Some 1,000 people took part in the annual parade Getty Images 13/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 A waitress serves wine during St. Patrick's Day celebrations at Sheraton Hotel in Surabaya, Indonesia Getty Images 14/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 Japanese people march as they play musical instruments on the street during the 22nd St Patrick's Day Parade at Omotesando fashion district in Tokyo Getty Images 15/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 People stand along the river Vilnele to watch as it is colored green to celebrate St Patrick's Day in Vilnius, Lithuania Getty Images 16/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 Dancers dressed in Irish themed costumes participate in the annual St. Patrick's Day Festival as it passes from Piccadilly to Trafalgar Square through Haymarket Getty Images 17/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 Members of Penrith Gaels Football Club celebrate St Patrick's Day inside the Three Wise Monkeys Hotel Getty Images 18/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 Kim Thompson and Simon Kearns celebrate St Patrick's Day inside the Three Wise Monkeys in Sydney, Australia Getty Images 19/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 Irish Drag Queen Peachy Queen (second from right) poses alongside supporters and prepares to march in the St Patrick's day parade on behalf of all gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people for the first time in Sydney, Australia Getty Images 20/20 St Patrick's Day 2014 Waitress dressed as St. Patrick serve cake and beer during St. Patrick's Day celebrations at Sheraton Hotel on in Surabaya, Indonesia Getty Images

"Unfortunately, this year, the parties were not able to come to an understanding that would have made that possible," he added.

Other prominent fellow Democratic Boston politicians, including Representative Stephen Lynch, did march in the parade, which drew tens of thousands of spectators.

Organisers of St. Patrick’s Day parades in New York, which like Boston is broadly liberal, have also been criticised in recent years for banning LGBT marchers.

New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio said he would also not march in his city’s parade on Monday because LGBT activists had been precluded from taking part.

Representatives for the New York board of the Ancient Order of the Hibernians, which has run the parade for more than 150 years, could not be reached for comment on Sunday afternoon.

Beer brand Guinness withdrew its sponsorship of the New York parade, while Boston Beer Co and Heineken did not back either parade over the issue.

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However, while MassEquality was not allowed to participate in the parade, South Boston resident Randy Foster and his husband Steve Martin were behind a diversity-themed float, but with no direct LGBT rights messages.

Foster said the rainbow flags that adorned the float represented the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow in Irish lore, but he acknowledged the flag is also associated with the LGBT rights movement.

“If there's a dual message to it, we're OK with it and so are the parade organizers,” said Foster, 48. “We made the point of not making it a gay float.

"If we're going to have a message of inclusion, it shouldn't be for one group," he said.