What Does St Patrick’s Day Have to do with Diversity & Inclusion?
The predominant associations many of us have with St. Patrick’s Day can be summarized as follows: wear green, get drunk, and party! If we aren’t having a good time on March 17th, then we must be celebrating this Irish holiday incorrectly, right?
Well, truth be told, our modern conception of St. Patrick’s Day couldn’t be much farther from the origins of this celebration. St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday of rather nonlinear origins, as it developed gradually over time with influence from both the Irish in Ireland and the Irish in America. We might think of St. Patrick’s Day in three parts: celebrating Irish culture in the face of discrimination from both British and Americans; honoring the religious legacy of St. Patrick; and remembering the push for Irish national liberation.
But first, a little history.
England was the major colonizing power in Ireland for centuries, resulting in intense discrimination and persecution directed toward the Irish. Protestant England despised Catholic Ireland for their refusal to convert to Protestantism; for their long-time refusal to learn English; and for how different Irish culture was compared to English culture. Although such violent hatred between two groups of the same race might seem unusual to us in the 21st century, it is worth recognizing that during the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, and even the early 19th centuries, reliable long-distance transportation in the British Isles was nearly nonexistent. Most people lived and died within a few miles of where they were born. As a result, distinct cultures, lifestyles, and languages developed between England and Ireland despite the isles’ comparative closeness to one another. To the English, the Irish were an “Other,” which meant they needed to be put down.
English discrimination came to a head in the mid-1800s. Most of us are familiar with the Irish potato famine, although some of us may not know that this famine was a product of British landowning colonial power more than it was a mere natural disaster. Facing starvation, over a million Irish fled to America in the hopes of escaping English persecution and finding a better life.
However, the vast majority of Americans at this time were descended from British colonists. Anglo Americans had strong English heritage, were predominantly Protestant, and thus despised the Irish with the same intensity as their colonial counterparts in the British Isles. As in Britain, Irish immigrants to America were hated for their Catholicism and their distinctly non-English culture. They were stereotyped as lazy, violent drunkards and criminals who were incapable of getting jobs and contributing to the economy, though in reality their lower employment rates were a result of refusal by Anglo Americans to hire Irish immigrants.
Over time, especially with the advent of increased industrialization, Irish Americans were hired into what we’d call “blue collar” jobs, such as working in factories. Because they were Irish, they were paid significantly less than Anglo American employees, which led to an anti-immigrant rhetoric that is still pervasive today: “They’re stealing American jobs!”
Employers could get away with paying Irish Americans less money because they were seen as lesser (for being Catholic, for being immigrants, etc.), meaning many sought to hire Irish Americans, since they knew they wouldn’t have to fairly compensate them for their labor. Instead of recognizing that employers were taking advantage of discrimination against Irish Americans, Anglo Americans blamed the “stealing” of jobs on Irish Americans themselves, who in reality were barely scraping by with the pitiful wages they received. This anti-immigrant, “job-stealing” rhetoric echoes throughout American history, from denigrating the Chinese on the West Coast in the mid to late 1800s to the way Hispanic immigrants crossing the southern border of the US are labelled today.
Of course, what does the history of Irish discrimination have to do with St. Patrick’s Day? Well, a key component of the origins of this celebration was taking pride in Irish heritage as a direct response to the persecution they experienced. Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day through parades and other organized movements was therefore a way of announcing, “We are Irish. We know who we are, and we are proud of who we are. You can hate us, you can stereotype us, you can lie about us, but we aren’t going anywhere.”
In a similar vein, another component of the origins of St. Patrick’s Day was specifically honoring the religious legacy of St. Patrick, a Catholic who sought to teach and spread Catholicism even in the face of intense persecution for his beliefs. It is no surprise, then, that the Irish — who were oppressed by Protestant England and America for their Catholicism — found resonance in the tale of a man who refused to sacrifice his faith because of what others believed. Consequently, honoring their religion and refusing to give up their religion despite pressure to convert was an integral aspect of the original Irish St. Patrick’s Day.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, remembering the push for Irish national liberation was the final third of the origins of St. Patrick’s Day, and this remembrance comes primarily through the association of the holiday with the color green. When we think of green and St. Patrick’s Day today, many of us might jump to “good luck” and “four-leaf clovers.” But in reality, green is connected to St. Patrick’s Day because it is a symbol of Irish independence and individuality. When the Irish in Ireland battled for their freedom from the English, they eventually chose to wear the color green because it stood out so fiercely against the English red. There was nothing “lucky” about the push for Irish liberation; they fought hard to develop an identity and nation that was uniquely, independently Irish. As a result, the color green honors their fight.
Knowing that St. Patrick’s Day was originally a celebration of Irish culture, religious faith, and national liberation, how did it become what it is today — an excuse for people to drink and party? How did this holiday return to the stereotype of the lazy Irish drunkard that so many Irish Americans fought to disprove?
As with many immigrant groups, the legacy of Irish Americans is complex. Despite that the original St. Patrick’s Day was an effort to celebrate Irish culture, daily discrimination still wore on Irish communities. Moreover, Anglo American society pushed the Irish to assimilate into mainstream culture — in other words, to become more American than Irish. This assimilation occurred twofold: not only did Irish Americans suppress their own heritage, but many sought to turn the discrimination they faced against others, such as toward Black Americans and other immigrant groups. To escape oppression, they would oppress others.
This vicious cycle and the legacy of assimilation is thus reflected in the history of how St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated. Initially a symbol of cultural survival, as Irish Americans became assimilated into mainstream American culture, so was St. Patrick’s Day assimilated into mainstream American celebrations. Rather than honoring Irish heritage and resistance in the face of persecution, St. Patrick’s Day was commercialized by Anglo American society — it became a way to sell alcohol, let loose, and represent little more than “a good time.”
There are many lessons to be learned from the history of St. Patrick’s Day. For one, discrimination is not so clear cut as we might believe. Moreover, discrimination often operates in a vicious cycle — assimilation is a powerful force, encouraging victims to put down other oppressed groups in order to uplift themselves. Perhaps it is time we again recognize St. Patrick’s Day for its revolutionary roots: a celebration that invokes cultural pride, religious freedom, and national liberation. So this March 17th, let us put down the beer and instead lend an ear to this valuable chapter in the story of Irish history.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day. 💚 🧡
Dima Ghawi is the founder of a global talent development company with a primary mission for advancing individuals in leadership. Through keynote speeches, training programs and executive coaching, Dima has empowered thousands of professionals across the globe to expand their leadership potential. In addition, she provides guidance to business executives to develop diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies and to implement a multi-year plan for advancing quality leaders from within the organization.
Reach her at DimaGhawi.com and BreakingVases.com.
