That St Patrick's day is just being pushed an excuse for drunken excess?

[Flapjacking]

St Patrick's day in the UK now just seems to have become a hyper-commercialised piss up - including the days before.

Coming home on the tube last night I a group of women wearing little green hats, one throwing up on the platform while the others laughed and the area I got off was full of pissed blokes in Ireland sports top generally being obnoxious and pissing outside the station.

It wasn't even St Patrick's day!

All the pubs/supermarkets seem to be promoting this time just as another excuse to get pissed.

I'm Irish, living in Ireland. But I don't drink, am not Catholic and can't stand GAA so I'm a bit of an exception.
Anyway, I love saint Patrick's Day. We get a day off and you don't have to buy anyone a present or cook a big meal.
Most people I know go to the parade and spend the day with family.
We watched the rugby ( excellent) had dinner with friends and now we're watching Darby OGIll and the little people like we do every year.
No alcohol at all.

Oh I haven’t seen Darby O’Gill since I was a child!! I’m going to have to buy that DVD and show my DCs. I loved Darby. #Oh she’s ma dear ma darlin one, her eyes are sparklin full of fun...

And?
I've just dropped Dh off out, with his mates. And brother. They go out every st Patrick's night. This particular group of friends. My fil was Irish, but he died before I met Dh.

So. What's the problem, again?

Irish living in Ireland here too, it's really not a big drinking thing here either. I mean people might drink but not a crazy drunk session, we went to the parade today and while the pubs were busy it seemed to me to be a huge food trade, loads of families out for a lunch after the parade, on usual days it would be all quietened down by early evening, obviously with the match this year it will be different. I love St. Patrick's Day as a pp said it's a family day with no presents to buy no organisation just fun with the family, it's great

My first thought too Crispbutty

I’m English/Scottish and living in America. People are astonished I don’t want to eat corned beef with cabbage, wear green and drink Guinness at 6am. I pointed out that most of them are more likely to have Irish heritage than me and they just looked confused.

I think you are being deluded if you think there's not a huge amount of drinking done on St Patrick's day in Ireland. Utterly deluded.

Might not be in your household, but there certainly is throughout the country.

Ask the garda. Ask anyone in emergency services: it's utterly insane, believe me.

No more than Christmas, new years or weddings etc.

That doesnt mean that thats what theyre about.

St Patrick is also the patron saint of Nigeria

I'm Irish ... as in properly ethnic Irish. In my experience it's the Anglo Irish (who have still been there for hundreds of years) who get totally pissed and sing bawdy songs. It's really distressing having to convince people that I am really Irish because I don't fit the stereotype which is actually Anglo (I look like a Middle Eastern peasant and we don't drink a lot).

I'm Irish ... as in properly ethnic Irish

Please Can you expand on the difference between properly ethnic Irish and Anglo Irish? Genuine question.

In Ireland as we get the holiday off it’s much more family/ friends orientated, get together, have a family party etc my mum and dad always took us to the beach Or zoo etc for the day. The pissheads throwing up and wearing Guinness hats in Belfast tend to be the tourists in my experience going drinking in the ‘irish’ pub ( hilarious as technical they’re all Irish pubs in Ireland!) which the locals give a wide berth to. I don’t care if randoms around the world want to drink green beer or whatever- it doesn’t change he significance of the day for me

I was born in the UK and live in the UK. I celebrate St Patrick’s because my parents are Irish. According to some, I’m a ‘plastic paddy’. Yawn. I’m incredibly proud of my roots and celebrating St Patrick’s Dsy is a tradition I’d like to keep going now my mum has passed, and my dad gets older. We went for a nice meal.

Berkin - basically since the 12th century Norman invasions a lot of English settlers were 'planted' in Ireland to replace the native population. A lot of them went 'native' much to the Crown's consternation. My people got pushed to the western fringes or 'pale' of Ireland - we're dark featured, olive complexioned and traditionally spoke Irish (Gaelige) and are still into that with the music although sadly my family hasn't spoken Irish conversationally for a couple of generations. The family has always tried to avoid the Anglo types and I only have 2% Scandinavian according to DNA tests. Look up 'Irish peasants' in Google images and you will see what I mean.

So if a lot of people who identify themselves as Irish got their DNA tested they would have very little Irish in the results but lots of Scandinavian and West European.

😂😂😂😂

If you’re Irish, then celebrating St Patrick’s Day, whether that’s involves drinking a lot or not.

It’s those with no, or only the most tenuous, Irish connection who believe St Patrick’s Day is as much theirs as it is for the actual Irish, and seem to appoint themselves as honorary Irish for the day, that’s weird.

I was in Ibiza when Spain won the euros. I was honorary Spanish that night for sure