Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 17, 1990 TAG: 9003172219
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOE KENNEDY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
And so, when those of Irish heritage or people from different ethnic backgrounds adopt St. Patrick's Day as an excuse to drink too much and act rowdy, many people of Irish extraction object.
"It insults me to be lumped in with people who all they do is wear green one day and forget about everybody else for the rest of the year," said Michael George of the Irish Arts Center in New York City.
"But," he added, philosophically, "they can be whatever they want."
Increasingly, people of Irish descent are complaining about the way their homeland is depicted in advertisements, greeting cards and elsewhere. Sodden leprechauns and frivolous representations of the Irish people have brought protests to companies from across the nation.
"It bothers me very much if they depict Irishmen in an unfavorable light," said Kevin Morrissey of the Irish Institute in Woodside, N.Y. "We protest to the producers of St. Patrick's Day cards routinely when we see such things. We don't think it's fair to the Irish nor would it be to any other group."
The institute attempts to preserve and further Irish arts, language and culture and language in the United States and in Ireland.
It recently sponsored a convention of authors who had written about Irish immigration and the Irish presence in this country. It also is planning to underwrite a detailed study of Irish culture in New York from the 17th century to the present.
Ethnic pride is no new thing, what with the NAACP and various anti-defamation leagues seeking to protect their people against prejudice and discrimination.
For the Irish, though, it's a bit different. While overplayed at times, St. Patrick's Day is unusual in the breadth of its appeal, which extends even to people with no Irish roots.
"That seems a little strange," said Mary O'Driscoll of the Irish American Cultural Institute in St. Paul, Minn. "But there is something about Irish music and Irish culture that is so strong and so appealing it does attract people of all different nationalities."
Fiona Ritchie agrees. Ritchie, a Scottish woman whose "Thistle and Shamrock" radio program is carried on 163 public radio stations including Roanoke's WVTF (89.1 FM), thinks Ireland and Scotland have "visual cultures" that can be appreciated by almost anyone.
"When people say `Ireland,' they immediately think of stereotypical things like leprechauns and shamrocks and, for Scotland, pipers and kilts, tartans and thistle and heather.
"There is something much more visual about these cultures and colorful about the characters from these cultures."
Add to that the sheer numbers of Americans with at least some Irish ancestry and you have a large pool of people happy to celebrate on March 17.
"These [Irish] people are known for their good humor, their wit and their fun-loving personality, as part of the very complex makeup of any nationality," Ritchie said. "People like to identify with that."
It's an odd place for an Irishman to be - happy that others share in the joy of his heritage, but wary lest those others go too far.
Morrissey attributes the appeal of the Irish to their "style of being relatively carefree and enjoying themselves and their devotion to St. Patrick."
But, as an official of New York's St. Patrick's Day parade for 30 years, whose recent mission has been to shepherd the grand marshal and other VIPs on their big day, he is among those wary of overdoers.
"We don't treat the St. Patrick's Day parade here frivolously, either," he said. "A lot of people are Irish for a day, but those of us who run the parade take it seriously. It's the largest civilian parade in the world, probably, with a marching contingent of about 120,000 and probably six or seven hours of continuous marching."
It's a truism to say the Irish are a complicated group, with more depth and feeling than many popular depictions would imply.
"The Irish are a very schizophrenic race in a lot of ways," said O'Driscoll, whose husband, Sean, is from Cork. "They have this incredible joy and vivacity and humor and outrageousness, and then this incredible depression and sorrow coming from the incredible poverty they have had through all time."
One of the burrs some feel about St. Patrick's Day celebrations is their tendency to emphasize the merriment without recognizing the suffering that is its complement.
O'Driscoll did a radio show in St. Paul for 10 years, "and I used to do a lecture every St. Patrick's Day and say, `You shouldn't get drunk, you should be a good example, don't turn into a fool . . .' All of that stuff sort of exemplifies the drunken, fighting, stupid hick, and it is a slur on the culture."
Oddly, St. Patrick's Day is not celebrated so wildly in Ireland itself. Ritchie recalls Irish students at a university in her native Scotland having small parties, but when she moved to the United States, "my jaw really hit the floor. The green beer and all - I thought, `Surely all these people can't be from Ireland.' And `Erin go bragh,' in Charlotte?
"I realized that it's part of the American tendency to make a nice, big holiday out of any occasion, at the slightest excuse. I say, `Good luck to them,' though I personally would like to see the celebrations focus more on Irish culture and music."
O'Driscoll agrees. Irish music and dancing have big followings in the St. Paul area, she said, though probably only two of 10 participants have Irish ancestry.
"But there are few enough laughs in the world, and if they get their kicks on St. Patrick's Day, that's all right. You can use that sort of thing to get them interested in the real culture."
by CNB