EVERY March, for about a week, Dublin’s
corridors of power empty out. Government ministers and officials pack their
bags and head abroad on promotional trips linked to St Patrick’s Day, the Irish
national holiday that falls on March 17th.
Surprisingly, the patron Saint of
Ireland was not actually Irish. He was born in Roman Britain and brought to
Ireland as a slave. Since his death in 461 AD his life became more ingrained in the Irish culture.
The day began as a religious feast day in the
17th century to mark the death of Saint Patrick, and celebrate the arrival of
Christianity in Ireland.
But how did the celebration of a devout
fifth-century missionary become a global phenomenon when people drink whisky,
dress up in green and demand that people kiss them because they are Irish, even
if they are not?
Emigration has been at the heart of it.
During and after the famines that afflicted Ireland in the 19th century, some
2m people left the island, the majority settling in America and Britain. By the
1850s, the Irish accounted for up to a quarter of the population of cities like
Liverpool and Boston.
Within these communities, an Irish identity emerged based
on a strong Catholic faith and the political cause of the day: independence
from Britain. This nationalist identity was especially celebrated on St
Patrick’s Day when, in America and elsewhere, public sermons celebrating
Irish heritage became common.
By the mid-20th century St Patrick’s
Day had evolved into a celebration of all things
Irish, and was well established all over the world, but especially in the US,
Canada and Australia. More than 100 St Patrick’s Day
parades are held across the US - New York City and Boston are home to the
largest celebrations.
Around
one million people take part in the annual multi-day St Patrick’s Festival in
Dublin, which features parades, concerts, outdoor productions and fireworks
shows and can bring in as much as €70m ($87M).
Now there is the Global Greening, in which
landmarks from the Great Wall of China to the Eiffel Tower in Paris are bathed
in green light. Celebrations have even been held on the International Space
Station. Business deals are struck on trade missions and dignitaries take the
opportunity to be snapped with pints of Guinness in their hands. For one day
revellers around the world raise a glass to Ireland and its patron saint.
Sources: The Economist and Sunday Express
(edited)
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