St Patrick’s Day is not just for the Irish, by an Irish guy

Depending how much you read The Tab you may or may not have seen this article from The Tab Birmingham, an article telling the rest of the world to stop pretending to be Irish. As an Irishman I’d happily rebuke it and say pretend. More than pretend, be Irish and celebrate a culture that spans beyond the borders of our 32 counties. Get your Guinness, wear your green, and do your best Hollywood, Darby O’Gill Irish accent.

Gotta love it

Why? Because Irishness isn’t exclusive to Ireland. And the influence of our small island has been seen throughout the world. Just look at America. Many Irish upon first arriving were classed as nothing more than dogs, met by slogans such as, “No dogs, no blacks, no Irish”. Now Chicago turns its rivers green, and several of the country’s key monuments are lit in honour of these immigrants, and the legacy they left behind.

Influential men and women of foreign states hold claim to Irish roots- sure isn’t Barack Obama an Offaly man, and didn’t Che Guevara have a Granny Lynch that sailed from Galway to escape the famine! And yon fella Charles De Gaulle- the French man- sure doesn’t he have roots in County Down? Oh and Patrick, the man of the hour, sure isn’t he a Welshman?

The point I’m making here is imagine a world without the Irish? Would America have had a black President yet? What face would angst teenage boys, calling each other comrade, have plastered on their B.O. riddled t-shirt? And what airport would we be flying into when we go to Paris? I shudder at the possible answer to these questions.

Even in Jersualem at the Church of All Nations you will see a piece of Ireland

If Saint Patrick’s Day was held exclusively by the Irish it wouldn’t be the celebration it is today. And if the Irish complained about “foreigners” celebrating their culture it would be an injustice to the 2 million plus people that left their homeland out of necessity in search of better fortune in the 1800s.

Irishness comes in many shapes, colours, and forms and ought to be celebrated, like all cultures. Be you a freckle marked ginger, or an English, American, Korean, or Ethiopian national, I’ll surely toast sláinte with you this Paddy’s day.

Thanks for reading, here’s some Macklemore: