Decision to disallow 1913 Lockout float at St. Patrick’s Day Parade is unbelievable – Crowe

Dublin South West Sinn Féin TD, Seán Crowe TD, has said that the decision of the Dublin St. Patrick’s Day parade organisers to ban a trade union float commemorating the 1913 Dublin Lockout, in its Centenary Year, is unbelievable. He has called for an apology to be issued to the people of Dublin, whose ancestors sacrificed so much to improve working conditions in Ireland.

Deputy Seán Crowe said:

“The decision by the Dublin St. Patrick’s Day parade organisers to ban two concepts for floats commemorating the 1913 Dublin Lockout was unbelievable.

“The two floats were proposed by a Trade Union committee established to mark the anniversary of the 1913 Dublin Lockout and were designed by the street theatre performance company Macnas.

“It has been reported that the floats were barred from the parade because they didn’t fit in with The Gathering theme of this year’s parade. However it seems to me that this warped decision amounts to cultural censorship and the Dublin parade organisers made this decision for political reasons.

“I cannot understand how the Dublin parade organisers can argue that a float commemorating a key part of Dublin’s history in its centenary year should not be allowed in the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

“This is the biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the country, but essentially it is the Dublin people’s parade and with the parade marching past Jim Larkin’s statue, and other iconic sites, the organisers had a brass neck to disallow a float commemorating this crucial period in Dublin’s history.

“I would like to see a thorough review of this decision and a coherent explanation given to why the float ideas were turned down. More importantly there needs to be an apology given to the people of Dublin whose ancestors sacrificed so much for Trade Union recognition, working conditions, and pay in this city.

“The Dublin St Patrick’s Day was a vibrant, multi-cultural, and positive parade, but this crazy decision casts a dark shadow on the day’s events and left a negative where there should have only been positives.”