"Paddy's" Day

**dahamsta** · 17/03/2011, 10:33 AM

[Continued from here.]

Originally Posted by Eminence Grise

First off, well done, PS, for voicing one of my absolute hates: referring to the national holiday as Paddy’s Day.

If you're religious fair enough, but if you're not, what's the problem? It's hardly a day of worship and respect at this stage, it's a day of drinking and debauchery in the name of a person we know nothing about (unless we're to take their own words as face value), that represented a religion that had only just moved past the Scientology phase.

I'd actually prefer if it was called something like Ireland Day or even Paddys Day, instead of reaffirming ourselves to others every year that our entire philosophy revolves around a religion based on nonsense word of mouth, and a retarded fairy-story about snakes.

All that being said, if I'm ever in the presence of a Merkin that calls it "Patty's Day", I'll kick his feckin' head in.

**Mr A** · 17/03/2011, 2:52 PM

Lay off Saint Patrick. Any saint thorough enough to not only banish the snakes but also the fossil record of their previous presence gets my vote every time.

**horton** · 17/03/2011, 3:11 PM

Exactly, if it wasn't for him we might still have the practise of sucking a fellow mans nipple as a sign of friendship!!

**Dodge** · 17/03/2011, 4:15 PM

He made a great football club too

**Eminence Grise** · 17/03/2011, 4:44 PM

Originally Posted by dahamsta

If you're religious fair enough, but if you're not, what's the problem?

Call it uneasiness at diminishing ourselves. It’s not merely the diminutive of a name, it’s also a word pregnant with layers of meaning. We use it almost as a term of endearment, but heap calumny on those who use it against us as a term of abuse. I can’t square that circle. In some ways, I look on it as being akin to the n-word and queer – you can’t simply say that because your community uses them, you’ve robbed them of their power to disparage and hurt when others use them. I know if somebody called me a paddy I’d give them what for.

I also can’t think of any positive connotation of paddy – paddywhackery, paddywagon, Paddy Irishman jokes, Paddy’s Day (which is more a signifier of the celebrants than the saint) - and while it might once have been an accepted way of describing the poor simian creatures of this island, in that vile Punch style, I think we’ve gone far beyond needing to pander to the stereotype of poor drunken Paddy with his pigs in the parlour.

It’s just my opinion, but it’s something I feel very strongly about.

**dahamsta** · 17/03/2011, 4:53 PM

You know "paddy" isn't just an insult right; that there are actually paddys out there? As it happens I only know one directly, and he happens to be 2nd generation african, but I've seen plenty more in books, newspapers, etc.

In all honesty, I've never, not even once, taken the use of the word "paddy" in "paddy's day" as anything but a shortening for "patrick". Are you sure you're not just going out of your way to be insulted? I only ask because that happens quite a lot on Foot.ie.

**Eminence Grise** · 17/03/2011, 5:09 PM

Originally Posted by dahamsta

You know "paddy" isn't just an insult right; that there are actually paddys out there? As it happens I only know one directly, and he happens to be 2nd generation african, but I've seen plenty more in books, newspapers, etc.

In all honesty, I've never, not even once, taken the use of the word "paddy" in "paddy's day" as anything but a shortening for "patrick". Are you sure you're not just going out of your way to be insulted? I only ask because that happens quite a lot on Foot.ie.

I'm not sure if your last sentence is subtly asking whether I'm trolling: I'm not. If you don't want this debate to go down that route, then I have no difficulty with agreeing to delete any posts related to this, and get back on topic. In fairness, we've wandered a long way from the new Dail at this stage, partly because you asked me a question, which I took to be a genuine query, albeit a tad snide; perhaps it wasn't. But I replied as honestly as I could, and anything else I have to say on it will just come back to my previous post.

**dahamsta** · 17/03/2011, 5:46 PM

Nope, wasn't accusing you of trolling at all. There's a genuine tendency of people on Foot.ie, and forums in general, to go utterly out of their way to be offended about things; things that in usual life they wouldn't be all that bothered about. I do it myself occasionally, but not that often because I'm aware of the phenonemon.

You just seem to be getting very het up about something that just seems a bit odd to me -- I think to most people, it's just a nickname. Most people love the day, so they're hardly going to take a sly dig at us in the fun of it all.

EDIT: I've split this out to a new thread, sorry for taking the original off-topic.

**Eminence Grise** · 17/03/2011, 6:19 PM

Impassioned, not het-up!

You should hear me giving out about the national flag!!! Definite infraction territory for me!!!

Hopefully there'll be some interesting/forthright views on the new thread - thanks for setting it up.

**DaveyCakes** · 17/03/2011, 11:31 PM

Is it really that hard for people to say "Patrick"?

**Mr A** · 18/03/2011, 7:59 AM

Personally I think the actual holiday should be changed to Ireland Day, and probably moved to the summer. People can still celebrate the saint if they want to.

**John83** · 18/03/2011, 9:42 AM

Originally Posted by DaveyCakes

Is it really that hard for people to say "Patrick"?

Yes. When's the last time you heard someone refer to "St Patrick's Athletic" in casual conversation? It's just "Pats", thanks.

As for the notion that referring to the day as Paddy's makes a fool of ourselves, we do that every year by perpetuating stereotypes of ourselves as drunken eejits.

**Kingdom** · 18/03/2011, 9:59 AM

Originally Posted by horton

Exactly, if it wasn't for him we might still have the practise of sucking a fellow mans nipple as a sign of friendship!!

That's gone? Ah that explains all the funny looks and beatings I've been getting.

**Dodge** · 18/03/2011, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by John83

Yes. When's the last time you heard someone refer to "St Patrick's Athletic" in casual conversation? It's just "Pats", thanks

You, clearly, have never attended a meeting of the St Patrick's Athletic grammar society

**Lionel Ritchie** · 18/03/2011, 10:03 AM

Originally Posted by Mr A

Personally I think the actual holiday should be changed to Ireland Day, and probably moved to the summer. People can still celebrate the saint if they want to.

+1. Madness having a national day in the middle of March. We should make July 12th a/the national holiday. Might even help sort out some of the nonsense that goes with that and all.

Besides ....this Patrick character apparently DIED on March 17th ...scarcely his day.

**Macy** · 18/03/2011, 10:08 AM

Originally Posted by Lionel Ritchie

Besides ....this Patrick character apparently DIED on March 17th ...scarcely his day.

Better than hijacking a pagan festival, which is what the Catholic Church usually did...

**John83** · 18/03/2011, 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by Dodge

You, clearly, have never attended a meeting of the St Patrick's Athletic grammar society

Grammatical society.

**Dodge** · 18/03/2011, 11:31 AM

I knew I'd balls that up. Ugh! (sic etc etc blah blah)

**SkStu** · 19/03/2011, 10:55 PM

Originally Posted by John83

Grammatical society.

better known to you UCD folk as gramsoc?

**peadar1987** · 22/03/2011, 12:05 PM

Originally Posted by Eminence Grise

Impassioned, not het-up!

You should hear me giving out about the national flag!!! Definite infraction territory for me!!!

Hopefully there'll be some interesting/forthright views on the new thread - thanks for setting it up.

Go on then...