Irish traditions are kept alive in Athens through St. Patrick’s Day various celebrations.
When Eryn Kane was a child, she always received a visit from “the Leprechaun” on the eve of St. Patrick’s Day.
"In my household, I think St. Patrick's Day is bigger than Christmas," Kane, a Ph.D. student studying history, said. "It's probably the holiday that we look forward to the most."
The Leprechaun would normally leave her a green stuffed animal and some gold coins to kick off the holiday, and she would have the day off school to participate in her family’s celebrations.
“We joked that it was a ‘holy day of obligation,’ ” Kane said. “As I have gotten older and it has gotten a little harder to take the day off, I normally start the day going to mass ... then spend the rest of the day wearing green ... and then maybe a trip to the bar of course.”
As a student at Ohio University, Kane found she sometimes has to forgo her traditional Irish celebrations to t what Athens has to offer. The limitations in expressing Irish heritage are not just felt by students, but also by Athens residents.
The meaning behind March 17
St. Patrick’s Day has a different meaning for Americans than for the Irish, Kane said.
“Ireland is becoming Americanized and so a lot of the American traditions are now making their way to Ireland because people associate the two,” Kane said. “They think St. Patrick’s Day is about getting drunk and wearing green as it is in the U.S., but for people in Ireland ... it’s a day about their history and their heritage so it seems to be more sober, more of a religious holiday.”
St. Patrick spent most of his life converting the Irish to Christianity, according to the Academic American Encyclopedia.
Wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day has a different meaning in the United States than in Ireland. During the Irish Rebellion of 1798, one of the first organized rebellions against British colonialism, many Irish wore green as a symbol of Irish nationalism.
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Many legends surround St. Patrick, such as how he used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. In turn, around the 18th century, people started to wear shamrocks and green clothing on March 17 to show off their Irish Catholic pride, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Celebrating in Athens
Students from 40 different colleges could be found in one tavern during 1962’s St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
With the influx of visitors, the Administrative Committee decided to close residence halls to guests because of the large amount of visitors that had come for St. Patrick’s weekend in the years prior. The motion also discouraged Greek life members and students housed off-campus to allow any guests during St. Patrick’s weekend,according to Post reports from that year.
Since then, however, the robustness of the festivities surrounding St. Patrick’s Day have seemed to dwindle for those looking to observe the holiday.
John Healey, an Athens resident, is originally from New Jersey and said in his hometown, celebrations for St. Patrick’s Day start on March 1 and continue throughout the entire month, but in Athens, it is more limited to just March 17.
“It was an adjustment because I am used to it being such a big deal and it wasn’t. Outside of maybe Jackie O’s, you never really knew it was happening,” Healey, who created a new celtic variety band, Four Mile Stone, said. “We are trying to make it a big deal here.”
Because Healey said he does not really know anyone in the Irish community in Athens, he looks forward to finding more people to celebrate with and who share his heritage in the city.
“I guess it always feels like, for me like connecting with an old friend,” Healey said. “You grow up with the same traditions or listen to the same music, and have the same kind of big families and things, and operate the same way.”
In his hometown in New Jersey, Healey compared St. Patrick’s Day to that of Thanksgiving, where families bond and have a good time.
When looking for somewhere to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Athens, an authentic Mexican cantina is not a typical choice for Irish festivities. But for Kane, Casa Nueva, 6 W. State St., is where she once celebrated her St. Patrick’s Day.
“We met some friends and just kind of had a laid-back St. Patrick’s Day,” Kane said. “But it was sad for me not being with family because for me, St. Patrick’s Day is family and just celebrating your heritage and who you are.”
Kane said she usually goes home to Columbus to celebrate with her family, but she spent her last two years in Athens because of academic obligations.
“Although it’s hard to be away from my family, my husband and I make it a special day,” Kane said. “We hang an Irish flag on our front porch, wear green and head to the bar after class for a whiskey and beer.”
Kane admitted, though, that she isn’t a fan of some traditional Irish foods such as cabbage and corned beef.
“I can’t do it,” Kane said. “But the drinking of the whiskey is, if you consider that food, then that is my favorite.”
Athens has its own St. Patrick’s Day tradition — despite not actually being on March 17 — with Green Beer Day, which was spurred by the need to celebrate the holiday when it fell during spring break on the quarters system, according to a previous Post report.
The culture of the holiday
Casa Nueva has also been the venue of Athens’ celtic sessions, which have existed since the 1970s, according to Sean O’Malley, wooden ute player for local traditional Irish music quintet Boys of the Hock.
O’Malley said the sessions have also been held at Front Room Coffeehouse but are now held at Jackie O’s Pub and Brewery every Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.
O’Malley, who is also OIT Communications manager, said Boys of the Hock started after meeting for celtic sessions and has been playing officially for nearly 20 years. The band name was created as a play on Boys of the Lough, a well-known celtic ensemble, mixed with a play on the Hocking River, he said.
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The early hours of his performance are O’Malley’s favorite part about St. Patrick’s Day, he said, because it’s fun to see the people that he and his family knows.
“We are up there playing our tunes and there’s, you know, some of the local Irish dancers would come and dance,” O’Malley said. “But it was a very family, kind of European pub feel where it wasn’t just the drinkers out, it was really much wider than that.”
Katie Conlon, a senior studying history, is from Pittsburgh and said she sometimes misses the bigger celebration of the holiday.
“But it’s also nice to dance at Jackie O’s and be involved in the smaller community here,” she said.
Conlon’s involvement stems from her participation in the Ohio Valley School of Celtic Dance and Culture since her freshman year.
Dancing on-and-off since she was six years old, Conlon said it is an expression of her Irish heritage, but it has also changed a lot over time.
“It’s evolved just like any other sport. So it’s much more athletic now. Jumps are higher, costumes are less traditional,” Conlon said. “The soul of dancing is a little bit different now. Not to say it’s not connected to the culture, because it is, but not like it used to be.”
While Conlon enjoys Irish dancing, she said it is not the biggest way she shows her “Irishness.”
“My dad’s always been really into Irish history and so have I. I am actually writing my senior thesis about Ireland,” Conlon said. “So for me, it’s actually been ... more about learning the history.”
Sue Farley, a board member of the Ohio Valley School of Celtic Dance and Culture, said the dancers make themselves known on St. Patrick’s Day.
“We use that as a time for our kids that are dancing to feel like they can show everybody what they’ve learned,” Farley said.
This year in Athens
Boys of the Hock will be performing all day Thursday at Jackie O’s. The Ohio Valley School of Dance and Celtic Culture will also have performances from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Jackie O’s, with accompanying music by the Boys of the Hock.
Additionally, John Healey and his band Four Mile Stone will perform Thursday at Casa at 6 p.m.
Bruce Reede, manager of Jackie O’s, said the bar will also feature traditional Irish fare such as fish n’ chips and Irish soda bread.
“It’s just an all around good time here on St. Paddy’s Day,” Reede said. “Aren’t we all a little Irish?”
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