In just a couple of days, everyone will be Irish.
Every year while scrolling social media on St. Patrick’s Day, I notice that just about everyone is claiming some level of Irishness. I used to wonder how many of them also had great-grandmothers who were Cherokee princesses. But that that’s another column.
Maybe it’s just how excited people are about St. Patrick’s Day, but I really don’t see these folks waving the Irish flag any other time of the year.
As it happens, I am Irish. At least that’s what my DNA profile tells me – I’m more than 95 percent Northern Irish. But that isn’t something that I celebrate or wear on my sleeve, not even on St. Patrick’s Day. It’s not that I am not proud to be Irish, but it’s never landed me free Guiness or a pot of gold, either.
As the kids say, “it is what it is.” Green isn’t my favorite color and Lucky Charms was never my favorite cereal and, no, I’ve never been to Ireland.
And I expect not many of my Irish counterparts are much different. Family lineage and history are complex things, and I don’t fault anyone for how they choose to celebrate them.
In the past 10 years, DNA science has re-written many personal family narratives. Some people found relatives they didn’t know about and some of us came to a deeper understanding of our biological roots. Someone close to me, who was adopted, was told they had Italian genes, but lo and behold, their profile didn’t reveal any Italian heritage at all. They were raised by a Scottish family, and while they don’t have much Scottish genes either, they choose to celebrate their family’s Scottish heritage anyway.
This isn’t the only story of people embracing a culture without having any biological ties to it. There are many, and one, in particular, is relevant to my point.
Perhaps you didn’t know this, but not even good ol’ St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was Irish. He was born Maewyn Succat in the Fourth Century, around year 385, at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton in Scotland. Neither was he canonized by the Catholic Church, though he was a Catholic and is revered as a Catholic saint. Patrick was born to Roman parents. He was enslaved as a boy, taken from his home in Northern Europe and sent to Ireland, where he died on March 17, 461.
I must admit, when I observed how many people were claiming Irish ancestry, I was skeptical. I believed these folks just didn’t want to feel left out. But I have also learned that even with the slightest genetic shreds, some people will build their entire identity to reflect what they desire.
How we align with our own personal heritage is an interesting social phenomenon. I guess you don’t have to be Irish to be Irish.
However, it does make sense that Saint Paddy’s Day brings out all the Irish Americans because there are more people of Irish descent living in the United States than there are Irelanders in Ireland. Almost 10 times as many. According to U.S. News and World Report, almost 10 percent of Americans are of Irish descent, making it the third most common ancestry in the U.S. The state with the most Irish population is California.
Curiously, more St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are held in the United States than in Ireland too, mainly because Irish immigrants reinvented the holiday here to celebrate their heritage. And in America, beer sales go up nearly 175 percent on the holiday. One reason, some say, is that St. Patrick’s Day is considered a holy day by some religions, and it happens during Lent, which means many of us can break our fast and have a cold one or ten without any guilt.
So, as we prepare to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this week, I raise my glass to you – whether you’re Irish or not – because on St. Patrick’s Day, you can be as Irish as you want to be. May we all find something good at the end of the rainbow, my Irish friends. Sla’inte!
James Bass is the director of the Givens Performing Arts Center. Reach him at [email protected].
