St. Patrick’s Day March 17, 2023
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Uncategorized.trackback
Do people here celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? How does one celebrate it? It always when I was in my teens and twenties seemed to be an excuse to go to the pub. There is the parade, but the offspring grew disinterested in that fairly sharpish and even the promise/threat of ice cream didn’t quite have the intended impact on a freezing cold day in March (as is standard operating procedure for St. Patrick’s Day). That said I raise a glass or cup of anything, beer, cola, tea to any day off from work.
Slightly more seriously it is nice to be back to something approaching normality after a couple of years where it was anything but. What plans do people have and enjoy the weekend.
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
I’m back down in Clare for the week, so get to see my first local parade in ten years. Delighted. I’ll follow it to the town centre to see some music then. I’ll go out tonight to catch up with an old friend, but only one or two – it’ll be messy by evening and I want to go out tomorrow for the rugby.
Moving to Belfast from London has gained me two extra bank holidays, I’m loving the novelty of that.
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Sounds like a good way to spend the day. And there is something about the parades that is sort of entertaining.
That’s telling re two extra bank holidays.
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Like yourself in younger days it was about going to the pub. I went to the Club Finals in Croke Park for many years too. Parades were a thing for a while although I think we only went to the one in Town a few times, having a hefty child on your shoulders for hours on end can be tiring…. for a few years we went out to Greystones as it was a parade but much quieter.
Off to see Rovers hopefully beat Pat’s today , will watch the Rovers Women play Shels tomorrow, the rugby and then off into Collins Barracks to see Pillow Queens. So hopefully a good weekend.
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I want to go on record noting that I’m only liking this post due to Johnny Cash. I hope everyone who posts, comments and lurks on the CLR has a fun and safe weekend. I will mark today the same way I mark everyday. By working construction, smoking two cigars and drinking Budweiser.
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Also today
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I worked as normal today as I have never really celebrated St Patrick’s day.In my youth my family ignored it apart from going to mass in the morning as we always regarded it as an AOH day.It has broadened out in recent decades up here with less of an AOH association but I still detest the Paddy whackery that goes with the whole thing. I might watch any trad music programmes that are on TV later but that’s it.Also I heard an interesting discussion on Radio Ulster earlier today where an academic confirmed that unlike many other “saints” it can be proved that St Patrick really did exist and like myself had an “a la carte” attitude to Rome!
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I’ve mixed feelings about it. I know the paddywhackery really annoys me too. But I kind of have given up on pushing back against that at this stage. It’s just given as read. Interesting re the religious side. That’s gone completely hasn’t it as you say like the AOH association, which wouldn’t have been a thing in the south AFAIK.
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For the day that’s in it, etc.
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My dad used to collect postcards and when he died, we passed his collection – which was then thousands strong – to the local library.
Apparently it used to be a big thing for people here to send Patricks Day cards to relatives abroad so there were quite a few of those cards in the collection. And today the library posted a link to those cards which was nice to see….
https://m.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=WestmeathLibraries&set=a.3822121201207084
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Roddy – and others – might like this one in particular?
https://m.facebook.com/WestmeathLibraries/photos/a.3822121201207084/3822449074507630/?type=3&source=43&refid=56
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Roddy is just at the tip of the left hand corner of that wee odd looking Lough Neagh!
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Since the kids grew up, we usually do nothing much on the day. But today one of the kids suggested we join them on a walking and singing tour around Dublin. Started at Grattan Bridge at 11am. It was excellent. Recommended.
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I was appalled to learn from the mammy that the club finals aren’t on in Croker any more.
Growing up, Saint Patrick’s morning was spud planting time.
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Shocked, I tell you, shocked to see Monty Don only starting to chit his potatoes on the St Patrick’s Day episode of Gardeners’ World last night.
Was it climate change or English tardiness?
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He’s north of me but South of you. I think it’s ignorance of the ways of the tuber.
I did have a shiver seeing the lumper on sale as a “heritage variety”.
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Working yesterday but will have a few beers tonight in honour of etc.
Friend me a few beers the other day that he got off a mate who works in drinks distribution and among them was Brewdogs new fake draught Guinness. I don’t buy Brewdog beers cos of the awful shitheads who run it (I know, I know, every company exploits their workers etc but you can’t boycott your way out of capitalism so I indulge in, necessarily subjective, selective boycotting).
Anyways hope everyone having a good Paddy’s weekend. I’ll provide feedback on the fake Guinness!
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What is the Brewdog ‘Guinness’ called? Have you tried the non-alcoholic Guinness. Surprisingly good. And Island’s Edge is a fairly nice draught I find. Then again I like Beamish and Murphys over Guinness so what do I know? 🙂
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The Brewdog one is called Black Heart (in a can).
Actually I’m too much of a beer snob to like Guinness very much – it’s just too bland, though I’ll occasionally have one if the alternative is even blander lagers.
I always liked the Porterhouse draught range of stouts and porters, though I haven’t tasted them for years so they may have changed.
The best stout in the world, IMHO, is Cooper’s Stout from Australia – used to get it occasionally in Ireland but have never seen it here in Scotland. Guess frckin mango favoured DIPAs etc have washed away all the competition 😡
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Yeah the Porterhouse stuff was nice. The Oyster draught in particular.
Never had Coopers. Yeah, the turn to fruit and sour beers has had mixed results.
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We went to one or two Patrick’s Day parades in my early ’80s childhood. I just recall tractors driving slowly through Longford Town with rain-soaked people holding banners advertising the local creamery or something in the trailer. Maybe the occasional marching band of teenage Americans looking a bit bewildered but with fixed grins – a fairly grim experience for all involved. Looking at RTE’s coverage of the ‘provincial’ parades last night not a lot has changed. No pub memories (my folks were teetotalers) so I think the day was more-or-less like a regular Sunday.
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The tractor tradition appears alive and well!
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