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by Niall O'Dowd

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comment on article 18 Comments
Posted on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 11:13 PM


No leprechauns need apply on St. Patrick's Day


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It is sad to consult the Google top trends on the eve of St. Patrick's Day. There are four Irish entries in the top twenty, not unexpected on the eve of the big day for 40 million Irish Americans.

Alas, one is for leprechauns and three are for recipes for corned beef and cabbage, soda bread and Guinness cake.

Is that really all we have to contribute to America? No, not really. For every forlorn plastic leprechaun in a shop window there is a living, beating vibrant Irish culture out there that has nothing to do with little green men.

I urge Irish Americans to go out and discover it, not to accept the drive-by version of their heritage on St. Patrick's Day of all days.

Read an Irish book. Colm Toibin's 'Brooklyn" a novel about a lonely woman from Ireland emigrating to America in the mid 1950s is a great place to start. It will give you extraordinary insight to the emigrant journey that some of your ancestors from whatever era faced.

Listen to Irish music. Not the canned stuff from Celtic Woman or the drunken warbling of "Danny Boy" but the stuff that lifts the heart and seizes the soul. Start off with Bill Whelan's majestic score from "Riverdance" and see if you can't stop a toe tapping, or a foot pounding or your heart beating a little faster.

Watch an Irish film. No, not the awful "Leap Year," but an Oscar-winning classic like "My Left Foot," the autobiography of Christy Brown, one of the most-inspirational stories from any culture.

Read a poem. Not the awful shamrockery limericks which plague us this time of year, but pick up some poetry by W.B Yeats or Seamus Heaney and experience your heritage and history through their eyes.

Help is on the way for us to find a much more complete view of our culture. The Irish government announced today a huge effort to recolonize the arts in America. In 2011 in a dozen cities or so a huge Irish invasion of art and culture and music and song will take place. Think of it as an Irish Lollapalooza.

Above all think of it to as an opportunity to get to know ourselves a little better and appreciate what we have.

I look forward to the day the Google trends will show a Heaney poem or a Whelan creation at the top of the Irish list. The goodness of that will last year round. The plastic leprechaun goes back into his box the day after the "Wearing of the Green."

Happy St. Patrick's Day.


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Posted by LiamLeprechaun on Mar 18, 2010, 09:50 AM EDT
I have to agree with cavan61... Educating the masses about the true Irish Culture during the St. Patrick's Day holiday would no different than telling people they are crazy for attending a Christmas parade to see Santa Claus. Many people can see the trees from the forest, some just choose not to climb them all every day.
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Posted by cavan61 on Mar 17, 2010, 11:12 PM EDT
An important part of Irish culture is having FUN, without pretentiousness. Green leprechauns and corny songs sung by happy drunks are fun, if you don't overdo it. The other 364 days I can read Yeats and Annals of Four Masters and Irish Central.
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Posted by dengarrity on Mar 17, 2010, 09:51 PM EDT
I learned and memorized the poem "St. Kevin and the Blackbird" by Seamus Heaney in time for this St. Patrick's day...also would say if one wants to wade into some Irish music a good starting point would be "Irish Heartbeat" the collaboration between Van Morrison and The Chieftains from 1988.
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Posted by Greenfire on Mar 17, 2010, 08:48 PM EDT
Well put! I couldn't have put it better myself!
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Posted by tdkerst on Mar 17, 2010, 06:06 PM EDT
Excellent points all around. It's a great pity that we Irish/Irish Americans so freely perpetuate the drunken stereotype associated with this day among ourselves. We need to teach our younger generations that there is SO much more, as your article points out, to being Irish, a rich, proud, worthy heritage. I'm glad to see that Celtic heritage motifs comprise the Google logo today.
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Posted by Reilleyfam on Mar 17, 2010, 02:21 PM EDT
I like plastic leprechauns a lot more than the stereotype of the "Irish Drunk" and resent that the signature of our day is being drunk and making a spectacle of oneself. Why is being "Irish" for the day mean this? Alcoholism and molesting priests seem to be all the world sees of the Irish. I'd like to be proud of being Irish not ashamed. No booze and I talk only about what's good about Ireland and being Irish today.
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Posted by Celtica43 on Mar 17, 2010, 10:59 AM EDT
Totally agree and HATE those plastic leprechauns! Might try Altan, Lughnasa and Solas for music.
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Posted by rickduff on Mar 17, 2010, 10:01 AM EDT
My daughter has fun with the leprechauns. She treats my grandson to some tricks like putting green dye in the milk and in the toilets, spraying silly string on his bed while he's asleep, and all sorts of mischief. He loves it.
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Posted by offalymike on Mar 17, 2010, 09:49 AM EDT
well done niall, i could not agree with you more
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Posted by luckysusan on Mar 17, 2010, 09:45 AM EDT
I would like to listen to Shaun Davey's "The Brendan Voyage" today!
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Posted by marmaure on Mar 17, 2010, 09:44 AM EDT
I couldn't agree more. Great article.
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Posted by tomgallagher on Mar 17, 2010, 09:05 AM EDT
Up the Irish,
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Posted by Gerry57 on Mar 17, 2010, 08:53 AM EDT
I think maybe you are taking this story a bit to seriously.I do remember being told by my Irish Grandparents,(O'Brien), is the hard ship they suffered to get to America.What one should remember is how much the Irish has done to build this country and make it into what it is today;The good part.
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Posted by allanogrady on Mar 17, 2010, 08:49 AM EDT
I couldn't agree more! Happy St. Patrick's Day
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Posted by toonmeister on Mar 17, 2010, 07:29 AM EDT
It all sounds a bit irish to me!
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Posted by irishart on Mar 17, 2010, 06:09 AM EDT
Irish novels are being given out for free on the streets of Washington today as part of Solas Nua's 5th Annual Irish Book Day. Look for us at downtown Metro stops. For a full range of new Irish art go to www.solasnua.org.
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Posted by CitizenWhy on Mar 17, 2010, 12:29 AM EDT
Sobering thought for St. Patrick's Day. March 17 is also the feast of St. Joseph of Arimethea who was, according to Queen Elizabeth I, the founder of the independent English church.
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Posted by bjn2727 on Mar 16, 2010, 11:20 PM EDT
Amen
 




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