Editing Saint Patrick's Day (section)

==Criticism==
Saint Patrick's Day celebrations have been criticised, particularly for their association with [[public drunkenness]] and [[disorderly conduct]]. Some argue that the festivities have become too [[Commercialism|commercialised]] and tacky,{{sfnp|Cronin|Adair|2002 |p=240}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/fionola-meredith/time-to-banish-perpetually-offended-elements-in-society-29142031.html |title=Time to banish perpetually offended elements in society |first=Fionola |last=Meredith |work=[[Belfast Telegraph]] |date=21 March 2013 |access-date=11 March 2016 |archive-date=12 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312072118/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/fionola-meredith/time-to-banish-perpetually-offended-elements-in-society-29142031.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and have strayed from their original purpose of honouring Saint Patrick and Irish heritage.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/st-patrick-s-day-celebrates-the-role-of-all-us-migrants-1.483637 |title=St Patrick's Day celebrates the role of all US migrants |first=James |last=Flannery |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |date=17 March 2012 |access-date=11 March 2016 |archive-date=12 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312062023/http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/st-patrick-s-day-celebrates-the-role-of-all-us-migrants-1.483637 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/12003/irish-american-catholics-negotiate-st-patricks-day-and-holy-week-conflict |title=Irish-American Catholics negotiate St. Patrick's Day and Holy Week conflict |work=[[Catholic News Agency]] |date=7 March 2008 |access-date=11 March 2016 |archive-date=12 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312065341/http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/irishamerican_catholics_negotiate_st._patricks_day_and_holy_week_conflict |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfnp|Cronin|Adair|2002 |p=240}} Irish American journalist [[Niall O'Dowd]] has criticised attempts to recast Saint Patrick's Day as a celebration of [[multiculturalism]] rather than a celebration of Irishness.<ref>{{cite web |title=Please, let's keep political correctness out of Saint Patrick's Day |url=http://www.irishcentral.com/opinion/niallodowd/please-lets-keep-political-correctness-out-of-saint-patricks-day--pressure-mounts-to-make-it-about-more-than-just-the-irish-in-america-143292966-238125081.html |first=Niall |last=O'Dowd |work=IrishCentral |date=18 March 2012 |access-date=11 March 2016 |archive-date=12 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312064109/http://www.irishcentral.com/opinion/niallodowd/please-lets-keep-political-correctness-out-of-saint-patricks-day--pressure-mounts-to-make-it-about-more-than-just-the-irish-in-america-143292966-238125081.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Man in Leprechaun Outfit on St Patrick's Day.jpg|thumb|Man in a [[leprechaun]] outfit on Saint Patrick's Day]]
Saint Patrick's Day celebrations have also been criticised for fostering demeaning stereotypes of Ireland and [[Irish people]].{{sfnp|Cronin|Adair|2002 |p=240}} An example is the wearing of '[[leprechaun]] outfits',<ref>{{cite web |first=Ian |last=O'Doherty |url=http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/ian-odoherty/st-patricks-day-when-everyones-proud-to-be-a-stereotype-31072014.html |title=St Patrick's Day – when everyone's proud to be a stereotype |work=[[Irish Independent]] |date=17 March 2015 |access-date=11 March 2016 |archive-date=12 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312065728/http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/ian-odoherty/st-patricks-day-when-everyones-proud-to-be-a-stereotype-31072014.html |url-status=live }}</ref> which are based on derogatory 19th century caricatures of the Irish.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Gold: A Cultural Encyclopedia |last=Venable |first=Shannon |year=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |pages=196–197}}</ref> In the run up to Saint Patrick's Day 2014, the [[Ancient Order of Hibernians]] successfully campaigned to stop major American retailers from selling novelty merchandise that promoted negative Irish stereotypes.<ref>{{cite web |first=Jennifer |last=Harper |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/16/weary-drunk-leprechauns-irish-americans-protest-th |title=O'Done with It: Irish Americans protest 'negative stereotyping' as bawdy drunks |work=[[The Washington Times]] |date=16 March 2014 |access-date=23 March 2018 |archive-date=14 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614025603/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/16/weary-drunk-leprechauns-irish-americans-protest-th/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Saint Patrick's Day celebrations outside Ireland have been described by critics as displays of "[[Plastic Paddy]]ness"; where foreigners [[Cultural appropriation|appropriate]] and misrepresent [[Irish culture]], claim Irish identity, and enact Irish stereotypes.<ref>{{cite web |author-link=Alex Massie (journalist) |author=Massie, Alex |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/217081/erin-go-argh-alex-massie |title=Erin Go Argh! |work=[[National Review Online]] |date=17 March 2006 |access-date=11 March 2016 |archive-date=12 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312064448/http://www.nationalreview.com/article/217081/erin-go-argh-alex-massie |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[LGBTQ rights in the United States|LGBTQ groups in the US]] were long banned from marching in Saint Patrick's Day parades in [[New York City]] and [[Boston]], resulting in the landmark [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] decision of ''[[Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston]]''. In New York City, the ban was lifted in 2014,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/04/nyregion/new-york-st-patricks-day-parade-organizers-lift-ban-on-gay-groups.html?_r=0 |last=Santora |first=Mark |title=Gay Groups to March in St. Patrick's Day Parade as Ban Falls |work=The New York Times |date=3 September 2014 |access-date=17 March 2016 |archive-date=22 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722105445/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/04/nyregion/new-york-st-patricks-day-parade-organizers-lift-ban-on-gay-groups.html?_r=0 |url-status=live }}</ref> but LGBTQ groups still find that barriers to participation exist.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20140903/us--nyc-st-patrick-s-day-parade-gays/ |last=Fitzgerald |first=Jim |title=Gays Scoff at NY St. Patrick's Day Parade Decision |work=Huffington Post |date=3 September 2014 |access-date=17 March 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324104033/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20140903/us--nyc-st-patrick-s-day-parade-gays/ |archive-date=24 March 2016}}</ref> In Boston, the ban on LGBTQ group participation was lifted in 2015.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://time.com/3745215/gay-groups-boston-st-patricks-parade/ |last=Worland |first=Justin |title=Boston Sees Historic St. Patrick's Day Parade |magazine=Time |date=15 March 2015 |access-date=17 March 2016 |archive-date=10 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910193051/https://time.com/3745215/gay-groups-boston-st-patricks-parade/ |url-status=live }}</ref>