A sober St. Paddy's Day?

Reading the title, you're probably already reading this article with disgust, but hear me out: St. Patrick's Day can be fun even without the alcohol. I've done it twice already in Canada and for years before that at home. Of course, back home, St. Patrick's Day was just your average working day, and didn't involve parades, parties or binge drinking.

Last year's Fleming Drive ‘festivities' took a toll on the city and on the image of our school. And that is something that ticked me off. Moving onto this year and leaving last year's demons behind, this year was no different for me. Of course, London Police were not going to let anything slide after last year. As expected, they were tough on what they deemed as potential threats. To them, any massive gathering, be it near Fanshawe College or Western University or downtown, was a potential threat, and who can blame them? Sitting at the 106.9 FM news desk through the afternoon, it was quite something to watch the police live-tweet what they were up to. For the sports enthusiast in me, I'll call it play by play of party breakups.

In fact, last year, one of the feature pieces that I produced for CFRL Radio was on St. Patrick's Day, where I did in fact speak to an Irishman in Canada. And yes, he confirmed that St. Patrick's Day is a day they go to church in Ireland. To this day, he still does. As a feast day, it was already being celebrated by the Irish in Europe in the ninth and 10th centuries.

Going back in time, it was in 1903 that Saint Patrick's Day became an official public holiday in Ireland. And while displaced Irishmen and Irishwomen around the world will celebrate their festival wherever they go, the rest of us seemed to join the bandwagon for fun. Both my interview subject, Robert Lynch, who moved to Canada in the late 1980s, and I were unable to determine why St. Patrick's Day is celebrated with binge drinking.

And there is some concern amongst Christian leaders in Ireland, especially about the secularisation of St Patrick's Day. In Christian magazine The Word's March 2007 issue, Father Vincent Twomey was quoted as saying, “It is time to reclaim St Patrick's Day as a church festival.” He was vocal in questioning the need for “mindless alcohol-fuelled revelry” and concluded that “it is time to bring the piety and the fun together.” Of course, the city of London is fully aware of ‘alcohol-fuelled revelry' and won't be allowed to forget about it easily.

Now don't get me wrong, guys; I love a cold beer or two as much as the average Joe, but in moderation. And while I suppose the fad of drinking on St. Patrick's Day will not go away in its entirety, all I can say is to remember to stay sensible. Kudos, Fanshawe, Western and out of town students for being a lot more sensible this year, especially when the world was still in London for the Figure Skating Championships.

For March 17, 2014, go out, wear green and have fun. I will too, in my own way.

Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.