A member of the Ancient Order of the Hibernians from San Antonio, TX, has launched an online petition to have St. Patrick’s Day officially declared a national holiday in the United States.
Jimmy O’Halligan's petition aims to have St. Patrick’s Day established as a national holiday, similar to Memorial Day or the 4th of July. He says that the Irish holiday would allow the American people to understand the impact Irish immigrants have had in shaping the country.
The Ancient Order of the Hibernians is America’s oldest Irish Catholic Fraternal Organization, which was founded in 1836.
Jimmy O’Halligan, President of the AOH division in San Antonio, TX, established the petition. He told IrishCentral that he was spurred on to begin this campaign after the cancellation of the St. Patrick’s Day parade in San Antonio in 2012.
Speaking to IrishCentral he said, “The city hit local Irish organizations with thousands of extra dollars in fees to hold the parade. Something our local groups combined couldn't come up with. It was seen as not socially relevant. This happened across the south last year except for Savannah, GA, of course.
“It made me realize how the story of the Irish in America is getting lost in this part of the country. It's a very timely subject in the south as immigration is a big debate.
“A lot of people down here forget the contributions immigrants have made to this country of ours. St Patrick’s Day not only is a day to pay homage to the Patron Saint of Ireland but a day for the Irish and Irish Diaspora to celebrate their heritage and their gifts to society the world over.”
As part of the “Name St. Patricks Day as a National Holiday” petition, he states, “A national holiday in the U.S. would show our appreciation and allow the Irish and Irish at heart the acknowledgment and gratitude of the American people for their impact on the U.S. as we know it.”
Read more: Outrage as St. Patrick's Day deemed too religious and renamed "O'Green Day"
One of the supporters of the petition, John Ziomek from Missouri, TX said, "Of all European Americans, people of Irish Heritage make up the 2nd largest group. We should honor that.”
O’Halligan has also established a petition for the same cause on the White House’s site.
He told IrishCentral that he hopes to have the petition on President Barack Obama’s desk for St. Patrick’s Day 2013.
“My next step is to go to local and national Irish organizations and ask for their support,” O’Halligan said.
“I would love to see this petition get on the Presidents desk in time for St. Patrick's Day. It could be the one bipartisan motion both sides of the isle could get behind.”
Previous attempts have been made to establish St. Patrick’s Day as a national holiday in the United States. In 2008 Guinness launched a campaign aiming to bring one million signature to Congress.
At the time they carried out a poll which found that 57 percent of those celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in the U.S. are not of American descent.
What do you think? Should the Irish Catholic feast day be included among America’s national holidays? Or should the St. Patrick’s Day parades and festivities across the country be enough?
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.IrishJets47 | Mar 17, 2013, 12:14 AM EDT
Hey Obamas we waited long enough send a bill to Congress that we Irish American and born here in America who GrandParents and GreatParents came here a hundred years ago from Ireland to make a better life to us all. Lets make St, Patrick Day a National Holiday.
IrishJets47 | Mar 16, 2013, 11:56 PM EDT
Lets get this Message out to Obama's that we want to make St, Patrick Day a National Holiday.
harp579 | Jan 12, 2013, 12:41 PM EST
I think this would be counter productive for Americans with an Irish heritage as it's another brick in the wall separating us from 'true' real American status. (there is no similar English or German holiday) It works to relegate us to a second class hyphenated citizenship and engenders hostility from those who see us as trying to separate from the larger American culture.
Will Hamilton | Jan 08, 2013, 09:54 AM EST
What happens in Ireland is no business of Hindu's in India, Iranians in Iran or Plastic Paddies in the US. "St" Patrick was a pathological liar who displace native Irish religions with an insidious foreign religion from Italy. What they do in the UK has nothing to do with it either. You can't call the 17th of March a "national" day when it's named after an icon of a foreign occupying power that spends it's time poisoning the country. If it's a national day it should not involve any religion at all. Neither should it pander to deluded foreigners in another country who can't figure out where they were actually born.
WoundedKnee | Jan 05, 2013, 02:32 AM EST
This is nonsense and garbage. The Irish would do better to put Ireland back into their own St Patrick's Day. I've been in Dublin on March 17. It's a teenage boozefest, no more. As to culture, if you look at the floats in the Dubln parade all you see are Nepalese tribal dancers, Pakistani singers, Romany panhandlers etc etc. There's nothing Irish about the St Patrick's Day "festival" in Dublin, they just copied everything directly from the Notting festival in London.
curtisjohnson | Jan 04, 2013, 08:20 PM EST
St. George's day - is that sectarian? Is it sectarian when the northern supremacists deify bill the orange in their vulgar displays of protestant triumphalism? Moreover, the protestants have as many abuse scandals as Catholics – just much less publicized.
Smyrnian | Jan 04, 2013, 03:29 PM EST
Hamilton - Go back on your meds and take anger management classes.
Will Hamilton | Jan 04, 2013, 01:14 PM EST
Any so called national parade that celebrates or commemorates any religious figure is sectarian. Religion in general has no place in anything national. In particular it's nonsensical for Ireland to have anything to do with a man who was responsible for helping a child abusing insidious organisation like the Vatican gain a foothold on the island.
Smyrnian | Jan 04, 2013, 07:49 AM EST
Steven - relax pal-no need to be aggressive. Visiting the US and living and working here are two vastly different experiences, especially as you live and work around this vast country it differs greatly by geographic region. As an Irish born person I can assure you there are excellent expressions of authentic Irish culture here and a pride in Irish heritage I do not often see expressed on this anti-Catholic website or in Ireland itself. You simply don't know what you don't know. Furthermore, Ancavker has it right, Irish culture is dying fast in Ireland as we, thanks to the liberal Irish government, gleefully exchange third world immigrants for our own people that are being exported at the rate of well over 1,000 a day. You also imply emigration and the immigrant experience is all green grass and flowers and warm puppies but I can assure you it is a very difficult experience with zero guarantee of even modest success.
curtisjohnson | Jan 03, 2013, 11:29 PM EST
swill, take your meds. It's been celebrated by Protestants for ages and any loyalist don't even consider it sectarian. Moreover, the pre-Roman Celtic Church was not adulterated by toxic materialism such as the later Roman Church and, in particular, Protestant denominations of the degenerate calvinist variety (which arguably led to supremacism and mass consumerism).
seamus60 | Jan 03, 2013, 08:18 PM EST
Will. How many Sectarian St Patrick day parades plough through Protestant areas causing offence ?
Will Hamilton | Jan 03, 2013, 03:31 PM EST
"St" Patrick's day should be abolished in Ireland for the sectarian festival it is and especially since the introduction of the foreign religion he supposedly introduced has proved so toxic for the people of Ireland. Had the deluded Briton not landed how many children might not have suffered rape and torture at the hands of Catholic clerics. Romanism has poisoned Ireland, corrupted it's politics and psychologically scarred millions of people. The Pope is a relic of the Roman Empire: he belongs in the dustbin of history where most of his speeches seem to be written.
ancavker | Jan 03, 2013, 02:59 PM EST
STEVEN: Relax. First off it will never happen. Second I am Irish born and live in the U.S. The Irish-Americans(for the most part) are a great community. And have done much to preserve and enhance Irish culture. And they do not disparage it like so many Irish in Ireland do. We will continue to do a great job keeping that culture. The way things are going in Ireland there will not be any Irish culture left in Ireland.
curtisjohnson | Jan 03, 2013, 02:57 PM EST
Searlit " think they should make President Kennedy's birthday, in May, a National Holiday. He is beloved by most Americans, Irish or other nationalities around the world. I know there's a few here on the page that will have gasped at that suggestion. Catch your breath though, it's a dream I've had since I was 12." I agree - we owe the major technological advances of the 20th century to the space program he pioneered (not to mention that he was the first president to fully support civil rights). However, the anglo establishment on both sides of the Atlantic take every conceivable opportunity to trash his legacy and inflate toxic racist vipers such as Woodrow Wilson (not to mention Churchill who saw no problem with bombing "brown" people with chemical weapons).
STEVENSTAR | Jan 03, 2013, 01:16 PM EST
@@Smyrnian | Jan 03, 2013, 07:32 AM EST Stevenstar - lighten up, pal. I am Irish born and living in the US. You have no idea what you are talking about. How could you; you don't live here or have a notion of American or Irish American culture. >>>>> MATE I HAVE BEEN TO AMERICAN MANY A TIME... THE CULTURE THE PEOPLE THE FOOD THE WHOLE COUNTRY IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT TO US AND THE IRISH.. IM GLAD THAT YOUR WORKING THERE AND MAKING $$$ MY FRIEND BUT I DONT SEE THE POINT IN SELLING OUR CULTURE, TRADITIONS AND WHAT NOT TO A BUNCH OF PLASTIC SPOILED PADDIES WHO THINK THEY CAN LITEALLY BUY WHATEVER THEY WANT ... THEY MAY HAVE IRISH ANCESTARY BUT THEY ARE STILL AMERICAN ..END OF STORY ..
jamieLM | Jan 03, 2013, 10:48 AM EST
@Smyrnian - good post. Stevenstar all caps is 100% ANTI-AMERICAN. I'd like to see the U.S. make St. Patrick's Day an American holiday just to push his buttons. LOL Stevenstar, you do need to lighten up because you can't control what we IRISH AMERICANS think and do, especially when it comes to our Irish heritage.
jamieLM | Jan 03, 2013, 10:39 AM EST
Pretty Cheesey Hype - why not spent such energy on educational tutorials for those interested, including Congressional staffers?
Smyrnian | Jan 03, 2013, 07:32 AM EST
Stevenstar - lighten up, pal. I am Irish born and living in the US. You have no idea what you are talking about. How could you; you don't live here or have a notion of American or Irish American culture.
cillowen | Jan 02, 2013, 11:52 PM EST
not a bad notion for us - we need something with tenure. the dublin parade is like a mardi gras with much swishing going on. hedonistic, so un -St. Patrick.
boydshield | Jan 02, 2013, 08:54 PM EST
And, why not? I'd prefer an entire Irish/Scottish Heritage Month in March. They Irish and Scottish have certainly done as much as any group(s) to bring about America and the United States. Their impact as immigrants shaping this country is astounding, and no one really talks about it. William Harnett (artist) Augustus Saint-Gaudens (sculptor) Diamond Jim Brady (financier and Philanthropist Franklin B. Gown (Pres of the Philadelphia and Reading RR) Walt Disney John Ford Eugene O’Neill John Barry (father of the US Navy) George Gordan Meade (Commanding gen’l of the Army of the Potomac Audie Murphy John O’Neill Philip Sheridan 22 presidents of the US have had some Irish ancestral origins And, these are just the far past!
JoePatAl | Jan 02, 2013, 08:16 PM EST
Well, all of this is ironic and filling me with memories. In my youth, I went to St. Patrick's School, in a VERY Catholic city. WE, the SPS kids, got the day off whereas the others did not. Hence, from Grade 1, I have always had a special sense of March 17th. The Sacred Heart, the Lady of Victories, St. Aloysius, et al had to go to school and we after Mass, of course, had the day off!!! Thus, the day is special for us Irish! To make it an 'everybody' event will only serve to lessen its cultural importance. Though now 5 states and decades away, the thought of March 17 is still special for me and not something to be commercialized with St. Pat's Day Sales, Green Day Discounts, etc. Yes, the NYC/Boston Parades are wild and commercial but they do have a cultural aspect that should not be drained down as it would be under a Nat'l Day Off situation!
STEVENSTAR | Jan 02, 2013, 07:45 PM EST
BUT ST PATRICKS DAY IS AN IRISH HOLIDAY FOR US IN IRELAND... WHY ON GODS EARTH SHOULD IT BE A HOLIDAY IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY LIKE AMERICA ALSO.. YOUR AMERICAN HAVE AN AMERICAN HOLIDAY LIKE THANKSGIVING WHICH WE DONT CELEBRATE OVER HERE... ALSI IM IRISH I LIVE IN IRELAND AND ITS THE FIRST I HAVE HEARD OF ANY IRISH PEOPLE LOBBYING CONGRESS ?? :-) YOU MEAN AMERICANS WITH IRISH DECENT ARE LOBBYING CONGRESS ( WHATEVER CONGRESS IS ) THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENT BETWEEN IRISH PEOPLE AND AMERICANS WHO HAVE IRISH DECENT AND I FIND IT OFFENSIVE YOU DONT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT..
MacGiobuinR | Jan 02, 2013, 04:59 PM EST
Congress to actually do something?? Anything?? Lets get real.The way I look at it March 17th is already an International holiday. It is felt throughout our world by millions of the children of Eire. What can Congress do to improve that,.... nothing ! (Which is what they do best) Slainte!
stanchaz | Jan 02, 2013, 03:48 PM EST
First of all it's not "the Irish" who are asking to make this a March 17th a national Holiday in the U.s. -- it is an organization, one of many. When the AOH changes it's ancient mind, and opens up it's parade to EVERYONE, then we might listen to it's propositions.. Until then, we should strive to create a SECULAR national holiday to commemorate the enormous (and continuing) contributions of ALL immigrants to this great country - a county whose very essence is INCLUSIVENESS, ....dear AOH people.
Nelsonbarry | Jan 02, 2013, 03:24 PM EST
make it a holiday
freebie28 | Jan 02, 2013, 03:18 PM EST
"It is estimated that every federal holiday costs taxpayers over half a billion dollars in wages paid to the country's 2.7 million federal employees." Just what these dead beats need...more time off, not providing services for the people who pay their salaries.
Searlit | Jan 02, 2013, 03:13 PM EST
I think they should make President Kennedy's birthday, in May, a National Holiday. He is beloved by most Americans, Irish or other nationalities around the world. I know there's a few here on the page that will have gasped at that suggestion. Catch your breath though, it's a dream I've had since I was 12.
darao | Jan 02, 2013, 02:27 PM EST
To the author: Kate -- 1. The Irish are not lobbying as your headline states. It apparently - after a MINIMAL check that this is an initiative of just ONE PERSON within a subgroup of the AOH. Did you not check? 2.There is nothing on the AOH website about the petition at all. So it seems it is not an AOH initiative. Did you not check? Printing headlines and misleading stuff is not helpful to the readers. A little research or checking would have saved all a lot of effort. You can do better Kate.
OldMariner | Jan 02, 2013, 01:05 PM EST
I can believe an AOH member envisioning, with perhaps the entire organization later on supporting, this preposterous idea. I left the AOH because their aims mostly didn't coincide with mine. Anyway, poor St Patrick and his day have become entirely secularized and I can't imagine a national holiday celebrating, in essence, drunks.
pilib04 | Jan 02, 2013, 01:01 PM EST
I love the sentiment, but a holiday named after a Saint is never going to fly. In terms of ethnic holidays, also won't happen. Non-starter from the get-go. Why not start small with codifying Irish American Heritage Month. Still have the Presidential and Congressional proclamations, but work to get it in the Federal code. Rosh Hashanah/Tishrei will be a national holiday long before St. Patrick's Day.
CitizenWhy | Jan 02, 2013, 12:40 PM EST
Truly a weird idea. If made a national holiday, St. Patrick's Day would have to be stripped of its Catholic and Irish connotations (yes, some are left) and made him a secular, buffoonish figure of excess, self-indulgence, sexual liberty and wild fun. The pope would have to condemn such a holiday and have the US bishops organize a movement for religious liberty, demanding that they alone have the rights to the trademark called St. Patrick.
jamieLM | Jan 02, 2013, 12:33 PM EST
Not gonna happen. If it did, then every ethnic group would demand a holiday: the Germans, the Dutch, the Norwegians, the Polish, and the list goes on and on.
eiriamach | Jan 02, 2013, 12:24 PM EST
A round of applause for darao, who explained what kind of organization the AOH is. The Atavistic Order of Hibernians -- I'm surprised there are any AOH left in 2013.
panp2 | Jan 02, 2013, 12:01 PM EST
This isn’t a petition started by AOH it just happens the petitioner is an AOH member. As for the AOH being a Right Wind Fundamentalist org you should do some fact checking and look at the roots of the group whose links are with labor unions and anti defamation organizations. They are a catholic lay organization so causes of the Church do overlap however.
RexJ123 | Jan 02, 2013, 11:57 AM EST
Fail. Just what we need...start turning nationalistic days used mainly for getting drunk into actual holidays.
handsome68 | Jan 02, 2013, 11:52 AM EST
Who the crunch cares? America and Irish both have bigger fish to fry that this little tempest in a teapot.
joan1954 | Jan 02, 2013, 11:46 AM EST
Nice idea even though the chance of it going through are nil.Mr. McBride just because one is 5th or 6th generation removed from Ireland doesn't make them any less proud of their Irishness. I am 3rd generation and believe it or not here in the southwest one tends to find people far removed from their Irish roots and many, as I, do not have an Irish surname because it was my mother's people who were the immigrants and they married German-Americans. I am proud of my Irish roots because they are the newest group in the new world coming in the mid-19th century. Just because we aren't the immigrant or their children doesn't make us any less Irish.
darao | Jan 02, 2013, 11:41 AM EST
Smyrnian - If they disrespect the rights of women to choose how to handle their own bodies and reproduction choices then they are certainly a fundamentalist group poushing a religious based dogma. I have no problem with such groups promoting whatever they believe but they should not pretend to somehow be representing the Irish people.
darao | Jan 02, 2013, 11:34 AM EST
the AOH website says "We invite all Catholics of Irish birth or descent to seek admittance to the FINEST Irish Catholic Organization in the World" which indeed makes it a religious organization. The AOH currently plans pro life marches in January - making it an anti abortion organization. The AOH is politically actively pushing for a United Ireland which makes it a political organization with a nationalist agenda. As an organizad group -- they are pretty fundamentalist and yes a "group". I am not part of any group either right or left but remain opposed to those who try to use co-opt Irishness to push their agendas. The AOH does not represent Ireland or Irish people in general.
bob mcbride | Jan 02, 2013, 11:23 AM EST
Ziomek isn't irish, who are u? Its watered down 5 or 6 generations. The irish people just want your tourist dollars because they have no economy. A state holiday for certain states I can understand but a national holiday i'm not sure?I'm a proud american first and Irish second! The new irish want to many holidays! Thats why there economy collapsed!
Smyrnian | Jan 02, 2013, 11:04 AM EST
Darao - you need to get your facts straight. The AOH is not a religious organization. If their members respect women's rights AND the rights of the unborn not to be killed, that does not make them a "right wing fundamentalist group". Do your views make you part of a left wing, pro-abortion fundamentalist group?
darao | Jan 02, 2013, 10:50 AM EST
A silly idea .. There are many cultural groups in the U.S. and no need for a national holiday for them. Our American friends would be quite capable of finding American things to use for National Days. And PLEASE do not ask for an Irish National Holiday for the fourth of July either. Additionally the AOH is a religious group and dedicated to one political cause. Modern people in Ireland have moved so far beyond such stuff as to make it irrelevant. We Irish abroad should not take ourselves too seriously but just enjoy life and our cultural heritage. The AOH is focused on a christian, anti-abortion and nationalist agenda it seems. The do not speak for Ireland or the Irish but only for their own members. They push for anti-abortion protests at a time when Ireland is trying to make for a safer more respectful approach to women's rights. It seems from their website they are little more than a right wing fundamentalist group trying to co-opt Irishness to their cause.
porkheaven | Jan 02, 2013, 10:48 AM EST
Why not we have Martin Luther King day.
Nicopernicus | Jan 02, 2013, 10:36 AM EST
Sure...really? as if the Irish didnt have enough problems.
donal1951 | Jan 02, 2013, 10:10 AM EST
What 's next, Cinco de Mayo(sp)? Many businesses offer personal holidays. Use one of them. A Proud Irishman
mreinhar2001 | Jan 02, 2013, 10:07 AM EST
After the years and fighting it took to get Martin Luther King's Birthday declared a National Holiday, I don;t see this as one with any steam behind it. Patriots Day had the sting of September 11th to propel it into that position quickly.
EamonnDublin | Jan 02, 2013, 09:24 AM EST
Some people making comments will obviously turn anything into a full scale argument. I wonder do they batter their partners as well? Éamonn, Dublin.
KerryGold | Jan 02, 2013, 09:20 AM EST
It is nice that they want to acknowledge the contribution Irish immigrants have made. But it would be more helpful if they allocated an annual number of green cards to Ireland.
handsome68 | Jan 02, 2013, 09:13 AM EST
II think irishphotograph has got it right. The only postscripts I would or could add is that "St. Patrick's Day" does not mean "drink more than usual", just like the word "Sale" does not mean "must buy".
torbreezy | Jan 02, 2013, 09:12 AM EST
What would another "national holiday" with its attendant "costs" do for the COMMONWEAL?
Clancey | Jan 02, 2013, 09:11 AM EST
Sorry, I'm not buying this, especially since St. Patrick's Day in the U.S. has simply degenerated into an offensive celebration of hokey Irish stereotypes (drinking, fighting and "Top o' the Mornin'!") The AOH can better direct its efforts to lobbying for meaningful immigration reform for all. A fine discussion of this (and of the status of the Irish as "the first true immigrant group" in the U.S.) can be found in Peter Behrens' Op-Ed piece in The New York Times last March 17 - look it up if you haven't already read it.
Irishphotograph | Jan 02, 2013, 08:58 AM EST
First of all, St. Patricks Day is a celebration of Nationality not Christianity. (2 Corinthians 4:4) and Patrick was not a Roman Catholic. The Celtic Christian church that Patrick founded was suppressed by Rome. When Pope Adrian IV, the Roman Catholic Pope gave King Henry his blessing to conquer Ireland and bring an end to the Celtic Christian church that Patrick founded. Patrick was indeed a born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. An obvious study of his writings reveal this. A sinner saved by grace through faith.