Everyone likes to think they have a little Irish in them on St. Patrick’s Day. Who wouldn’t when there’s music, dancing and beer involved?
But some people go a little too far in trying to be more Irish than the Irish on March 17. The Courier reached out to Vancouver’s Irish community to get their advice on what not to do on St. Patrick’s Day. (Take note, Railtown Café, below.)
Sean Heather, owner of the Irish Heather, which opened 20 St. Patrick’s Days ago this year:
• Do not call it St. Paddy’s Day, St. Pattie’s Day or any other derivative. The day is, after all, named after a saint in a country where many people are Catholic. Think of St. Patrick’s Day as Canada’s Thanksgiving, a time when families get together for a traditional meal. “It’s a holy day of obligation,” Heather says. Until the 1970s, pubs in Ireland were closed on March 17. “It’s different when you’re abroad because you’re homesick and you don’t want to be thinking that you’re five and a half thousand miles from your family.”
Some people say Paddy’s Day is acceptable; if you’re going to use the "saint", give the Fifth Century missionary his full due.
• Do not ask for a Car Bomb shooter (an ounce of Bailey’s in a partial pint of Guinness.) "Would you go to New York ask for a 9/11 shooter?" The Troubles were a devastating time for everyone and the reference is deeply hurtful.
• Do not treat Guinness with anything other than the respect it deserves. As when it tried to get artsy with a photo of the famous suds spilling over a glass of Guinness, there is a way to pour a Guinness and that’s not it. The Irish Independent's headline was, "Canada, we need to talk about this butchered pint of Guinness." Railtown CafE quickly removed the offending image and apologized saying, "We’re not all a bunch of maple-syrup drinking snow farmers and to make up for the blasphemous pour depicted in the photo, we’ve poured another pint that we hope is worthy of Ireland."
• Do not drink green beer. “Green beer is a lightning rod,” Heather says. “We like beer and that’s why we don’t put dye in it.”
The "Irish and New in Vancouver" Facebook group
• Do not say things like “Top o’ the morning to ya” or “The luck of the Irish,” says Ruth McCann. These are things that the Irish don’t actually say. She’d also like to break the stereotype of the Irish being drunken louts. To that end, Sean Heather asks that people stop referring to a “paddy wagon” when it comes to the police van used to escort prisoners or trouble-makers. The term was used derogatorily by the English to suggest that it was always the Irish, or Paddies, who were in trouble.
• Do not think you have to drink Jameson Irish Whiskey or Guinness, says Linda Kilkenny. “It’s not a cardinal sin to not like it."
• Do not say you’re Irish just because your great-great-great grandparents immigrated to Canada, says Rebecca Conway. And please “stop trying to say potato in a stupid Leprechaun accent.”
• Do not think you’re speaking with an Irish accent by saying, “tirty tree and a turd”, adds Leanne Ni Cearuil.
Okay, that’s enough of what not to do. Here are some of the ways you can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Vancouver.
• Sadly, there will be no parade this year. Rainy weather and declining sponsorships and participation led CelticFest organizers to cancel this year’s parade. There’s hope it will return next year but fear not. There’s a street festival in Robson Square on March 17 and 18 starting from noon to 11 p.m.. There will be musical performances, bagpiping, Highland games, street performers, festive vendors and a licensed area. It’s free until 7 p.m., after which there’s a $10 cover charge.
• There will be a parade of sorts when White Caps fans march from Celtic Village at Robson Square to BC Place for Saturday’s game against Toronto FC. The group march starts at noon and there will be Irish music outside BC Place in the Terry Fox Plaza until game time at one. There are specially priced tickets for Irish organizations, ex-pat communities and friends. Email George Lucas at [email protected] or call him at 604-669-9283 ext. 2209.
• Ticketed music events include Delhi to Dublin on March 17; the Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»Welsh Men’s Choir at Christ Church Cathedral on March 17; The Paperboys on March 18; and a ceilidh on March 18 from 6:30 to 11:45 p.m. at St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church.
For tickets and a full schedule go to .
