Happy St. Patrick's Day! ☘️
Happy St.Patrick’s Day GumGum! In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day and Irish American Heritage Month, we asked a few GumGummers of Irish heritage to share about their St. Patrick’s Day traditions and what it means to them!
Continue reading for a personal account of how the day is celebrated and what it means to them
The St. Patrick’s Landscape - Claire Townend, Sr. Compliance & Technical Documentation Mgr
Happy St Patrick’s Day Everyone! I did grow up on the island of Ireland, but (full disclosure) our St Patrick’s Day was a wee bit underwhelming in those days. Growing up (as Graeme also describes), we got a half-day off to watch the School’s Cup Rugby match, always on St Patrick’s Day. As college students, we probably did go to the pub, but then we went to the pub most nights anyway! As far as food goes, it would have been potatoes and bread (or that magical union of both, potato bread farls!), bacon and sausages, shortbread, and scones. As Ger and Graeme mention, many of the St. Patrick’s Day traditions I encountered in the USA were strange to me, but it’s great that people all round the world have an appreciation for our wee island!
Although we were short on St Patrick’s Day parties, the historical landmarks of St Patrick’s life were always close at hand. We loved to hike up Slemish mountain in County Antrim, where St Patrick was a shepherd as a young lad. It’s a short brisk climb to look out over the gorgeous surrounding countryside - I hope St Patrick enjoyed the view!
Slemish Mountain
In County Down by Strangford Lough (my personal favorite place in the world and where Saint Patrick came ashore in a boat from Wales), there are dozens of ancient St Patrick-related sites to discover. Struell Wells are holy wells dating back to the time of St Patrick – where legend has it that Patrick sang psalms all night whilst naked! (So if you have a wild night out on St Patrick’s Day, don’t feel too bad!)
Saul Church is supposedly the first ecclesiastical site in Ireland and the traditional place of death of Saint Patrick on the first St Patrick’s Day, 17 March 465 CE. It is also a spectacularly beautiful location!
In fact, there’s is now an 80-mile St Patrick’s Way where pilgrims or hikers can follow a path along “uncrowded moors, mountains, canal, and coast” to key St Patrick holy sites. (Though this does bring to mind the beloved and hilarious TV show Father Ted, specifically the one about the Holy Stone of Clonrichert…)
To round off a day of exploring, one of my favourite pubs, Daft Eddy’s, is on Sketrick island in Strangford Lough. To get there, drive over a causeway past a tiny ruined castle. Once ensconced in the bar looking out over the lough, a plate of prawns on wheaten bread and a glass of hot port provide a feast fit for a Saint!
(Content Paid for by the Northern Irish Tourist Board. Not really 😀 )
Irish Traditions from CMO, Erin McCallion
Growing up my parents couldn’t afford to take us abroad so my early memories of Ireland are tied to stories from family visiting us in NY. Even from a young age, it was something I looked forward to! It didn’t have to be a holiday or special event but we always had some Irish music, traditional food and drink, and inevitably some Irish step dancing. The parties would run late into the night and my grandparents would force everyone to church the next day because a good Irish Catholic never missed a Sunday service :) Ireland holds a special place in my heart, not only for my heritage but I also got engaged in Cobh, a beautiful seaport town in Cork County.
St. Patricks Day Traditions from Ger Simpson, Sr. Interactive Brand Designer
Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit! (“Happy St.Patrick’s Day” in Gaelic)
When I was a kid, St. Patrick’s day was generally a pretty low-key affair. A lot of the stereotypical celebrations actually originated in the US from the descendants of immigrants. Things like green beer, green outfits, leprechaun hats, etc were in short supply on the Emerald Isle.
Instead, we would wear a boutonniere of fresh shamrocks and braided wool that had been dyed green, white, and orange that we would then tie around our wrists or foreheads.
Primarily though, the day was one to be spent with your family. My family aren’t religious, so we would skip the church and instead just bake bread, cook food, drink whiskey and settle in to watch the Gaelic football and hurling games that were shown on TV.
Moving to the US gave me a whole new perspective on the day. What was a simple, mainly-religious, celebration back home was a huge festival full of drinking, pomp, and parades here in the States. The fact that the city of Chicago dyes it’s river green every year for it still blows my mind!
At first, I’ll admit I was very confused and even a little offended by some of the traditions here. But, over time I came to realize how unique it is that this country celebrates a small country of only 5 million people. We’ve even integrated a lot of the American traditions into the Irish St.Patrick’s day celebrations over the last few years! It’s truly a testament to the hard work, grit, and openness of the Irish immigrants that crossed the Atlantic, and it’s a legacy I’m proud to follow.
Sláinte na bhfear agus go maire na mná go deo!
(Cheers to the men, and may the women live forever)
St. Patrick’s Day from Graeme Fitzsimmons, Sales Director
Echoing Ger and Claire, St Patrick’s Day was not celebrated to quite the same level as we experience in the USA.
At school, we did get the benefit of a short day of formal education. At elementary school, we'd stop at lunch and have what I think is akin to an American “field day” where we played sports and games that were not normally part of our routine.
At High school, the day also stopped at lunch but then we would be either given a half-day or bused to the Schools cup Rugby finals at Ravenhill Belfast. In our final year, we then headed out for a few Guinness, given that we were of legal drinking age. Ordering a few pints in a school uniform is a top memory to be fair.
I do remember school assemblies taking longer and having a slightly more religious tone appropriately enough, with the story of St Patrick being shared and singing of St Patrick’s Breastplate, which is a rather long hymn….. A good 7+ minutes if I recall. Family wise not many traditions to recount as I left Ireland when I went to University.
As a random fact, Corned Beef and cabbage is an American invention.
I was a bit confused about this dish when I had my first St Patrick’s Day in the States. Very hospitable Americans were proud to buy me the dish to explicitly remind me of home, which was very generous of them, but also it didn’t remind me of home at all, given that the first time I had seen it was in San Francisco. It's been a bit awkward though over the years as this has happened a lot and I am asked how it compares to how it is served back home. I can’t deny the kindness though. The thought is coming from the right place and out of politeness, I haven't set anyone straight.
Having done a little research, I think the dish comes from NYC and is the result of the Irish immigrants relying on the local established butchers who happened to be Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. There's the American melting pot for you right there.
I also don’t recall green Beer… I wouldn’t dare do such a thing to Beer :) Don’t get me wrong though, I very much enjoy the St Patrick’s Day celebrations these days, and to Ger’s point it's a compliment to our Island.