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Kansas City Irish Festivals, Music, Pubs, & Events by an Artist in Ireland

A few people in Kansas City have said to me over the last few days that, compared to what was going in in KC, Paddy’s Day is not a big deal in Ireland.

My quick dismissive answer goes along the lines of that being patent nonsense. But it’s more fun to go with longer answers. Hopefully not too much fun though.

Right now activity online in Ireland is quiet. Why? Because it’s a public holiday. With the Feast Day of Ireland’s patron saint falling on a weekend, everybody’s day off work defaults to the Monday. That puts the day in the realm of the other nine or so public holidays.

Now I haven’t worn a sprig of shamrock since I was a kid, but watching RTÉ’s coverage of the Ireland rugby game on Saturday, I did see the presenter and panel members were all wearing shamrock. That puts the day up there with Ash Wednesday.

Contrary to what I’ve been reading lately, everybody in Ireland does not go to mass on Paddy’s Day, because not everybody is Roman Catholic and because even Roman Catholics don’t go to mass on an ordinary Sunday anymore. They used to, but figures fell 90% some years ago. Nevertheless Paddy’s Day is a holy day of obligation for the RC faithful, and that puts the day up there with the other five such holy days in the year, including Christmas.

As a kid you also used to wear a little badge. Usually made of firm paper with a harp in embossed gold and maybe a little ribbon or two hanging, it was the only day in the year you got this one token thing, a special thing that choosing your own particular one was like choosing your Easter Egg and your Halloween mask. Easter and Halloween are big deals.

This year, 2007, over 1,000 police were on duty in Dublin on Paddy’s Day to deal with expected alcohol-related trouble, following the drunkenness in 2005 that led to 700 arrests. And for good measure Dublin liquor stores were closed until 4pm, to help reduce that drunkenness. For better or worse, that strikes me as a bigger deal than either the arrests or police presence in KC might suggest.

Apologies for being Dublinocentric, but that’s where I’m from and what I know, and for some years now - if the weather doesn’t force its cancellation - tens of thousands of people line the Liffey to watch the sort of fireworks that Australians have set off at the Sydney Opera House and the Eiffel Tower. That puts the day up there with the pyrotechnics of the Fourth of July in the US, and New Year’s Eve anywhere.

The All-Ireland Club finals, and the start of the Flat season in horseracing, are traditional Paddy’s Day events in Ireland. The Six Nations of rugby and the Irish invasion of Cheltenham, are never very far away. It’s one of the biggest sporting days in Ireland. That puts it up there with St Stephen’s Day (the day after Christmas).

Mulitple JCBs, lots of fridges on trucks, security alarm systems, all in a moving column is a parade. And when you’re a kid and those ‘floats’ are made of flowers, you will ooh and ahh. Long before the day was converted to a multi-day festival in Ireland, such parades were bigger deals than religious processions or Orange marches. I mean, multiple JCBs - wow! Even at Drumcree the Unionists only had one JCB in their attempt to march down the Garvaghy Road.

As well as in the US, I have lived in England for a couple of Paddy’s Days, and thanks to An Post family and friends have sent me cards for their day. That puts the day up there with Christmas, birthdays, and if you’re so inclined, weddings.

While I will concede that not as many people in Ireland wear green as in KC, nor do as many people get as drunk as I’ve witnessed here in the midwest, I’m still going to suggest that, comparatively speaking, it is a big deal in Ireland.

You know when you’re very happy, despite finding yourself in an awful nightclub, and a really annoying person of the opposite gender tells you to cheer up? Well, just because your expression of happiness is a frown - possibly because it doesn’t take as many facial muscles to wear as a smile - doesn’t mean you’re not happy.

But I think you knew that.

Stuff I Claim Is Related, Even When It’s Obviously Not:
   • Why Don’t You Look On The Bright Side?
   • Do You Have Snow in Ireland, Real Snow?
   • How About Them Unionists?

This entry was posted on Monday, March 19th, 2007 at 2:11 pm and is filed under Ireland, St Patrick's Day. You can follow responses via my RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.