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Catholic League ‘still boycotting’ Guinness over St Patrick’s Day controversy

Sep 17 2014
Written by Nick Duffy

The Catholic League says it will continue its boycott of Guinness, six months after the firm pulled sponsorship from New York’s St Patrick’s Day parade over a ban on gay groups.

The company withdrew sponsorship over a ban on gay groups marching, days before the parade was due to commence.

It said at the time: “Guinness has a strong history of supporting diversity and being an advocate for equality for all. We were hopeful that the policy of exclusion would be reversed for this year’s parade.”

Guinness attracted the ire of Rupert Murdoch in March for the decision, leading the media tycoon to call for a boycott.

Bill Donohue, the head of the Catholic League, later announced a boycott, which he this week said must continue.

He said: “We are now half-way to St. Patrick’s Day, and many will be tipping a few in anticipation of the March 17, 2015 parades and celebrations. For several reasons, the Guinness boycott must continue.

“We should remember that this corporate bully tried to shove its secular agenda down our throats by punishing the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade for not allowing gays to march under their own banners in 2014; it pulled its sponsorship.

“Even though a gay group will be marching in the 2015 New York parade, Guinness is not promising to renew its sponsorship: it wants more homosexual units to march before getting on board again.

“If it were to succeed, it would turn the parade into a diversity free-for-all, thus eviscerating its Catholic heritage. Guinness has no monopoly on St. Patrick’s Day anyway. It’s time we sent them a message and told them to get lost.”