St Patrick's Day

[mandragora]

I don't get it. My family is sufficiently Irish that it's Tradition to name one male per generation 'Patrick', somewhere down the line. But, um, St Patrick's Day? Why?

Don't get me wrong, it's fun and all. But I can't help feeling that it's a fake celebration. The Irish themselves don't go as overboard on St Patrick's Day as people do in some other countries - oh hell, I might as well name names, by 'some other countries' I mean the US. I was in New York on St Patrick's Day once and had tremendous fun putting on a fake Irish accent and claiming free drinks at bar after bar after bar... Hey, was it my fault that most New Yorkers couldn't tell that the accent was fake? Especially as the name is authentically Irish *g*.

I can understand why there's a big celebration in New York, seeing as there's a large Irish-descent community there, but from what I can gather there is much wearing of shamrocks and green throughout the US, by people who have zero connection to Ireland. Presumably they enjoy the green beer *snerk*.

And what has set off this curmudgeonly, bad-tempered, kill-joy, bitchy rant (besides the fact that I am definitely coming down with some horrible lurgy)? It's the St Patrick's Day challenges/stories I see issuing forth onto mailing lists in fandoms that have zero connection to Ireland, St Patrick, or Irishness in general. I wouldn't mind if I'd read a good St Patrick's Day story. Alas, these are sadly lacking to date.

Comments

[jacquez.livejournal.com]

I was actually talking to basingstoke about this the other day - my maternal grandmother was an O'Reilly before she married, and although her grandkids have ended up American Melting Pot, she always considered herself Irish.

See, the Irish in America....it's not just that there are large ethnic Irish-American communities, although there are those - it's that the Irish immigrants into the US really bled into the cultural bedrock of the country (not to mention mixing into the country genetically). A lot of our famous people are Irish-Americans, and we elected one President.

Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's, around here, even if you're not. We don't even care. "What? You just came over from the Czech Republic? Too bad! You're Irish now!" (OK, that's an exaggeration. Kind of.)

There are some other ethnic holidays that Americans tend to go for en masse, but I think this is the big one, and I think it has a lot to do with how integrated (assimilated? influential?) the Irish have become in this country.

[raincitygirl.livejournal.com]

And the cheap beer probably doesn't hurt.

P.S. I'm one eighth Ulster Protestant. Do I count as Irish?

[mandragora1.livejournal.com]

I'm one eighth Ulster Protestant. Do I count as Irish?

Er, not by Irish standards *g*. By US standards? Maybe, I dunno? So, is St Patrick's Day celebrated in a big way in Canada as well (I'm guessing not, but could well be wrong).

Re:

[raincitygirl.livejournal.com]

Uh, not here. It might be celebrated in a big way back east. I know there was a lot of Irish immigration to Ontario and the Maritimes way back in the day. Some people wear something green, and pubs do a theme night (what holiday will a pub not build a theme night around, though?) but I don't think there's a parade or anything. It's not that big a deal.

[mandragora1.livejournal.com]

Meant to also say that if you'd been one eighth Catholic Irish you could have applied for an Irish passport, though (as opposed to a British one, with the ancestor being from Ulster).

Also, played for the Irish football team...

Re:

[raincitygirl.livejournal.com]

Well, I already have a British passport, so I think I'll survive without being able to get an Irish one.

Would they really give you a passport just for proving your great-grandmother was a Catholic from Ireland? Sheesh.

[mandragora1.livejournal.com]

Sounds like St Patrick's Day in Canada is celebrated in pretty much the same way as in Britain.

Would they really give you a passport just for proving your great-grandmother was a Catholic from Ireland? Sheesh.

Very warm, giving and generous people the Irish are. If you have an Irish grandparent you have the automatic right to an Irish passport and if you have an Irish grandparent then you may be entitled to an Irish passport - there are some limitations re the latter, though. And the Irish ancestor doesn't actually have to be Catholic it's just that most Irish, (as opposed to those, um, also Irish people who live in Ulster) are.

Well, I already have a British passport, so I think I'll survive without being able to get an Irish one.

Ah, but think of the advantages of having that Irish passport. Instead of being a denizen of the second-most hated nationality (the honour of first place going, of course, to the US) you get to be a citizen of a country that everybody likes. Now, one could argue, and with some success, that pretty much everybody also likes the Canadians, but I think the Irish just edge out the Canadians in the universal liking stakes. So, when you're in a hijacking hostage situation just flash your Irish passport at 'em and you'll be one of the first off the plane, as opposed to second to last if you use your British passport.

*g*

[mandragora1.livejournal.com]

Go Irish! *g* Interesting post, Laura. Thanks.

I think the Irish influence is the US is known about in general terms, at least in Britain, and I have to admire the tenacity of the Irish in establishing themselves so firmly in the New World.

In Britain a staggering 70% (approximately) of people have some Irish ancestry somewhere down the line but the cultural influences are less pronounced than in the US, I think. That said, St Patrick's Day is celebrated in London by the young, as a good excuse (as if one was needed!) to get pissed.