St. Patrick's Day

When?

Saint Patrick's day is the 17th March, which this year falls on a Thursday!

What?

St. Patrick's Day is the feast day for St. Patrick, a national holiday for Ireland, an opportunity to celebrate Irish culture for expatriates, and an excuse to get drunk for everybody else. If you needed to be told that, you probably also need to be told that Ireland is an island off the coast of Britain (or, if you prefer, vice-versa), that Guinness is good for you, and that this thing you're reading here is the internet. Good, isn't it?

Who?

Like many other famous Irishmen, such as Oscar Wilde and Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington), St. Patrick spent much of his life trying to get away from the place. Born in Roman Britain around 400 AD, St. Patrick was taken as a slave by Irish raiders, was inspired by God to escape, then fled to France to become a priest. However, he returned to preach in Ireland, famously using the example of the clover to demonstrate the principle of the Christian Trinity. Four-leafed clovers had presumably not yet been invented.

Why?

St. Patrick's Day began as a simple Saint's day like any other; an opportunity for medieval peasants to spend the day kneeling in a church rather than bending in the fields. However, it soon became marked by an unusual amount of merrymaking and frivolity, probably because it almost always falls during Lent. Medieval Christians, never ones to turn down an excuse for a party, began the process of expanding the celebrations which has continued to the present day. Now, St. Patrick's Day is the centrepiece of a weeklong festival in the Republic of Ireland, celebrating all things Eire. St. Patrick's Day is a Holy Day of Obligation on the Catholic liturgical calender, so Catholics are required by canon law to attend Mass on this date. They are also supposed to “abstain from those works and affairs which hinder the worship to be rendered to God […] or the suitable relaxation of mind and body”. Fortunately for the devout, both body and mind will be completely relaxed by sufficient quantities of Guinness. Trying to get home afterwards also ensures that God will be mentioned frequently and loudly.

Where?

What to do in Oxford on St Patrick's Day 2011

You'd be hard-pressed to find a pub that doesn't want to lure your custom on one of the biggest drinking nights of the year. Most will have Guinness, bad music and garish merchandise. If you would like to do something a little more authentic, or at least more interesting, try one of Daily Information's recommended venues: certified no less than 23% Irish*!

*Approx. by volume. Irishness may settle in transit.
The Corridor on the Cowley Road is holding an Irish Pub Quiz with a prize of a £50 bar tab. That's on Thursday the 17th. The Oxford Irish Society will be holding a St Patrick's Day Celebration Dance on Saturday the 19th. 8.30pm-12.30am, £10, at the Rover Sports and Social Club in Cowley.
The Prince of Wales won't be doing anything special this year, but they do "a very good pint of guinness." Regular or extra cold.

The Black Swan, opposite Tesco's on Cowley Road; a lot more than 23% of the regulars are Irish, and so you might actually get that gritty taste of authenticity. Or at least a good pint. 

The Duke's Cut,on the end of Park End street, is a nice, central and modern venue with an all-year Irish tinge. Expect it to be heaving on the night, though.

O'Neills, on George Street, is also available if you wish to celebrate St. Patrick's Day without actually meeting an Irish person. Still, they have live music and have been known to give away giant hats shaped like pints - worth a look in.

How...

…To Drink Whiskey

Many whisky drinkers, the awful snobs, refer to the malts of the Emerald Isle as “the Irish heresies”, which is a bit rich considering the Irish had change the spelling (adding the "e") to distinguish their fine whiskey from inferior, mass-produced Scottish whisky. Ignore the detractors, and try a splash of a fine Irish pot still whiskey (such as Redbreast or Green Spot), which has a unique spicy flavour, or a fine malt (Tyrconnell or Bushmill's). Irish malts are mostly produced without using peat in the malting process, which gives a smoother, less smokey flavour. Therefore, you can probably skip the (extremely pretentious) Highland tradition of alternating between sips of whisky and water, and take your "craythur" straight. If you must mix it with something, use a blend such as Jameson's; the stronger flavours will keep the taste of the whiskey.

...To Sound Irish

Don't say “to be sure, to be sure”. Don't talk about “Jesus, Mary and Joseph”. And for God's sake, don't say “Begorrah”. Instead, take the example of the Irish government, which uses the St. Patrick's day festival to promote the speaking of Gaelic. Irish conversation classes run every Tuesday at the Half Moon- go along and soon you'll be wishing people Sláinte* (cheers!) with the best of them.*Pronounced "Slawn-cha". Thanks to TomDJG for this tip!

…To Pour Guinness

Whether it comes from a bottle, a keg, a can, or the cellar of an unsuspecting and inebriated landlord, a pint of Guinness is a beautiful thing to behold, and pouring it a rare skill, more art than science. Naturally, the company has therefore commissioned a study to tell us how it works. The "perfect pint" should take 119.53 seconds, the result of a time-consuming "double pour" method, designed to produce a creamy head that doesn't overflow the glass. I suggest you leave this difficult and technical job to your friendly local barperson, especially as the evening progresses.

And from all at Daily Info:

Sláinte!

Alwyn Collinson (DI Staff), 15/03/10

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