Activists for homosexual, bisexual, and transgender equal rights attended the St. Patrick’s Day parades in the Northeast on Monday, although hardly in the form of celebration of its festivities.

The gay community has been in an uproar regarding the famous New York parade, responding to the prohibition of their efforts to march down Fifth Avenue in support of gay rights. Their protests were joined by New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, who chose to opt out of participating in the parade in light of the parade’s lack of inclusion of formally recognized members of the LBGT community. This was the first time in decades that the mayor of New York has refused to march in the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Parade organizers have said gay groups are not prohibited from marching, but are not allowed to carry suggestive signs or assert themselves as LBGT.

Boston mayor Martin Walsh also chose not to march in his city’s parade after talks from Boston parade organizers broke down that would have allowed a gay group to march.

Three of the parade’s most notable sponsors withdrew their support of the festivities in New York City on Monday in response. Heineken, Samuel Adams, and Guinness yanked their sponsorship this year because of the parade’s decision regarding its exclusion of gay people. A spokesperson from Guinness released a statement regarding its decision to opt out of the celebration:

“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. As this has not come to pass, Guinness has withdrawn its participation. We will continue to work with community leaders to ensure that future parades have an inclusionary policy.”

Ford Motor Company was among the few sponsors to remain in support of the parade in New York.

Edna Kenny, head of the Irish government, became the first British prime minister to attend Boston’s annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast on Sunday, and weighed in with his perspective on the controversy over gay right lobbyists’ demands and his participation in New York City’s parade, saying “The St. Patrick’s Day parade is a parade about our Irishness and not about sexuality, and I would be happy to participate in it.”

Thousands of green-clad spectators congregated in celebration of their Irish heritage in New York on Monday; however, reports estimate that attendance was only about half of what it has been in previous years.