Mayor Zohran Mamdani started his St. Patrick’s Day early, honoring Ireland’s ties to the city by hosting his first public event of his mayoralty at Gracie Mansion.

“The story of the Irish, both in Ireland and in New York City, is at one time a story of oppression, subjugation and discrimination. As we know, it was on Irish soil that the British developed their colonial project,” said Mamdani, assembling Irish and Irish-American powerbrokers.

What You Need To Know

Mayor Zohran Mamdani started his St. Patrick’s Day early, honoring Ireland’s ties to the city by hosting his first public event of his mayoralty at Gracie Mansion

Later, Mamdani attended mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, seen by some as a penance to Catholic New Yorkers after skipping Archbishop Ronald Hicks’ installation last month

Mamdani also used his time to compare the country’s scarred history with that of Palestinians

Mamdani highlighted the island’s painful history of oppression and violence, familiar to those who remember the country before the 1998 “Good Friday” Agreement, which established peace in Northern Ireland.

The mayor hosted the Emerald Isle’s first woman president, Mary Robinson, who held the job from 1990 to 1997.

“The Irish know how to celebrate, but we also know how to hold joy in one hand and sorrow in the other,” she told the crowd.

Mamdani also used his time to compare the country’s scarred history with that of Palestinians.

“Over the past few years, as we’ve witnessed a genocide unfold, there’s been deafening silence from so many. For those who have long cared about universal human rights and the extension of them to Palestinians. Silence, however, is nothing new. For Palestinians are often left to weep alone,” he said.

Later, Mamdani attended mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, seen by some as a penance to Catholic New Yorkers after skipping Archbishop Ronald Hicks’ installation last month.

“I appreciate the relationship I have with Catholic New Yorkers and I found the Archbishop to be someone who will be an inspiration not just to Catholic New Yorkers, but New Yorkers across the five boroughs, with a vision of uplifting those who are too often forgotten,” Mamdani told reporters at the start of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Mamdani said he sat down with the Archbishop Monday.

“It is a joy and a privilege to lead a city that so many Catholic Americans call home, and I’ll continue to take inspiration from the incredible contributions to this city’s history we’ve seen from Catholic New Yorkers,” Mamdani said.

Irish-Catholic herself, Gov. Kathy Hochul recalled her grandparents, who hailed from Ireland’s County Kerry.

“They created that life that allowed me to, a generation-and-a-half later, become the governor of the state of New York as the first Irish governor in 40 years. Long overdue, proud to carry on the great tradition,” Hochul said.

After a reporter asked if she supports a reunified Ireland, Hochul said, “Indeed I do,” declaring her agreement with Irish nationalists seeking to unite the north and south of Ireland as one country in the European Union.

Although a belief held by a majority of those living in the Irish Republic, it still divides those residing in the predominantly Protestant North, many of whom desire to remain part of the United Kingdom.

Mamdani gave a more open-ended answer.

“There’s always more to learn. But I can tell you, as someone who believes deeply in the principle of self-determination, that I think that should also be extended to the Irish,” he said.