Members of the Rockland Irish American community are once again planning to protest at the Palisades Center Mall, in West Nyack, NY, where t-shirts with raunchy humor, sexual slogans and references to excessive inebriation are on sale in the name of St. Patrick’s Day.
The Ancient Order of the Hibernians is protesting Spencer’s in particular for their St. Patrick’s Day products including t-shirts with the slogan “Rub My Shamrocks for Luck,” “Irish Girl Wasted,” and other slogans including profanities.
Last year, following protests by the Irish American group, the Rockland County Legislature passed a resolution calling for the mall management to pull offending items from the shelves. Lawmakers are once again asking management to get involved.
Spencer’s has more than 600 stores across the United States including those in White Plains and Yonkers. The Irish group feel that the lifestyle and gag gift retailer is mocking Irish culture and feeds into stereotypes, according to the Journal News.
Anti-Defamation chairperson of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Neil Cosgrove, said, “This has gone way beyond a St. Patrick’s Day T-shirt with beer mugs.
“They are just pushing the bounds more and more.”
“You don’t see other ethnic groups targeted like this,” he added.
The AOH protest is planned for 11.15am on Friday ( in the parking lot of the ShopRite at 243 Route 59 in West Nyack). Rockland County Ancient Order of Hibernians and Sen. David Carlucci, D-New City will be in attendance.
24 Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.anglo-norman | Mar 03, 2013, 12:48 AM EST
misswhisp- Just pointing out the irony to StevenStar
anglo-norman | Mar 02, 2013, 05:10 PM EST
StevenCapslock- Mate?? Is that a unique Irish term?
STEVENSTAR | Mar 02, 2013, 04:47 PM EST
pilib04 | Mar 02, 2013, 11:09 AM EST>>>. I FIND THAT COMMENT VERY OFFENSIVE. I AM NOT AMERICAN I AM IRISH BORN AND BRED AND I LIVE HERE. I ALSO HAVE AN IRISH PASSPORT AND DO NOT HAVE TO LEAVE AFTER A 90DAY HOLIDAY VISA ! NEW EU LAWS FOR AMERICANS! HOW ABOUT YOU ? :-)
STEVENSTAR | Mar 02, 2013, 04:43 PM EST
@@anglo-norman | Mar 02, 2013, 03:34 PM EST >>>>>>>>>>>>. NO I HAVENT MATE AS I HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO THEN WATCH ST PATRICKS DAY PARADES AROUND IRELAND ON THE 17TH OF MARCH... SO YOU PROBABLY KNOW MORE ABOUT PARADES IN IRISH TOWNS AS I DO !!!
anglo-norman | Mar 02, 2013, 04:12 PM EST
Smyrnian- are you for real? lol
Smyrnian | Mar 02, 2013, 03:58 PM EST
Anglophile - in all my days and years I never saw what you describe. Maybe you have an agenda? Nah! Couldn't be.
anglo-norman | Mar 02, 2013, 03:34 PM EST
StevenStar- Cheap & tacky? Have you seen the state of Irish people on St Patricks Day in towns & cities around Ireland? Men,women & children lying in their own piss & vomit in the streets.
awoken32 | Mar 02, 2013, 01:52 PM EST
@stevenstar im irish born an bread an your anti irish american stance is sickening,I love my irsh people fullstop,As for the article up above the t-shirts are a disgrace an should be put into a pile an burnt,Its a disgrace to put sick stuff like that on t-shirts,Its anti-irish racism an should be stopped in its tracks
Smyrnian | Mar 02, 2013, 01:27 PM EST
Stevenstar - I'm Irish born and live in the States. I won't be backing you up; you are way out of line and, frankly (and with all due respect) you simply do not know what you are talking about. Cheers.
pilib04 | Mar 02, 2013, 11:09 AM EST
STEVENSTAR, how is it that your grammar betrays you as American?
gobdawpaddy | Mar 02, 2013, 06:47 AM EST
Steven, have been reading your 'posts' over the past few weeks. I am trying to get a better take on you. Are you 'special'?
RobinForester | Mar 02, 2013, 02:33 AM EST
All this talk about the Irish being partial to a drop of the hard stuff is ex&*agerrat2*$8tted.
STEVENSTAR | Mar 01, 2013, 08:48 PM EST
AH YOU GOTTA GIVE IT TO THE AMERICANS THEY SURE KNOW HOW TO TURN OUR NATIONAL ST PATRICKS DAY INTO SOMETHING CHEAP AND TACKY....PLEASE IM IRISH I LIVE IN IRELAND AND I FIND YOUR OBSESSION AND FANATIC BEHAVIOR TO ALL THINGS IRISH 'VERY SCARY' !!! TRUST ME IM IRISH AND FOR ANY OF US IRISH WHO HAVE BEEN TO AMERICAN IM SURE YOU WILL BACK ME UP.. YOU PEOPLE 'SCARE ME' ...
pilib04 | Mar 01, 2013, 06:06 PM EST
Ancavker, "80 odd years?" I'm curious, by what math did you come up with 80? That would be 1933! Really, what Independence day does that signify. In America, Independence day starts on July 4, 1776 although the Brits weren't driven out until 1783. What does 1933 signify. I can see, Easter Monday 1916 (do remember that the Centennial celebration is almost upon us), Poblachta na hEireann 21 January, 1919 or even the 18 April 1949 proclamation. However, none would be 80 or 80 odd years of independence. Can you enlighten us?
PiperMac52 | Mar 01, 2013, 06:01 PM EST
Let's not go insane with the PC tripe. After all we Irish are known for our sense of humor and to be truthful, there would be no market for these items if there weren't someone willing to buy and wear them.
ancavker | Mar 01, 2013, 05:08 PM EST
Wounded: You sound surprised! The Irish in Ireland are self-loathing, no surprise there.80 odd years of independencce and they are still on their knees. Sad but true.
Will Hamilton | Mar 01, 2013, 03:55 PM EST
The Ancient Order of Hibernians are protecting their delusional version of what they've imagined Irish culture is. What they are really preserving is American Plastic Paddy culture. An organisation invented to shove Vatican culture down the throats of Irish people thinks the country that for decades allowed Catholic clergy to rape it's children has a "good name". Of course in the minds of these deluded religious fanatics everything is good provided Rome rules. Women and children, corrupt politics, backward thinking and small mindedness are just incidental by-products.
Seanmor | Mar 01, 2013, 03:11 PM EST
Fighting69: Thank you ever so much or as we say in Irish: "Go raibh míle maith agat". All stores that display or sell merchandise that is offencive/decrading to the Irish should be boycotted by all. None of us deserves deserves to be treated in such a humiliating fasdhion, especially if we have HONORABLY served in the defence forces of this great nation to whom we are fiercely LOYAL.
WoundedKnee | Mar 01, 2013, 02:49 PM EST
When they're finished in NY State they need to go over to Ireland. Some of the most offensive St Patrick's shirts I have ever seen were on sale in the big Dublin retailer Pennys. When I complained to the (Irish) manager she looked at me as if I had just dropped my pants in front of her. The Irish are the only people in the world who buy material that is racist towards themselves. And the worst thing is to see the foreign migrants in Ireland buying that stuff, in an effort to blend in. I don't blame them, I blame the Irish.
jamieLM | Mar 01, 2013, 12:57 PM EST
It just takes a relatively small number of drunk rowdies at home and abroad to give everyone a bad name, true for all ethnic groups, except there's a double whammy if they're Irish. Then we have tasty Irish recipes on the front page of IC that call for Guinness in all of them. As if they wouldn't be "Irish" or couldn't taste good unless they contained Guinness beer. It's no wonder that the Irish are so identified with alcohol. I'm sticking to my Irish soda bread recipe-sans alcohol. (:))
seanmac50 | Mar 01, 2013, 10:52 AM EST
Many thanks for those of you trying to protect the Irish good name. Unfortunately some of our young Irish males are doing our country no favours due to their unruly behavior abroad, especially in Australia. I blame the lack of proper policing in Ireland where such behavior is not stamped out. Bad habits are then generated.
gobdawpaddy | Mar 01, 2013, 10:51 AM EST
Why are the PC crowd getting their panties in a knot about this? One just has to read the anecdotal evidence presented in IC every few weeks regarding the drunken behavior of Irish immigrants in Perth, San Diego, Chicago, Nashville etc. to understand that excessive drinking and unsocial behavior are synonymous with contemporary Irish. You had an Irish Taoiseach a few years back christened 'the drunken moron' by Jay Leno, when he gave an early morning interview while 'under the influence'. Irish grocery stores are not permitted to sell alcohol there after 10pm, there is talk of a 'minimum price per unit' of alcohol being introduced, a ban on 'happy hours' is I believe already in effect in Ireland. Irish people in general do not know how to behave after or understand the concept of having 'a few drinks'. Why the upset at the portrayal of this on T Shirts?
Fightin69th | Mar 01, 2013, 09:38 AM EST
Last year at the mall near me, I visited a shop that had offensive/degrading t-shirts towards the Irish, I walked around the store with a load of merchandise, asked for a manager, told him that I found the t-shirts offensive & degrading and they should remove them, he said that they couldn't, so i dropped all the merchandise that "I was going to buy" on a nearby table and walked out. An hour later, I walked in with 3 bags from their competitiors (who did not have any offensive merchandise) and told the manager that he lost out on a big sale, and lost a customer for a year......will be going back again soon to do this again.......with a load of friends. Gotta hit them where it hurts.....in the cash register
Seanmor | Mar 01, 2013, 09:11 AM EST
Are the only nationality in the U.S. who are still widely victimized by those who love to protray us in a very degrading, scurrrilous fasion? The sad fact about this is that many of our own people are the worst offenders as this very offensive activity. Enev the best among us disparage the name of our patron saint by calling him abusuive nicknames.