SYRACUSE -- Today, folks are celebrating St. Patrick's Day across Central New York, and the nation.
This morning, a special ceremony was held at Tipperary Hill Park in Syracuse where the famous ‘green-over-red’ light hangs at the intersection of Tompkins Street and Milton Avenue. Mayor Stephanie Miner was on hand to honor Richard Palladino, a member of St. Patrick's Church in Syracuse since 1942 who also attended St. Patrick’s High School. Helen Sobotka, an active member of the St. John the Baptist Ukrainian parish for almost 40 years, was also honored.
The park is also home to the Stone Throwers Monument, dedicated to the memory of some turn of the century Tipp Hill neighborhood boys who continually threw stones at the standard red-over-green traffic light until the city agreed to install the now legendary green-over-red light. Tradition says that in the early 1900s, Irish immigrant families who had recently arrived in the city disliked the idea of British red over Irish green on the standard light, prompting the installation of the current look.
In Washington, the White House is going green for St. Patrick's Day... literally.
The famous fountains at the Presidential mansion have been dyed green for the second year in a row in honor of St. Patrick's Day. This comes as Ireland's Prime Minister Brian Cowen is looking to boost his flagging political fortunes in a St. Patrick's Day meeting with President Barack Obama.
Cowen will be joined at the White House by Northern Ireland leaders, First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton praised the leaders for reaching an agreement in February that prevented a collapse of the Catholic-Protestant power-sharing government.
New York's St. Patrick's Day Parade will file down Fifth Avenue with New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly as the grand marshal. The parade also features New York's famous "Fighting 69th," whose history stretches to the U.S. Civil War. It was part of the Union Army's so-called "Irish Brigade," made up largely of Irish immigrants from New York City.
Gov. David Paterson and Mayor Michael Bloomberg attended a Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral before the midday parade Wednesday.
The Catholic Church, the once-dominant Irish faith, sought to remind revelers of the true story of Patrick: a Briton enslaved in his youth in Ireland who returned to spread Christianity throughout the pagan land in the 5th Century.
Bishop Seamus Hegarty's St. Patrick's Day message called for prayers for immigrants - both the Irish seeking jobs overseas and the Emerald Isle's own tens of thousands of newcomers from Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia who often work the longest hours for least pay.
"Mindful that St. Patrick was himself a migrant, we as a people are called to build a society that is truly inclusive, a society that is welcoming and respectful of people of different cultures, languages and traditions," Hegarty said.
"While our primary focus must be to ensure that we prevent another lost generation, we must also ensure that for those who decide to emigrate, they are neither abandoned nor forgotten," he said.
Information from the Associated Press and City of Syracuse was used in this report.
