In favour of St Patrick's Day
SOME complain about the way we choose to celebrate our national day.
Apparently, they think the timing is wrong. And they look to other more "sophisticated" expressions of national identity -- Bastille Day perhaps, or St Jordi's Day in Barcelona.
These festivals are all very well -- but do they ever travel beyond their own borders? Of course not. Because all national days and so on are drab as you like. Paddy's Day, meanwhile, manages to retain an ability to express the unique genius of the Irish people.
Take its timing. Only we Irish, with our "ah sure it'll be grand" approach to religion, would put a day of national celebration in the middle of Lent.
And whether it was planned or not, putting the thing in March instead of, say, July, is quixotically Irish. Why spoil the fun with good weather?
Sure, we could put it in the middle of summer, where there might be a hope of sun. Sure, we could try to moderate the drinking of certain slovenly members of society -- but that would be an exercise in hypocrisy.
Despite all the corny corporatisation of the event, and the fact that the whole thing was foisted on us by Americans, Paddy's Day remains a place to conspire against wholesomeness and sobriety. And remember, if Paddy's Day didn't give us something to complain about on 'Liveline' the next day, sure we'd complain about that too.
- Alan O'Riordan
