St Patrick’s Day Parade celebrated, protested

Fifth Avenue was a sea of green on Tuesday as an estimated 2 million people watched the centuries-old parade, with another quarter million marching in it.

With a more than 50 percent chance of rain, the overcast skies stayed dry for the 254th annual parade, led this year by Timothy Cardinal Dolan.

This year is the first year a gay group has been allowed to march in the parade with a banner. The move to include just one gay group, Out@NBCUniversal, led to a protest by the LGBTQ group Irish Queers. The protesters said including a group from the parade’s broadcasting partner was inadequate as it failed to include those who identify themselves as gay and Irish.