St Patrick's Day SEASON?

St. Patrick’s SEASON???

[Disclaimer: The St Patricks celebration photo on the right is not of me. I'd need much bigger shamrocks....]

Wow! What news! All over the media, they’re saying “St. Patrick’s Season”, not St. Patrick’s Day! Sure ‘n begora....when was the day expanded to a season? I mean, it’s always been that way for my family, we start drinking on the15th just to get a head start, but we didn’t want to force the rest of the country into it. And yet... here it is....

But why, why was the day expanded into a season?

Is it because we won the Civil War for the North? General Robert E. Lee was quoted saying to Grant, “The only reason your side won was because you had more Irishmen.” Is it because we build old New York, especially the Brooklyn Bridge? Is it because we brought River Dance here? Is it because we brought The Three Tenors?

Is it because we added colorful language to American english? Like, the Paddywagon = a police wagon to transport groups of unruly people; Donnybrook = a fight, usually followed by a paddywagon; Bushnells’ = Irish water of life, usually followed by a donnybrook and a paddywagon, Irish Flu = a hangover, usually preceeded by Bushnells, a donnybrook and a paddywagon.

Is it our colorful linguistic contradictions? A unique feature in the Irish and Irish American patois is our contradictions, everybody loves them. Here’s some I remember hearing growing up: “He’ll regret it to his dyin’ day, if ever he lives that long.” [translation - he is in soooo much trouble] “Don’t be in such a hurry that you arrive before you get there.”[translation - don’t rush] “If you get there first, leave a chalk mark in an obvious place. If I get there first, I’ll erase it.”[translation - whoever arrives first, just wait for the other one] “He’s on the wagon now... barely a bottle a week.” [translation - court ordered AA meetings] “Well, do your best to end up there in the first place.”[translation - give it your best shot]. I thought everyone understood this way of speaking until I saw “Waking Ned Divine” (a great movie by the way) with a southern friend and we were hitting “pause” every thirty seconds so I could explain to her what was just said!

Is it because we brought Marion Morrison (aka John Wayne), Bing Crosby, Maureen O’Hara? Grace Kelly, Gene Kelly, Spencer Tracy, Jimmy Cagney? Bill Murray, Ryan Stiles, Drew Carey? Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney, Art Carney? Daniel Doone, Davy Crockett? Henry Ford, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan? How about Matthew McConnaghey, Liam Neeson, Pierce (my heart) Brosnan? And Sean Connery?.... I don’t care if he was raised in Scotland, he’s ours....

Is it our Irish Coffee? Alex Levine the writer said, “Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat.” Is it our corned beef and cabbage? Our soda bread? Our terrific tea? And of course, our greatest contribution to mankind... beer. I know the ancient Egyptians brewed it and many other cultures as well, but nobody got it right till Guiness did. And there isn’t an Irish American family in this country that doesn’t have it’s own panel of experts to verify this.

Maybe it was our movies that got us a whole season of recognition.....The Quiet Man, Going My Way, The Bells of Saint Mary’s, Angela’s Ashes, My Left Foot, Finian’s Rainbow, Ryan’s Daughter, Michael Collins, Far and Away, and many more.

Our music perhaps? American blue grass is right out of Irish folk music. Danny Boy alone had to get us a few points... everyone thinks it’s a girl/boy love song. It’s not. It’s a father singing to his son whom the British conscripted into a far off war. That’s why it’s sung at police and firemen’s funerals, it’s a ballad for a fallen son in uniform. What about MacNamara’s Band? Everybody knows those words!

Maybe America is just tired of the party pooper atheists trying to squelch any holiday that has any religious connection. This could be just the beginning of an antipooper movement. There’s plenty of tragedy and suffering to go around, we need all the excuses to celebrate life we can get!

But, whatever the reason, we thank ‘e for the season, we’ll do a little drinkin’ and talk a little treason’ [translation - thanx for the party expansion, we’re gonna have a few extra and argue over everything].

May the road rise up to meet you and the wind be at your back... Happy St. Patrick’s Season!