Sun Valley Celebrates St. Patrick's Day

It’s hard to believe, but there was a time when people could not drink in pubs on St. Patrick’s Day - - at least in Ireland. Up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that all pubs closed on March 17, as it was a religious holiday honoring the Christian Saint Patrick. Yet by the mid 1990s, the Irish government had changed its mind and decided to use St. Patrick’s Day as a way to encourage tourism and the bar doors swung open. Now, almost one million people descend on Dublin for the St. Patrick’s Festival.

And Ireland is not alone. Russia, Japan, Singapore, United States and various other countries also enjoy this green holiday. In fact, the first parades took place not in Ireland, but in the United States in the 18th century.

The modern secular celebration first began in 1737 when Irish immigrants decided to celebrate their heritage publicly in Boston and New York City. In 1762, Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers to reconnect with their Irish roots.

Over the next thirty-five years, Irish patriotism among American immigrants flourished. Yet, this good old celebration also carried its prejudices. The Irish, especially the Catholics, were despised in the United Sates and as a result had trouble finding any kind of job (hence the old sign: No Irish Need Apply.) When the Irish marched for St. Paddy’s day, they were often mocked, with journalists portraying them as drunken buffoons.

Yet, such a large number of immigrants eventually gave the Irish enormous political clout. They organized, mobilized and created their own strong voting block known as the “green machine”. As a result, the annual St. Patrick’s Day parades became a display of power and pride, and a requirement for political candidates. In 1948 President Truman attended the NYC parade.

Years later, most of the anti-Irish sentiment in the United States has dwindled and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are just about everywhere. Sun Valley likes to take part in the tradition by serving delicious green beer at the base of Warm Springs, as well as a fabulous and silly parade-like Pub Crawl down Main Street, Ketchum. So put on your green and gear up to celebrate the Irish this Monday, March 17.