Parade fighting 'truce'

NEW YORK'S Irishmen have finally agreed to stop fighting with each other over St. Patrick's Day.

Two rival groups of Irish-Americans have been bickering about the jurisdiction of the annual march through the city for years but they declared a truce last week - with March 17 still 155 days away.

St. Patrick's Day Parade Inc., the nonprofit group which runs the Fifth Avenue celebration, said it had made an "important historic agreement" with the Ancient Order of Hibernians, America's oldest Catholic lay organisation.

The move came after the AOH apologised to parade organisers for remarks made last year by its former president, Thomas Gilligan. His comments had outraged St. Patrick's Day Parade Inc and prompted them to threaten legal action.

New AOH president, Edward "Ned" McGinley, said he was sorry for his predecessor's statements, which questioned the committee's "integrity and objectivity".

"It's too important for any individual, whether Hibernian or not, to criticize the mission of what the parade stands for," said Parade Executive Secretary James Barker.

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