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06 April 2011
Grass, in the full range of its forty shades, is always greener in Ireland so it is little wonder that Ireland comes to mind when early signs of Spring appear.
The hunger for green has reached its zenith this year if the editorial in the April 4th issue of Maclean’s magazine is anything to go by. The headline reads: It's time to make St. Patrick's Day a national holiday. A convincing argument is made on the strength of reports just in about the number of Canadians across the country who recently "voted with their feet and mugs." Abandoning office towers, university campuses, and other workplaces on March 17, they exercised their right to be "Irish for a day" by means of good cheer and green beer and a preponderance of garish apparel.
The new public holiday on the third Monday of February falls short in the light of the country-wide consensus presented in MacLean’s. It underscores the magazine’s proposal for turning the feast day of St. Patrick into Ontario's ideal Family Day and the possibility of combining it with the annual March Break. While publicans are the beneficiaries of the revelries that have so far prevailed on that day, traditional March 17 happenings could be easily adapted to a holiday with appeal for all ages, and in the process advance the profile of my currently beleaguered country of origin.
Although the Irish comprised the largest national element in Ontario in the 19th century, there was little consciousness abroad of the “real” Ireland I had left when I emigrated in 1966.The image of the bellicose, hard-drinking Irish in vogue in the States, particularly New York, was thankfully not in evidence here and thus a clean canvas was provided for the promotion of Irish and Celtic culture for its own sake, largely spearheaded by my late husband, Robert O'Driscoll, in the sixties, seventies and eighties.
Although the editorial in question gave no hint of Ireland's present plight, it gives me reason to hope that Canada may yet lead the way in restoring the spirit of Patrick to his special day. While prominent Guinness banners were admonishing Canadians in the month of March to “party like the Irish,” the party had ironically been over for some time for the Irish themselves. Their most celebrated collective “party” began in 1995 and went on for long enough to have the entire nation still reeling from the nasty hangover that resulted. This year's St. Patrick's Day parades in cities around the world must have seemed sadly irrelevant in a country more bent on survival than celebration.
Conquest and oppression being the order of the day in early 5th century Ireland, the original Patrick was reputedly snatched from his home on the British coast by marauding Irish pirates. Enslaved from the tender age of sixteen, he spent five years herding sheep on a windy and rain-swept mountain in County Mayo, devotedly praying and fasting until a means of escape miraculously suggested itself to him in a dream. His subsequent studies for the priesthood and eventual elevation to the rank of bishop led him back to Ireland in the year 432. He had been haunted since his release from slavery by the people's pleas, in dream and vision, for his return to their shores. "Come holy lad and walk among us once more!" was their urgent cry, a cry that might well be repeated today.
The druids, contrary to popular lore, were Patrick's natural allies in the establishment of an esoteric Christianity for which Ireland proved fertile ground. This led to the eventual Christianisation of Europe, Ireland herself having escaped entry into the 'Dark Ages'. Patrick was attuned to the natural world and could communicate his teachings to the people in direct and simple ways. The shamrock, with its three leaves on one stem, became his means of propagating the otherwise complicated theological concept of the Holy Trinity. The origin of Patrick's association with the colour green rests in his fondness for this tiny plant.
Apart from his moving Confessions, Patrick has left us a treatise on the evils of slavery. As I watch the daily waving of 'green' flags by pro-Gaddafi forces on the Aljazeera network, I rejoice in the fact that intolerable conditions of slavery and oppression that once held sway are now in the process of being cast off by victims everywhere. Ireland's patron saint played a significant part in throwing off such shackles in his time. So let us give the saint his due, beyond the beer and cheer, in our move towards a new national holiday that is worthy of his name!