St. Patrick's Day Analysis

Improved Essays
Register to read the introduction… Patrick’s Day in Ireland had caught up to the leading western cities and had become a fixated, annual festival. Attracting media coverage, St. Patrick’s Day had begun to excite people. The parade, being the centerpiece, was not only attracting the public crowd but also as income opportunities. By the 1990 game changing parade in Dublin, crowds were estimated at 300,000–1,000 being from abroad–watching participants at 6000. The media coverage from different countries, whether it was live coverage, tourists photographs or newspaper journalist, was advertising to the world just how with the times Ireland become on the St. Patrick’s Day scale. By being on the same scale as Boston and New York, Ireland sold out its traditional value. As the years go on, in contrary with the large crowds being drawn, Irish Community themselves saw it as their own government selling out to the Western civilizations, creating a tourist trap that only interested foreigners. Disregarding customs and it citizens wants, the Irish government lines their pockets with the revenue from the parade and spits out empty experiences to people who call Ireland ‘home’. Irelands St. Patrick’s Day had become out dated and undesirable to the citizens of Ireland, where as Western travelers were still enticed by seeing where all the traditions had supposedly began (Cronin and Adair 2002). While skies where dark in Ireland, Irish culture thrived in the west. The Americans setting the pace and making the rules, Ireland stood no chance in competing with their large-scale parades and immense population. Early 1990s, an Irish-American magazine listed worthy St. Patrick’s Day celebrations throughout United States; Manhattan was listed to hold 150,000 participants and attract a public crowd of roughly 1.5 million: Boston was listed to hold 10,000 participants and attract a public crowd of roughly 1 million; also listing Savannah, Georgia, Kansas, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Pearl River, New Orleans, San Francisco, Dallas and Chicago. Over the years, the Irish celebration grew in popularity, while, as the number of Irish immigrants had stayed somewhat stagnant. While growing obtaining recognition, St. Patrick’s Day festivals and celebrations have become more American-based rather than the showing of Irish patriotism. People began to wear green not because he wanted to, but because everyone else was. The shamrock became an icon to the color green and to the American version of St. Patrick’s Day, rather than standing for the holy Trinity that Saint Patrick himself had intended to. To gain profit, companies exploited the conventional icons associated with St. Patrick’s Day by putting shamrocks on buttons, printing “Irish for the day” on T-shirts and associating beer with tradition. The western world had fallen into the cookie cutter trap of becoming a St. Patrick’s Day tourist attraction (Cronin and Adair 2002). With the true reason for wearing green lost, yet attendance rates is at it’s highest, St. Patrick’s Day had developed into a western holiday for everyone to become “Irish for the Day.” Patron Saint Patrick of Ireland had begun his unpretentious mission to help the people who he had been enchained with and those who had enslaved him by spreading the works and words of the lord. He had merely used the shamrock as a teaching tool for those who did not believe, that God was comprised of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit. Early Ireland taking pride in Patrick made him the patron saint and furthered his teachings by making the shamrock to be the national flower. On March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day was born and the festival at first …show more content…
Connery, Donald S. The Irish. New York, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1968.

Cronin, Mike, and Daryl Adair. The wearing of the green: A History of St. Patricks Day. London: Routledge, 2002.

Flood, J. M. Ireland: Its Saints and Scholars. Port Washington, New York: Kennikat Press, 1970.

Irish Studies. Irish Life and Traditions. Edited by Sharon Gmelch. Dublin: The O'Brien Press, 1986.

King, Linda, and Elaine Sisson. Ireland, Design and Visual Culture: Negotiating Modernity 1922-1992. Cork: Cork University Press, 2011.

O Riain, Padraig. A Dictionary of Irish Saints. Portland, OR.: Four Courts Press, 2011.

O'Raifeartaigh, Tarlach. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2013. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/446636/Saint-Patrick (accessed November 21,

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    They did not bring their old traditions with them and instead just adapted to the new life they now know as America. Bodnar portrays more of a positive heroic image coming to America compared to Handlin that focuses more on the hardships of immigration. “Irish Immigrants Who Perceive America as Exile,” by Miller is relatable to Handlin’s approach on immigration for the fact of alienation and homesickness the immigrants dealt with. The Irish emigrants were forced to leave their home by the British and landlord oppression. The Irish threw “American Wakes” for the ones that were forced to leave.…

    • 1762 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Inis Beag Summary

    • 1880 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Inis Beag: Isles of Ireland The ethnography, Inis Beag: Isles of Ireland, was written by John C. Messenger in May 1969 and expresses in detail the culture of Inis Beag island. John C. Messenger was a “Professor in the Department of Anthropology the Folklore Institution in the program of African Studies at Indiana University. He received his Ph.D. from Northwestern University. Publishes numerous articles, chapters in books and monographs concerning the cultures of the Anang, the Irish, and the Montserrat islanders of the West Indies, whom he studied in 1965 and 1967” (Messenger v).…

    • 1880 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In, “Saints, Scholars, and Schizophrenics” by Nancy Schephur-Hughes, the typical personality of an Irish person is one of fear and mistrust. They are also, “intensely familistic and tightly endogamous”. Schizophrenia is also very common. They especially do not trust outsiders and are very influenced by their past, holy geography, and their language which they regard as sacred tongue. According to the author, these main type of personality traits arise from the decline in culture of rural Irish people and their culture.…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Although I was not able to attend to a cultural event since Emma and Blanca Klucas are mostly influenced by the American culture, they recommend me to do reasrach ob Dia de los muertos since it is a unique holiday not only to Mexico but to Latin America countries also. Los Dia de los Muertos is celebrated on November 1st , known as all Saints’ Day and on November 2nd , known as All Souls’ day. November 1st is celelbrated for the infants who have passed away and on the 2nd it is dedicated to all the passed loved ones. This is a time of rembering the loved ones that day but it is not a time to be sad or scared.…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    IN 1930 I was released from eastern state. I could not wait to see my family and especially my son. I wonder how he is right now. After I left eastern state I moved to chicago. I joined a new gang and it was not a good choice.…

    • 225 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The American logic of St. Patricks Day if you aren't wearing green then we pinch them. Another thing that we think is that leprechauns come if you lay out gold. In Ireland they were red in stead of green and they have a huge festivities. They even dance to music and sometimes have a special routine. St. Patrick's Day is so fun no matter if you live in America on Ireland their is so much fun things you can do I love St. Patricks…

    • 85 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    We all come from different backgrounds and places. On March 15, 2017, I attended a speaker I thought would help me gain better knowledge on my Irish heritage. Professor Fredrick Suppe, of Ball State University, gave a forty-five-minute speech on the history of St. Patrick. He gave this informative speech at Bracken Library in room 104. The general purpose of his speech was to inform.…

    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Leprechauns Legend of the leprechaun Leprechauns are a legend that originated from Irish folklore. The first mention of leprechauns dates back to the eighth century. Leprechauns first appeared in "The Saga of Fergus mac Léti”. The tale is about king Fergus who falls asleep on a beach and water spirits called lúchorpáin come to drag the king in the ocean with them. Lúchorpáins are believed to be the first of the leprechaun tales.…

    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In this paper I will be critiquing the book Beads, Bodies, and Trash by David Redmon. All through this paper I will give a well extremely point by point data about the book. I give likewise recognize the gathering of people this book was implied for. Beads, Bodies, and Trash blends social human science with a product chain investigation by following Mardi Gras dots to their sources. Starting with Bourbon Street of New Orleans, this book moves to the dismal industrial facilities in the tax-exempt monetary zone of country Fuzhou, China.…

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Irish Mob

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages

    As we know today, the idea of moving somewhere for a fresh start, isn't that simple. So, without further ado, let us examine the hardships and unexpected turns along the way that the Irish had to face. In 1845, a disaster had overcome Ireland. During the…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Thanksgiving. What comes to mind? Delicious turkey, family, and the beautiful colors of the fall. Those may be the images to some. As a little kid, I remember reading a short story of the First Thanksgiving.…

    • 1335 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Leadership and Legacy of Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) has a rich legacy full of multiple accomplishments that have changed nursing practice. In her time she is known for her management skills and ability to lead others in a direction that would show interrelationships between environmental factors that affect a patents overall health. She was the first nurse statistician and well as a groundbreaking theorist of her time. Florence kept meticulous records of her knowledge and observations that have provided written accounts of her findings, thoughts, correlations and observations. These writings have enriched the profession of nursing ever since.…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In this book, by Noel Ignativ, the author discusses “How the Irish became white”. The book was published first published in 1995, and then reprinted in 2009. There are 272 pages in this book. This book is about how the Irish became “white” by oppressing blacks, who were seen as the inferior race, in order to become a part of the superior race, or “whites”. Being white is considered a privilege, and in order to be apart of that the Irish had to conform.…

    • 1942 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My Irish Heritage Analysis

    • 1244 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Ireland is loyalty, faith, optimism, diligence, persistence, humor, and, above all, love. Ireland is a crucial part of who I am and what I know, and the only way to increase my appreciation of, respect for, and pride in my Irish heritage is to immerse myself in it. Ireland has been calling to me forever, and it is time I answered that…

    • 1244 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Food Authenticity

    • 1614 Words
    • 7 Pages

    What is food authenticity? This essay will explore the dialectic relationship between the continuity of tradition and the continued changes found in the presentation of traditional activities (Lu and Fine 1995). Firstly, food authenticity is doubtful.…

    • 1614 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays