St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland
Traditions start somewhere. What they become can be as varied as the people who celebrate them. St. Patrick’s Day is no different.
The Feast of Saint Patrick, set on the anniversary of his death, was created to commemorate the patron saint of Ireland and his bringing of Christianity to the people. The traditional, three-leaved shamrock was used in his explanation of the Holy Trinity. The color green has long been associated with Ireland and is one of the colors of their flag.
If you were to ask people in the United States about St. Patrick’s Day, you’d most likely hear stories of wearing green, parades, eating corned beef and cabbage and drinking green beer. It is certainly a celebration. But is what and how we celebrate really how it’s done in Ireland where this whole day started? In order to find out, we turned to some of our Irish MITM family to find out. Thanks to Anita Foy, Ali Hartney and Seanna Ryan, we had the opportunity to learn more about this day’s history and traditions.
Anita Foy
For me personally, it’s a proud day to be Irish. I find it amazing that for such a small island like our own, that the feast day of St. Patrick is celebrated all over the world. I have spent St. Patrick’s Day, (or as we affectionately call it ‘St. Paddy’s day’) in various different countries over the years and I’m always surprised at the enthusiasm and energy that everyone adopts for the day.
As a child we would always attend St. Patrick’s Day mass where we would sing St. Patrick’s Day hymns that we were taught in school. Then my dad would bring myself and my brother to the parade in town. Everyone had to wear green and sport either a St. Patrick’s Day badge or some shamrock.
Nowadays St. Patrick’s Day has become St. Patrick’s Festival, so instead of one day, it has become a weeklong celebration! This is a fun week to be in Ireland- Everything goes green! The streets are filled with Céilís, funfairs, live theatres and music! There is also beer and whiskey festivals, as well as historical walks around the city.
A lot of Irish use this week to live up to our Irish stereotype… but myself and my friends would usually just head in for a few of the activities and celebrate with a pint of ‘the black stuff’. It’s a public holiday, so we always get the day off work.
Ali Hartney
St Patrick’s Day really signifies the start of Spring here, daffodils provide splashes of yellow everywhere, there’s “a grand stretch in the evenings” as we say here, once the clocks change (European Summer Time begins), although it doesn’t mean it’s warm weather by any means.
Traditionally, the Six Nations rugby championship is on and it’s normally the weekend when we face our old rivals England. There’s nothing better than hearing “The Fields of Athenry” ringing around the stadium in either Dublin or Twickenham – it makes me proud to be Irish!
Some of the best St Patrick’s Day memories I have are of being in a foreign city and discovering how much people like to celebrate our national holiday! This year landmarks around the world (including Niagara Falls, the Empire State Building and the fountain at the White House) will go green especially for St Patricks’ Day.
As it’s a national holiday, it’s a great chance to spend time with family and friends. We bring shamrock to our grandmothers, send greetings to loved ones around the world (Skype is great for that) and then have a big family dinner. Of course each town has its own parade, but the weather is never very co-operative!
Seanna Ryan
Personally, the significance has changed over the years. When I was younger, it was a day of celebration, getting together with family members and going to one of our many parades. Within the school programme, coming up to the time, there was a major emphasis on religion and the story behind St. Patrick himself, bringing Christianity to people of Ireland.
Now, as an adult, religion is not the biggest emphasis (unfortunately). We have to remember it still is the front runner reason for this day, but for me, it’s again a celebration with friends and family for many reasons, just to remind ourselves of our unity and country. It has almost become more of a celebration of Ireland itself! Even though it is a small island, there are a lot of us all around the world!
I would normally celebrate with friends and family, by either going to a local parade, or watching it on the T.V. I find now as an adult, it’s a day of relaxation, due to the fact that a lot of businesses/government bodies would be closed for the day. A bonus day off in the middle of the week is always a good thing. Going to a local pub for a few drinks and music is not always on the agenda. Fun if it can happen, but some of us do have to work the next day!
Food and Beverage Traditions
So what about that green beer and corned beef? It seems like tradition isn’t so traditional; while they all have similar tastes in the great MITM music, their food and drink choices can vary.
Seanna Ryan
Meal: Well, not liked by a lot of people, but in my household, bacon, cabbage, potatoes, some green vegetables and some lovely parsley sauce.
Beverages: Well, I’d recommend trying Guinness (the black stuff). It isn’t my favorite at all but loved by a lot of people of Ireland. My own favorite is Jameson whiskey. Add some ice and you have perfection!
Anita Foy
Meal: I suppose there is no real ‘Irish’ cuisine, but Dublin Coddle (see the end of this page for a recipe) or Irish Stew would be a favorite. Usually for St. Paddy’s day we would go to my parents for dinner and HAVE to have the ingredients laid out like the Irish flag! For example: Cabbage/peas- Chicken/potatoes- Carrots/sweet potato. This could very well be exclusive to the Foy household, but it’s our little tradition!
Beverages: Guinness of course. But my favorite is a Jameson hot toddy!
Ali Hartney
Meal: It’s the season for Spring Lamb, so I normally cook a roast leg of lamb, with roast potatoes, parsnip mash and roast carrots. Normally mint sauce is served with lamb, but I’m not a fan! For starters, we might have smoked trout pate with Guinness-and-treacle bread (which Mick bakes). Click here for some Irish recipes.
Beverages: Well living in Ireland, you HAVE to start the day with a cup of tea (and in our house, it has to be Barry’s Tea!). Mick makes a great cup of tea. He says the key is to scald the pot with boiling water first, and then make sure the water is boiling when poured over the tea. There’s an ongoing debate in the nation as to whether you put the milk in your cup first or pour it in after the tea. (We stand firmly on the “milk after tea” side). Of course you can have an Irish coffee (coffee with whiskey topped with whipped cream) or a Black Velvet (Guinness topped with champagne) after dinner. I like a glass of Baileys with ice… No martini I’m afraid!
And just in case…
If you need to feel a little more Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, here are some additional words of wisdom, anecdotes, and inside information to give you the edge over your less Irish friends.
Ali Hartney
I have great memories of going into Dublin to watch the parade and seeing all the majorettes from America slowly turning blue in the cold Irish weather – such troopers! In the past there have been great fireworks displays along the River Liffey in Dublin, which are really spectacular.
Seanna Ryan
I am going to recommend everyone to listen to a beautiful Irish Song/Poem ‘On Ranglan Road’, by Patrick Kavanagh as a poem, and beautifully sung by Luke Kelly. The words and movement of the song is just perfect. Give it a go!
Anita Foy
Here is one to impress your Irish barman in your local Irish pub “Pionta Guinness, le do thoil” meaning ‘a pint of Guinness please’. Here it is phonetically ‘Pine-tah Guinness, le doh hull’.
We all try to speak a ‘cúpla focal’ (a few words) to impress the tourists when in reality the majority of Irish do not speak fluent Gaeilge, which is a shame really as it is a beautiful language.
Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh! (Happy St Patricks Day!)
Dublin Coddle
- 1 L stock
- 12 pork sausages
- 12 slices of irish bacon (Rashers)
- 12 carrots
- 12 turnips
- 8 leeks/onions
- 12 Irish potatoes
- 1 tblsp chopped chives
- Black pepper
Method
- Chop the bacon, coarsely chop the onions and put these with the sausages and potatoes, into a saucepan.
- Pour on the water, season, cover tightly and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
- Usually washed down with pints of Guinness!
