The Dubliner St. Patrick's Day Debate

The Dubliner is hosting the official talk event of this year's St. Patrick's Day Festival on Monday 16th March at 6.30pm in Liberty Hall, followed by a Hennessy drinks reception.

NewsTalk presenter Eamon Keane will present a lively debate on Irish national identity with contributions from Dublin GAA legend Brian Mullins, playwright Ulick O'Connor, comedienne Anne Gildea, Irish Independent columnist Ian O'Doherty and the Sunday Independent's Carol Hunt. There will be special guests on the evening and plenty of opportunity for Dubliner readers to get involved.

Before the event, we want to know what are the people, places, events, achievements and traditions that YOU will be celebrating on St. Patrick's Day.

In short, what makes you proud to be Irish? Tell us HERE 

If you would like two FREE tickets for The Dubliner event on 16th March and the Hennessy reception afterwards you can apply by sending an email to editor@thedubliner.ie with 'tickets' in the subject line.

Comments

[Daithi O'Raithbheartaigh]

St pats parade has lost its meening as it is now a multicultural parade.
Tourists are dissapointed at the parade as they expect Irish people and floats about St pat .
Last year had 8 VW cars and 3 roadsweepers to back it up , it also had a float with African music,Dancing and another with Asian music which has nothing to do with St Pat infact the asian one were Muslim not Christian which St Pat represents.
Tourist come to see the Irish and our way of life, the Africans celebrated their first Africa Day last year in Ireland so why can we not keep our national day ?

[tom]

Maybe the parade organizers should come to Chicago to see the South Side Irish parade.
We have a couple of high school bands comprised mostly of African-American students but for the most part, everything is related to being proud to be of Irish ancestry.

The parade consistently outdraws the downtown parade, which has fallen prey to a little more political correctness by including other ethnic groups.

The unofficial song of the parade, The South Side Irish, was written and performed by three Irish-Americans--each year they ride on a float and perform the song along the parade route.

South Side Irish
Written by
Black, McEldowney & Walsh, copyright 1984

We're the Windy City Irish-where the craic is always best
Where every day is Paddy's Day and everyone's a guest
If you're Irish on the North Side or Irish on the West
Welcome to the South Side come join the Irish Fest!

Chorus:

We're the South Side Irish as our fathers were before
We come from the Windy City and we're Irish to the core
From Bridgeport to Beverly from Midway to South Shore
We're the South Side Irish-Let's sing it out once more!

Our parents came from Mayo, from Cork and Donegal.
We come from Sabina, St. Kilian's and St. Gall
St. Leo, Visitation, Little Flower and the rest.
The South Side parishes are mighty-they're the best!

Chorus

We live on the South Side-Mayor Daley lived here too
The Greatest Irish Leader that Chicago ever knew
and he was always proud of his South Side Irish roots!
So here's to His Honor to his memory we'll be true.

Chorus

We sing the songs our fathers sang when they were growing up
Rebel songs of Erin's Isle in the South Side Irish Pubs
and when it comes to baseball-we have two favorite clubs
The Go-Go White Sox... and whoever plays the Cubs!

If you want to see a parade where pride in being Irish is plain to see, come visit the South Side of Chicago in the Beverly neighborhood.

[John c. Begley]

For those of us Americans who are of Irish extraction - in my case first generation - the celebration of St. patrick's Day is as much Commerative as it is Celebratory. Our annual participation in the St. Patrick's Day parade in NYC will commerate our parents travel from their home land of Ireland in the 1920s to obtain a suitable employment and raise their children with the faith of their ancestors. Let us remember that the US was not always welcoming country. Humiliations were experiencd well into the 20th century. They succeded nevertheles in most cases admirably. For others, who are not of Irish extraction, I suspect, St. Patrick's is identified with the ability of a down trodden people to succeed in another country when provided an oportunity. It may also be a Welcoming of Spring - with the Wearing of the Green A Springfest?

[tom]

For an excellent account of the travails and triumphs of the Irish during the Great Starvation and subsequently in America, read "Galway Bay" by Mary Pat Kelly.

Kelly traced her roots back to Bearna (now Barna) in County Galway. Her great, great Grandmother, Honora Keeley Kelly emigrated to the U.S. with five children in the late 1840s, settling in the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago (at the time the Bridgeport area was known as Hardscrabble, to give you an idea of the neighborhood's status). She forged a new life there and one of her grandsons, Edward J. Kelly was mayor of Chicago from 1933 to 1947, the first of five mayors to hail from Bridgeport.

About the Starvation, Honora told her children and grandchildren, "We would not die. And that annoyed them" (the British). A million died, but two million escaped--one reaching back for another."

With historical figures interwoven throughout, it's an extremely well-written epic that paints a realistic portrait of 19th century Ireland and Chicago.

Available at major bookstores and Amazon.com.

[Maryrose Lyons]

But aren't you guys missing the point?

Many of us who actually *live* here in Ireland rejoice in the multiculturalism. African, Brazilian, and Asian people add a richness to our culture that was previously lacking.

I clicked on these comments in the hope of reading something positive. Sad to see the conversation kicked off by a racist comment.

[Anon]

I agree with the comments made by Maryrose Lyons, which for me doesn't mean that a nation cannot be proud of it's heritage but reminds us to remember that society as and will always change and evolve. Where did some of the original Irish settlers hail from! Living side by side in peace is what most people aim to achieve and celebrate. Cities,communities etc today are multicultural.Most people are proud of their adoptive countries and want to contribute to the countries positive future so why not be allowed to show and join in with Ireland's proudest day!