Congressional leaders slam Urban Outfitters chain for Irish slurs

“We believe these items represent a step too far” say Irish- American politicanss

By

CAHIR O'DOHERTY,

Irish Voice Reporter

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Irish Yoga Trucker Hat currently being sold at Urban Outfitters

Photo by UrbanOutfitters.com

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In addition to Crowley, the letter was also signed by House members Peter King, Richie Neal, Eliot Engel, James McGovern, Bill Pascrell, Jr., Carolyn Maloney, Frank Pallone., Tim Holden and Christopher Smith.

Last week America’s largest Irish organization, the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) called on the Irish community to rally together to have Urban Outfitters remove its offensive St. Patrick’s Day line from their stores, and apologize to the Irish people.

Meanwhile in a letter to Urban Outfitters, the Irish Anti-Defamation Federation stated, “The Irish community is fed up nationwide, and the vast Irish organizations we partner with are working to stop these attacks. We will start email, phone, and letter writing campaigns until this merchandise is removed.”

Last week an SDLP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Karen McKevitt, called on Urban Outfitters to remove the items from all of its retail stores.

“I think it was reckless for Urban Outfitters to use this offensive image…A lot of businesses rely on

St Patrick's Day to generate some revenue but when we see big companies trying to make money like this we should not be standing for it,” she said.

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