We celebrate St. Paddy’s Day at Beans in the Belfry on Sunday, March 15, 6 to 9pm, 

with a live concert staged by CRAGGY ISLAND and CEOL ANAM CARA who will shower us with traditional Irish reels, ballads, drinking songs on fiddle, guitar, bodhran and vocals.  Patrick Fennig, or Paddy, as Susan calls him, is a native of Dublin and it seems that several of the performers of CEOL ANAM CARA hail from the Emerald Isle.  They ask for a $5 cover at the door, but don’t be shy, you can give more if you like their show.

Beans’ kitchen will be serving authentic Irish stew packed with tender lamb, potatoes, parsnips and carrots simmered in stout and a slice of Irish soda bread.  Order up a bowl from Sunday evening, March 15 until Wednesday, March 17, or until supplies last.  It pairs well with a pint of creamy Guinness because Guinness is good for you! Slainte!

So should it be ‘St. Paddy’ or ‘St. Patty’?

We turned to Google and they confirm that the nickname used for St. Patrick, the one who is credited with converting great swaths of Ireland to Christianity, is “Paddy”, from the Irish Paidraig.  Here are some of the musings on Google:

How Did Padraig Become Patty?

The confusion obviously has something to do with the fact that the Irish name Padraig was Anglicized to Patrick.  But the English nickname is “Pat”, not “Paddy”.   “Patty” is probably an American thing, like a McDonald’s hamburger patty.

Isn’t  “Paddy” a Slur?

While it is true that “paddy” came into fashion as a slur against Irish people in the 19^th century, it is also true that Paddy is just a regular old name still in use today.  Calling a person “a paddy” because he is Irish is offensive.  Calling St. Patrick “Paddy” might upset some people since he is a canonized saint, but it is an endearing nickname.

So  is “St. Paddy’s Day” okay?

Yes, you can call it “St. Patrick’s Day”, “St. Paddy’s Day”, even “Maewy Succat’s Day”, after Saint Patrick’s birth name.  Just don’t call it “St. Patty’s Day”.

If you still want to Celebrate ‘St. Patty’s’ Day

That’s great and you can do so. Saint Patricia was born into a noble, possibly royal family in Constantinople.  When Patricia was a teenager, she fled to Rome to become a nun.  She then left for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. But along the way, her ship was caught in a storm and she and her party were shipwrecked on a tiny island near Naples.  She fell ill and died at age 21.  Her feast day of Saint Patricia is on August 25.  So if you insist on Saint “Patty”, celebrate then.

A few historic facts:

Saint Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig, “the Day of the Festival of Patrick”), is a cultural and religious celebration occurring annually on 17 March, the death date of the most commonly-recognized patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461).

Saint Patrick’s Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early seventeenth century and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland), the Eastern Orthodox Church and Lutheran Church. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, as well as celebrating the heritage and culture of the Irish in general. Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, céilithe, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks. Christians also attend church services, and the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol are lifted for the day, which has encouraged and propagated the holiday’s tradition of alcohol consumption. Slainte!