Editing Saint Patrick's Day (section)

==In Ireland==
=== History ===
Saint Patrick's [[feast day]], as a kind of national day, was already being celebrated by the Irish in Europe in the ninth and tenth centuries.<ref>Liam de Paor: ''St. Patrick's World, The Christian Culture of Ireland's Apostolic Age.'' Four Courts Press, Dublin, 1993</ref> Saint Patrick's feast day was finally placed on the [[liturgical calendar]] of the Catholic Church in the early 1600s, due to the influence of [[Waterford]]-born [[Franciscan]] scholar [[Luke Wadding]].<ref>{{cite web|title=''The Catholic Encyclopedia: Luke Wadding''|access-date=15 February 2007|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15521d.htm|archive-date=17 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717232455/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15521d.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Saint Patrick's Day thus became a [[holy day of obligation]] for Catholics in Ireland. It is also a feast day in the [[Church of Ireland]], part of the [[Anglican Communion]]. The church calendar avoids the observance of saints' feasts during certain solemnities, moving the saint's day to a time outside those periods. Saint Patrick's Day is occasionally affected by this requirement, when 17 March falls during [[Holy Week]]. This happened in 1940, when Saint Patrick's Day was officially observed on 3 April to avoid it coinciding with [[Palm Sunday]], and again in 2008, where it was officially observed on 15 March.<ref>[https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/9917/irish-bishops-move-st-patricks-day-2008-over-conflict-with-holy-week "Irish bishops move St. Patrick's Day 2008 over conflict with Holy Week"], ''Catholic News''</ref> Saint Patrick's Day will not fall within Holy Week again until 2160.<ref>{{Cite news|title=St. Patrick's Day, Catholic Church march to different drummers|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-03-05-stpatrick_N.htm|work=USA Today|access-date=11 March 2008|date=6 March 2008|first=G. Jeffrey|last=MacDonald|archive-date=10 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080310032319/http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-03-05-stpatrick_N.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=194136 |title=No St. Pat's Day Mass allowed in Holy Week |access-date=13 March 2008 |author=Nevans-Pederson, Mary |date=13 March 2008 |work=Dubuque Telegraph Herald |publisher=Woodward Communications, Inc. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016055134/http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=194136 |archive-date=16 October 2008 }}</ref> However, the popular festivities may still be held on 17 March or on a weekend near to the feast day.<ref>{{cite web|title=St. Patrick's Day|publisher=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]]|date=17 March 2021|url= https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saint-Patricks-Day}}</ref>

Saint Patrick's was perceived as the middle day of [[Spring (season)|spring]] in the [[Irish calendar]]. People expected that weather would be improved following the festival, and farmers would begin planting potato.<ref name="Danaher">Danaher, Kevin (1972) ''The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs'' Dublin, Mercier. {{ISBN|1-85635-093-2}} p. 58-66</ref>

=== Modern era ===
[[File:WILD FOLK BY BUI BOLG FROM WEXFORD -ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADE IN DUBLIN - 17 MARCH 2019--150353 (47413724761).jpg|thumb|Buí Bolg at the St. Patrick's Day parade in [[Dublin]]]]
[[File:ST. PATRICK'S SPIRE OF LIGHT ON O'CONNELL STREET IN DUBLIN REF-102056 (16650284488).jpg|thumb|Dublin's [[General Post Office, Dublin|General Post Office]] and the Spire on O'Connell Street on Saint Patrick's Day]]
In 1903, Saint Patrick's Day became an official public holiday in Ireland due to the [[Bank Holiday]] (Ireland) Act 1903, an act of the [[United Kingdom parliament]] introduced by Irish MP [[James O'Mara]].<ref name="omara1">{{cite web |url=http://humphrysfamilytree.com/OMara/james.html |title=James O'Mara |publisher=HumphrysFamilyTree.com |access-date=17 March 2014 |archive-date=26 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326112636/http://humphrysfamilytree.com/OMara/james.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The first Saint Patrick's Day parade in Ireland was held in [[Waterford]] in 1903, hundreds of years after the first parade in North America. The week of Saint Patrick's Day 1903 had been declared Irish Language Week by the [[Gaelic League]] and in Waterford they opted to have a procession on Sunday 15 March. The procession comprised the Mayor and members of Waterford Corporation, the Trades Hall, the various trade unions and bands who included the 'Barrack St Band' and the '[[Thomas Francis Meagher]] Band'.<ref>Munster Express, 14 March 1903 {{full citation needed|date=March 2018}}</ref> The parade began at the premises of the Gaelic League in George's St and finished in the Peoples Park, where the public were addressed by the Mayor and other dignitaries.<ref name="munster express">Munster Express, 21 March 1903, p.3{{full citation needed|date=March 2018}}</ref><ref>Waterford Chronicle, 18 March 1903{{full citation needed|date=March 2018}}</ref> On Tuesday 17 March, most Waterford businesses—including public houses—were closed and marching bands paraded as they had two days previously.<ref>Waterford News, 20 March 1903{{full citation needed|date=March 2018}}</ref>

On Saint Patrick's Day 1916, the [[Irish Volunteers]]—an Irish nationalist paramilitary organisation—held parades throughout Ireland. The authorities recorded 38 St Patrick's Day parades, involving 6,000 marchers, almost half of whom were reported to be armed.{{sfnp|Cronin|Adair|2002 |p=105}} The following month, the Irish Volunteers launched the [[Easter Rising]] against British rule. This marked the beginning of the [[Irish revolutionary period]] and led to the [[Irish War of Independence]] and [[Irish Civil War|Civil War]]. During this time, Saint Patrick's Day celebrations in Ireland were muted, although the day was sometimes chosen to hold large political rallies.{{sfnp|Cronin|Adair|2002 |p=108}}

The celebrations remained low-key after the creation of the [[Irish Free State]]; the only state-organized observance was a military procession and [[Trooping the colours|trooping of the colours]], and an Irish-language [[Mass (Catholic Church)|mass]] attended by government ministers.{{sfnp|Cronin|Adair|2002 |p=134}} In 1927, the Irish Free State government [[Prohibition|banned the selling of alcohol]] on St Patrick's Day, although it remained legal in Northern Ireland. The ban was not repealed until 1961.{{sfnp|Cronin|Adair|2002 |pp=135–136}}

The first official, state-sponsored Saint Patrick's Day parade in [[Dublin]] took place in 1931.<ref>Armao, Frederic. "The Color Green in Ireland: Ecological Mythology and the Recycling of Identity". ''Environmental Issues in Political Discourse in Britain and Ireland''. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013. p. 184</ref> Public St Patrick's Day festivities in Ireland have been cancelled three times, all for public health reasons.<ref>Kelly, Fiach, Wall, Martin, & Cullen, Paul (9 March 2020). [https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/coronavirus-three-new-irish-cases-confirmed-as-st-patrick-s-day-parades-cancelled-1.4197325 Coronavirus: Three New Irish Cases Confirmed as St Patrick's Day Parades Cancelled] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309224934/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/coronavirus-three-new-irish-cases-confirmed-as-st-patrick-s-day-parades-cancelled-1.4197325 |date=9 March 2020 }}. [[The Irish Times]]. Retrieved 9 March 2020.</ref><ref>[[The New York Times]]. (9 March 2020). [https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/03/09/world/europe/09reuters-health-coronavirus-ireland.html Ireland Cancels St. Patrick's Day Parades, Sets Aside Coronavirus Funds]{{Dead link|date=September 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. The New York Times. Retrieved 9 March 2020. [https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health-pmn/ireland-cancels-st-patricks-day-parades-sets-aside-coronavirus-funds Alternate Link] Retrieved 17 March 2023.</ref> In 2001, celebrations were postponed to May due to the [[2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak|foot-and-mouth outbreak]],<ref>[[RTE News]]. (2016). [https://www.rte.ie/archives/2016/0418/782638-st-patricks-day-in-may/ St Patrick's Day In May] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218155751/https://www.rte.ie/archives/2016/0418/782638-st-patricks-day-in-may/ |date=18 December 2019 }}. [[RTÉ Libraries and Archives|RTE Archives]]. Retrieved 9 March 2020.</ref><ref>[[CNN]]. (18 May 2001). [https://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/05/18/saint.patrick/index.html Late St. Patrick's Day for Ireland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190909210528/http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/05/18/saint.patrick/index.html |date=9 September 2019 }}. Retrieved 9 March 2020.</ref><ref>Reid, Lorna. (2 March 2001) [https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/st-patricks-day-parade-postponed-26092049.html St Patrick's Day Parade 'Postponed'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420223404/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/st-patricks-day-parade-postponed-26092049.html |date=20 April 2020 }} [[Irish Independent]]. Retrieved 9 March 2020.</ref> while in 2020 and 2021 they were cancelled outright due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>BBC News. (9 March 2020). [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51806551 Coronavirus: Irish St Patrick's Day Parades Cancelled] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501174913/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51806551 |date=1 May 2020 }}. [[BBC News]]. Retrieved 9 March 2020.</ref><ref>Bain, Mark. (9 March 2020). [https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/republic-of-ireland/coronavirus-dublin-st-patricks-day-parade-cancelled-as-belfast-council-considers-own-event-39028475.html Coronavirus: Dublin St Patrick's Day Parade Cancelled as Belfast Council Considers Own Event.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200310231347/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/republic-of-ireland/coronavirus-dublin-st-patricks-day-parade-cancelled-as-belfast-council-considers-own-event-39028475.html |date=10 March 2020 }} [[Belfast Telegraph]] Retrieved 9 March 2020.</ref><ref>[[RTE News]]. (9 March 2020). [https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2020/0309/1121215-patricks-day-parades/ What is cancelled and what is going ahead on St Patrick's Day?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200310211048/https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2020/0309/1121215-patricks-day-parades/ |date=10 March 2020 }}. RTE News. Retrieved 9 March 2020.</ref><ref>O'Loughlin, Ciara. (20 January 2021). [https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/national-st-patricks-day-parade-cancelled-for-second-year-in-a-row-39989631.html National St Patrick's Day parade cancelled for second year in a row] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121102022/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/national-st-patricks-day-parade-cancelled-for-second-year-in-a-row-39989631.html |date=21 January 2021 }} [[Irish Independent]]. Retrieved 2 February 2021.</ref><ref>[[RTE News]]. (20 January 2021). [https://www.rte.ie/news/2021/0120/1190884-st-patricks-festival/ St Patrick's Festival Dublin parade cancelled for second year] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204215509/https://www.rte.ie/news/2021/0120/1190884-st-patricks-festival/ |date=4 February 2021 }} RTE News. Retrieved 2 February 2021.</ref><ref>Bowers, Shauna. (20 January 2021). [https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/st-patrick-s-day-parade-cancelled-for-second-year-in-a-row-due-to-covid-19-1.4463077 St Patrick's Day parade cancelled for second year in a row due to Covid-19] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123234455/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/st-patrick-s-day-parade-cancelled-for-second-year-in-a-row-due-to-covid-19-1.4463077 |date=23 January 2021 }} [[The Irish Times]]. Retrieved 2 February 2021.</ref><ref>[[BBC News]] (20 January 2021). [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55732899 Covid-19: St Patrick's Day Dublin parade cancelled for second year] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126124022/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55732899 |date=26 January 2021 }}. BBC News. Retrieved 2 February 2021.</ref>

[[File:St Patricks Day Inter Church Procession, Downpatrick, March 2010 (03).JPG|thumb|A Saint Patrick's Day [[Christian procession]] in [[Downpatrick]], where Saint Patrick is said to be buried]]
In [[Northern Ireland]], the celebration of Saint Patrick's Day was affected by sectarian divisions.{{sfnp|Cronin|Adair|2002 |pp=175–177}} A majority of the population were [[Ulster Protestants|Protestant]] [[Unionism in Ireland|Ulster unionists]] who saw themselves primarily as British, while a substantial minority were Catholic Irish nationalists who saw themselves primarily as Irish. Although it was a public holiday, Northern Ireland's unionist government did not officially observe St Patrick's Day.{{sfnp|Cronin|Adair|2002 |pp=175–177}} During the conflict known as [[the Troubles]] (late 1960s–late 1990s), public St Patrick's Day celebrations were rare and tended to be associated with the Catholic community.{{sfnp|Cronin|Adair|2002 |pp=175–177}} In 1976, [[Ulster loyalism|loyalists]] [[Hillcrest Bar bombing|detonated a car bomb]] outside a pub crowded with Catholics celebrating St Patrick's Day in [[Dungannon]]; four civilians were killed and many injured. However, some Protestant unionists attempted to 're-claim' the festival, and in 1985 the [[Orange Order]] held its own Saint Patrick's Day parade.{{sfnp|Cronin|Adair|2002 |pp=175–177}} Since the end of the conflict in 1998 there have been cross-community St Patrick's Day parades in towns throughout Northern Ireland, which have attracted thousands of spectators.{{sfnp|Cronin|Adair|2002 |pp=175–177}}

In the mid-1990s the government of the [[Republic of Ireland]] began a campaign to use Saint Patrick's Day to showcase Ireland and its culture.<ref name=hist>{{cite web |url=http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/stpatricksday/?page=history |title=The History of the Holiday |publisher=A&E Television Networks |website=The History Channel |access-date=17 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060807060038/http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/stpatricksday/?page=history |archive-date=7 August 2006 }}</ref> The government set up a group called [[St. Patrick's Festival]], with the aims of creating a world-class national festival and "to project, internationally, an accurate image of Ireland as a creative, professional and sophisticated country with wide appeal".<ref name=festival>{{cite web |url=http://www.stpatricksfestival.ie/index.php/about |title=St. Patrick's Festival was established by the Government of Ireland in November 1995 |access-date=20 March 2012 |work=St. Patrick's Festival |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312093104/http://www.stpatricksfestival.ie/index.php/about |archive-date=12 March 2012}}</ref> The first Saint Patrick's Festival was held on 17 March 1996. In 1997, it became a three-day event, and by 2006, the festival was five days long. More than 675,000 people attended the 2009 parade, and that year's festival saw almost 1&nbsp;million visitors, who took part in festivities that included concerts, outdoor theatre performances, and fireworks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day-facts/videos#history-of-st-patricks-day |title=St. Patrick's Day Facts Video |publisher=A&E Television Networks |website=History.com |access-date=17 March 2013 |archive-date=8 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908105026/http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day-facts/videos#history-of-st-patricks-day |url-status=live }}</ref> From 2006 to 2012 the [[Skyfest]] formed the centrepiece of the Saint Patrick's Festival.<ref>Heffernan, Breda. (13 February 2008) [https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/st-patricks-skyfest-to-rock-at-cashel-26423012.html St Patrick's Skyfest to Rock at Cashel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108201046/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/st-patricks-skyfest-to-rock-at-cashel-26423012.html |date=8 January 2019 }}. [[Irish Independent]]. Retrieved 8 January 2019</ref><ref>[https://www.wexfordpeople.ie/news/disappointment-over-skyfest-31090873.html Disappointment over Skyfest] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108201212/https://www.wexfordpeople.ie/news/disappointment-over-skyfest-31090873.html |date=8 January 2019 }} (24 March 2015) [[Wexford People]]. Retrieved 8 January 2019</ref>

The week around Saint Patrick's Day is ''[[Seachtain na Gaeilge]]'' ("Irish Language Week"), when more [[Irish language]] events are held and there is more effort to use the language.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://dublin.ie/whats-on/listings/seachtain-na-gaeilge/ |title="Seachtain na Gaeilge", Dublin City Council |access-date=6 August 2018 |archive-date=6 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806085346/https://dublin.ie/whats-on/listings/seachtain-na-gaeilge/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Christian leaders in Ireland have expressed concern about the secularisation of Saint Patrick's Day. In ''The Word'' magazine's March 2007 issue, Fr [[Vincent Twomey]] wrote, "It is time to reclaim St Patrick's Day as a church festival". He questioned the need for "mindless alcohol-fuelled revelry" and concluded that "it is time to bring the piety and the fun together".<ref>{{cite web |first=John |last=Cooney |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/more-piety-fewer-pints-best-way-to-celebrate-26270094.html |title=More piety, fewer pints 'best way to celebrate' |work=The Irish Independent |date=12 March 2007 |access-date=17 March 2018 |archive-date=1 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601064951/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/more-piety-fewer-pints-best-way-to-celebrate-26270094.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

One of the biggest celebrations outside the cities is in [[Downpatrick]], [[County Down]], where Saint Patrick is said to be buried. The shortest Saint Patrick's Day parade in the world formerly took place in [[Dripsey]], [[County Cork]]. The parade lasted just 23.4 metres and traveled between the village's two pubs. The tradition began in 1999, but ended after five years when one of the pubs closed.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Ireland of the Welcomes |url=http://www.dripsey.com/page16/page15/index.html |title=From Here to Here |first=Jo |last=Kerrigan |volume=53 |issue=2 |date=March–April 2004 |via=Dripsey |access-date=6 June 2010 |archive-date=21 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021074632/http://www.dripsey.com/page16/page15/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The current shortest Saint Paddy's Day parade has been held in Little Compton, Rhode Island since 2022. The parade lasts only 89 feet. The title is disputed by Hot Springs, Arkansas which has hosted the shortest St. Patrick's Day parade since 2004, measuring at 98 feet.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Perry |first1=Jack |title=Peace in the streets: Arkansas and RI settle world's shortest St. Patrick's parade battle |url=https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/good-news/2024/02/15/shortest-st-patricks-day-parade-dispute-ends-with-truce/72595866007/ |website=Providence Journal |access-date=2025-02-11}}</ref>