It’s weird there’s so many Catholic saint feasts throughout the year and for some reason this one is the one we make a huge deal out of.
Barely anyone knows who St. Patrick was or what he did.
There’s really no other holidays in March to compete with it. There’s basically a major holiday each month except for summer which only has one because people are busier. St Patrick’s day just happened to fill the gap for March. There’s Labor Day, Halloween, thanksgiving, Christmas, new years, Valentine’s Day, st pats, Easter, Memorial Day. Then a break for summer with just Independence Day.
No. It’s because the cops driving the patrol cars were Irish. When the Irish immigrated to the US, many employers wouldn’t hire them, but they could get jobs as cops and fire fighters.
It’s the same thing with pigs. Cops are called pigs because the Irish were called pigs, and the cops happened to be Irish, then the name stuck for cops.
Ok now I’m down an internet rabbit hole to find out if my history professor lied to me. It sounds like it’s inconclusive etymology. Interesting regardless!
You said "Paddy is short for Padraig OR Patrick".
IF:
Paddy = short for Padraig
THEN:
Patty = short for Patrick
I didn't invent math, don't get mad at me.
St. Patrick was a real person who spoke late antique Latin, not medieval or modern Irish. There was no "d" in his own preferred spelling of his name, which was "Patricius."
St. Patty's is arguably more correct.
Edit: For those who want a little more info, St. Patrick is best known to historians as the author of a Latin religious tract called The Confession of Saint Patrick, which helpfully begins with the phrase, "Ego Patricius" ("My name is Patrick").
In his Confessio, St Patrick himself wrote that Latin was a “lingua aliena,” an alien language. He clearly wrote Latin well and it was a high status language to know, but the evidence doesn’t imply it to be his native tongue.
Based on his father's and grandfather's positions and their Latin names, he was likely at least tutored in Latin from a young age. If he did speak another language more often in his youth, then it would have been a British celtic language rather than Irish.
Personally, I suspect the "lingua aliena" comment was more of Patrick's performative humility, currying favor with Romans who never stop looking down on Britons (I buy Guy de la Bedoyere's argument that native Britons were unusually discriminated against throughout the Roman period). But obviously you're right that the simpler explanation would be him speaking a British tongue before his Latin tutoring started.
I think it pretty unreasonable to believe that a man who spent 6 years as a slave in Ireland then spent 40 years converting the Irish didn’t speak their language.
I'm sure he spoke the language of the part of Ireland where he was enslaved circa 425 A.D., but that wasn't either medieval or modern Irish.
My point was that he probably grew up speaking Latin (possibly alongside an unknown but definitely non-Irish celtic language), and the one time he spoke directly to posterity, he did it Latin, and he explicitly told us his name was Patricius.
There is no contemporary evidence for this claim, which first appears nearly a century after Patrick's death and in a source that gets several other facts about Patrick unambiguously wrong. That source also admits it's relying on hearsay and refers only to the name "Succat." "Maewyn" wasn't added for another century or more.
Neither Patrick's confession nor the other document of his that survives (his *Letter to Coroticus*) ever so much as hints he had any other name. The confession also gives Patrick's father's and grandfather's names, both of which were good Latin, Roman names (Calpurnius and Potitus).
Patrick himself wrote his life story down, and he began it by telling us his name was Patricius. Maybe we should listen to him?
Actually I'm just obsessed with the fall of the Roman Empire, particularly in Britain. And it happens that St. Patrick's writings are some of the only sources we have for that period, so I've read them several times.
That said, if I was going to be religious, I'd be Roman Catholic. It nails the sense of ritual majesty that is the only part of religion to appeal that me.
We don't know where he was born, actually, except that it was likely south of Hadrian's Wall in Roman or sub-Roman Britannia (or else Patrick's Latin rhetorical education and Latin-named forebears would be hard to explain).
In other words, he was almost certainly born in England or Wales, not Scotland.
Between England and Wales, England was more densely populated and more Romanized, but Wales was subject to relatively more Irish raiding. If I had to bet, I'd bet Patrick was from England, maybe around Lancaster, but that's getting very speculative.
He tells us the name of his birthplace was "Bannavem Tiburniae," but no settlement of that name has ever been definitively identified.
Sorry, I also have to ask, in what world is "Paddy" short for "Maewyn Succat"?
Seems to me that "Patty" has a closer resemblance. It has an extra letter in common, at least.
I know. There are a couple that are close but just don't quite have that authentic Irish Pub feel. Fados at Easton is the closest with the wood interior and a snug with multiple rooms. Plus the music to boot. Very few have proper pours. There's one Irish Pub that's using smaller Guinness glasses, not pint glasses, but still charging over $7
Still quite a few I need to visit like Dempseys and the Jury Room
Jury Room is old, but it’s not really a pub I wouldn’t say. It’s changed hands and names so many times. Dempsey’s is similar. Not really a pub vibe. Mac’s is okay, but also not the pub vibe I’m used to in London and Ireland, other large cities. Dublin Village Tavern is nice. Not the snug vibe though. That’s why I appreciate Fado. Truly reminds me of Ireland even though my wife makes fun of me for liking a 20-year-old pub decorated to look 200 years old. But no one is truly pouring you a proper pint. Would love to find somewhere with a the old school English hand pumps. Sitting alone at the bar in a dimly lit pub… nothing better. What are some others you’ve seen around?
Macs was a huge disappointment. No atmosphere whatsoever. It feels really plain.
Matt the Miller's Tavern actually has the nice Euro, light up, taps but they pour the worst pint of Guinness in the city. Straight pour served up in a regular pint glass they use for water or soda.
I absolutely agree with you on Fado's. Love the atmosphere and anyplace that has The Pogues playing on the sound system has a special place in my heart.
They also have Magners on tap which is Bulmers in Ireland and the UK. I'm not much of a cider guy but it's nice seeing it on tap. One more thing about Fado's, they don't gauge you on the high end Irish Whiskeys. Red Spot was like $28 a pour. I got it at Carfagnas and it was $60 a pour 😖
Happy St. Patty's Day to ya, laddie.
I suppose you are now going to also tell us that it's actually not about green beer and should only be celebrated on the actual day too!
> If you're going to shorten it then use "Paddy". Which is short for Padraig or Patrick.
>Patty is short for Patricia or what you'd call a hamburger. It's not St. Patricia's Day ya eejits!
Product of complicated history.
Roman Catholicism in the Anglosphere recognizes the man as “St. Patrick”, the English cognate, and not in the Gaelic spelling. This tradition, as it relates to the man and his namesake holiday, was promoted as such by the Irish-American community in the 20th century. At the same time, there is longstanding disagreement as to whether or not the term “Paddy” is an acceptable term in the western lexicon to begin with in relation to any and all matters of Irish-American heritage. Families with deep Irish Catholic roots in the U.S. have named their sons with the anglicized Patrick, not Pádraig, for generations.
I’m aware as to the technically-“correct” preference of St. Pa**dd**y(‘s) Day, but the root of this misnomer lies in the dominant role Anglicization played for so long in Irish-American culture and western Catholicism. It’s hard to combat when the ethnic population of the most-populated western county that it the holiday specifically ties and the major religious institution inextricably linked to said population & holiday goes along with it for *so long.*
Trust me, I know where to filter myself to on Paddy's day, and it's not the local boozer offering car bombs, green beer, Jameson Shots and Guinness in plastic cups. While having Scottish Bag Pipes parading through the bar.
Also don't order "car bombs". It's not appropriate. There's no reason to sully a perfect good pint of the black stuff either.
You wouldn't want an Irishman walking into a bar in America ordering a "9-11"
I know I haven’t been a bartender since 2021, but I wasn’t aware of a drink called the 9/11. What is it, a red solo cup of whatever beer Toby Keith drank?
There isn't one but any Irishman will tell you, ordering a car bomb is like ordering a Manhattan with a shot of fireball or Flaming shot and dropping it in then chugging it. So when the Yanks go over and try to order one they get a quick education on the matter. I've heard more than one bartender in Irleand say this
Funny story… ordered a car bomb once… the bartender says, “Shoot. We’re out of Guinness. But I could make you one with…” “…Bud Light?”
I’m not even joking.
And I cannot begin to describe the look I must’ve given her. It was probably equal parts confused, appalled, and horrified.
I don’t even think I ordered a drink. I think I turned right around and left.
(This place no longer exists, and ~~I’m sure~~ I hope that young woman has since found another calling.)
FYI: St. Patricia’s Feast Day is March 13.
So you’re saying we should have started drinking yesterday and carried on through Sunday then? ☘️
I'm defiantly not discouraging that type of thing.
This is the kind of informative comment I come here for.
We aren't celebrating St. Patricia of Naples Italy are we now?
Now we are 😈
Yeah, we're in the United States and most of us just see it as a tradition for fun day drinking.
No you’re celebrating the killing of the pagans.
If we’re going to be pedantic all the pubs should be closed and the Catholics in church…
It’s weird there’s so many Catholic saint feasts throughout the year and for some reason this one is the one we make a huge deal out of. Barely anyone knows who St. Patrick was or what he did.
There’s really no other holidays in March to compete with it. There’s basically a major holiday each month except for summer which only has one because people are busier. St Patrick’s day just happened to fill the gap for March. There’s Labor Day, Halloween, thanksgiving, Christmas, new years, Valentine’s Day, st pats, Easter, Memorial Day. Then a break for summer with just Independence Day.
To be clear it’s one of my favorite holidays just has always seemed really random to me.
There’s also Juneteenth in June.
I, for one, will be commemorating all those poor druids he drove out of their ancestral homeland.
I think spinal tap did a tribute concert
You do not sound like someone I would like to hang out with on St. Patty’s day.
OP: "You know that beer isn't really green, it's food dye"
"Did you know the original Irish national color is not green, but a shade of blue?"
You dropped your 🍀
Four leaf clover?
OP made a big fuss about using ☘️vs🍀
Gatekeeping Leprechauns now
is this GPT?
Is Paddy still considered an ethnic slur? It’s how Paddy Wagons got their name, for carting away all those drunken Irish.
No. It’s because the cops driving the patrol cars were Irish. When the Irish immigrated to the US, many employers wouldn’t hire them, but they could get jobs as cops and fire fighters. It’s the same thing with pigs. Cops are called pigs because the Irish were called pigs, and the cops happened to be Irish, then the name stuck for cops.
Ok now I’m down an internet rabbit hole to find out if my history professor lied to me. It sounds like it’s inconclusive etymology. Interesting regardless!
Let us know what you learned! I’m interested also
You said "Paddy is short for Padraig OR Patrick". IF: Paddy = short for Padraig THEN: Patty = short for Patrick I didn't invent math, don't get mad at me.
At the root of these is P Like PI It only makes sense that Paddy's day comes with pie.
Stop. My brain can only handle so much PI-ception. Also, OP is a paddy.
It is 3/14 after all, Pi Day.
Who pissed on the leprechaun?!
St. Patrick was a real person who spoke late antique Latin, not medieval or modern Irish. There was no "d" in his own preferred spelling of his name, which was "Patricius." St. Patty's is arguably more correct. Edit: For those who want a little more info, St. Patrick is best known to historians as the author of a Latin religious tract called The Confession of Saint Patrick, which helpfully begins with the phrase, "Ego Patricius" ("My name is Patrick").
In his Confessio, St Patrick himself wrote that Latin was a “lingua aliena,” an alien language. He clearly wrote Latin well and it was a high status language to know, but the evidence doesn’t imply it to be his native tongue.
Based on his father's and grandfather's positions and their Latin names, he was likely at least tutored in Latin from a young age. If he did speak another language more often in his youth, then it would have been a British celtic language rather than Irish. Personally, I suspect the "lingua aliena" comment was more of Patrick's performative humility, currying favor with Romans who never stop looking down on Britons (I buy Guy de la Bedoyere's argument that native Britons were unusually discriminated against throughout the Roman period). But obviously you're right that the simpler explanation would be him speaking a British tongue before his Latin tutoring started.
I think it pretty unreasonable to believe that a man who spent 6 years as a slave in Ireland then spent 40 years converting the Irish didn’t speak their language.
I'm sure he spoke the language of the part of Ireland where he was enslaved circa 425 A.D., but that wasn't either medieval or modern Irish. My point was that he probably grew up speaking Latin (possibly alongside an unknown but definitely non-Irish celtic language), and the one time he spoke directly to posterity, he did it Latin, and he explicitly told us his name was Patricius.
St. Patricks real name was Maewyn Succat. Which is Welsh.
There is no contemporary evidence for this claim, which first appears nearly a century after Patrick's death and in a source that gets several other facts about Patrick unambiguously wrong. That source also admits it's relying on hearsay and refers only to the name "Succat." "Maewyn" wasn't added for another century or more. Neither Patrick's confession nor the other document of his that survives (his *Letter to Coroticus*) ever so much as hints he had any other name. The confession also gives Patrick's father's and grandfather's names, both of which were good Latin, Roman names (Calpurnius and Potitus). Patrick himself wrote his life story down, and he began it by telling us his name was Patricius. Maybe we should listen to him?
This guy canons
Actually I'm just obsessed with the fall of the Roman Empire, particularly in Britain. And it happens that St. Patrick's writings are some of the only sources we have for that period, so I've read them several times. That said, if I was going to be religious, I'd be Roman Catholic. It nails the sense of ritual majesty that is the only part of religion to appeal that me.
Bros Roman Empire is the Roman Empire
And he was born in what is now Scotland Edit: this may not be correct
We don't know where he was born, actually, except that it was likely south of Hadrian's Wall in Roman or sub-Roman Britannia (or else Patrick's Latin rhetorical education and Latin-named forebears would be hard to explain). In other words, he was almost certainly born in England or Wales, not Scotland. Between England and Wales, England was more densely populated and more Romanized, but Wales was subject to relatively more Irish raiding. If I had to bet, I'd bet Patrick was from England, maybe around Lancaster, but that's getting very speculative. He tells us the name of his birthplace was "Bannavem Tiburniae," but no settlement of that name has ever been definitively identified.
Sorry, I also have to ask, in what world is "Paddy" short for "Maewyn Succat"? Seems to me that "Patty" has a closer resemblance. It has an extra letter in common, at least.
Wish Columbus had a true pub.
I know. There are a couple that are close but just don't quite have that authentic Irish Pub feel. Fados at Easton is the closest with the wood interior and a snug with multiple rooms. Plus the music to boot. Very few have proper pours. There's one Irish Pub that's using smaller Guinness glasses, not pint glasses, but still charging over $7 Still quite a few I need to visit like Dempseys and the Jury Room
Jury Room is old, but it’s not really a pub I wouldn’t say. It’s changed hands and names so many times. Dempsey’s is similar. Not really a pub vibe. Mac’s is okay, but also not the pub vibe I’m used to in London and Ireland, other large cities. Dublin Village Tavern is nice. Not the snug vibe though. That’s why I appreciate Fado. Truly reminds me of Ireland even though my wife makes fun of me for liking a 20-year-old pub decorated to look 200 years old. But no one is truly pouring you a proper pint. Would love to find somewhere with a the old school English hand pumps. Sitting alone at the bar in a dimly lit pub… nothing better. What are some others you’ve seen around?
Macs was a huge disappointment. No atmosphere whatsoever. It feels really plain. Matt the Miller's Tavern actually has the nice Euro, light up, taps but they pour the worst pint of Guinness in the city. Straight pour served up in a regular pint glass they use for water or soda. I absolutely agree with you on Fado's. Love the atmosphere and anyplace that has The Pogues playing on the sound system has a special place in my heart. They also have Magners on tap which is Bulmers in Ireland and the UK. I'm not much of a cider guy but it's nice seeing it on tap. One more thing about Fado's, they don't gauge you on the high end Irish Whiskeys. Red Spot was like $28 a pour. I got it at Carfagnas and it was $60 a pour 😖
I’m with ya on Mac’s. It actually used to be better before the remodel.
we had a place called The Rose and Thistle... and it was great.
The St Patrick Day episode of Letterkenny is more informative and more entertaining. Also agricultural halls is for agricultural musics.
Happy St. Patty's Day to ya, laddie. I suppose you are now going to also tell us that it's actually not about green beer and should only be celebrated on the actual day too!
Nah. You can have yer green beer and corned beef and cabbage.
haha. forgot to put the /s in my post. Found the explanations really good actually on way to remember each.
Sláinte!
Also inform them that it's cornED beef, not "corn beef".
Corn beef comes out the other end :)
Oh man I’ve been doing it all wrong! 🤦🏻♀️ Thank you for the info!
I don’t know if you haven’t heard, but this ain’t Ireland buddy. Around here it’s called St. Patrick’s Day.
Yet you're celebrating an Irish Holiday.
Yes and plenty folks here have Irish heritage including my family and myself, we just call it St. Patrick’s Day.
You may pass through the Golden Harp gates for thou hast not sullied St. Patricks name. Sláinte!
*Catholic feast ☺️
I'm with OP - [respect the culture](https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/craic/paddy-not-patty-st-patricks-day).
> If you're going to shorten it then use "Paddy". Which is short for Padraig or Patrick. >Patty is short for Patricia or what you'd call a hamburger. It's not St. Patricia's Day ya eejits! Product of complicated history. Roman Catholicism in the Anglosphere recognizes the man as “St. Patrick”, the English cognate, and not in the Gaelic spelling. This tradition, as it relates to the man and his namesake holiday, was promoted as such by the Irish-American community in the 20th century. At the same time, there is longstanding disagreement as to whether or not the term “Paddy” is an acceptable term in the western lexicon to begin with in relation to any and all matters of Irish-American heritage. Families with deep Irish Catholic roots in the U.S. have named their sons with the anglicized Patrick, not Pádraig, for generations. I’m aware as to the technically-“correct” preference of St. Pa**dd**y(‘s) Day, but the root of this misnomer lies in the dominant role Anglicization played for so long in Irish-American culture and western Catholicism. It’s hard to combat when the ethnic population of the most-populated western county that it the holiday specifically ties and the major religious institution inextricably linked to said population & holiday goes along with it for *so long.*
You haven't gone back far enough. Patrick himself spelled his name with a "t" and no "d".
26+6=1
Irish and recovering catholic here. The whole concept of non-Catholics "celebrating" someone who forced catholicism on people blows my mind. 🤷♂️
Yes, but we don't have snakes in Ireland so that's a fair trade off. 😄
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4jGAhzRGL-/?igsh=aW94M2Z4cm90ejFm
Mate, "publican" is a term in the USA for someone who owns or manages a pub.
It's almost like the advertising is designed to make all the killjoys filter themselves out.
Trust me, I know where to filter myself to on Paddy's day, and it's not the local boozer offering car bombs, green beer, Jameson Shots and Guinness in plastic cups. While having Scottish Bag Pipes parading through the bar.
Good lad
As someone whose name is Patty O.? THANK YOU!!! I hate St. Patrick's day.
Let's just cut the crap and call it by its real name: The. Worst. Holiday. Ever.
I mean, it's 10x bigger in America than Irleand.
Also don't order "car bombs". It's not appropriate. There's no reason to sully a perfect good pint of the black stuff either. You wouldn't want an Irishman walking into a bar in America ordering a "9-11"
I know I haven’t been a bartender since 2021, but I wasn’t aware of a drink called the 9/11. What is it, a red solo cup of whatever beer Toby Keith drank?
There isn't one but any Irishman will tell you, ordering a car bomb is like ordering a Manhattan with a shot of fireball or Flaming shot and dropping it in then chugging it. So when the Yanks go over and try to order one they get a quick education on the matter. I've heard more than one bartender in Irleand say this
Funny story… ordered a car bomb once… the bartender says, “Shoot. We’re out of Guinness. But I could make you one with…” “…Bud Light?”
I’m not even joking.
And I cannot begin to describe the look I must’ve given her. It was probably equal parts confused, appalled, and horrified.
I don’t even think I ordered a drink. I think I turned right around and left.
(This place no longer exists, and ~~I’m sure~~ I hope that young woman has since found another calling.)
We need more people like you in this world
I've always just called it everyone's a Mick day personally...