St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day and Irish Americans

The importance of St. Patrick's Day in the United States has shifted over time in response to the character of the Irish American and the status of Ireland. The first Irish immigrants to the United States were Ulster Scots, who arrived in the colonial era feeing the persecution of their Presbyterian faith in Northern Ireland; Patrick for them had far less resonance than he did for the Irish Catholics from southern Ireland, who followed in the 19th century. The first St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the United States were Protestant, organized by the Charitable Irish Society of Boston in the colonial era. Their 1737 parade was the first St. Patrick's Day parade in the world. Further, as the cause of Irish nationalism was taken up and garnered the support of many Irish Americans, the idea of celebrating Irish heritage and culture took on a greater fervor. Similarly, celebrating Irish heritage in the 19th century amid “Irish Need Not Apply” signs and the activities of groups like the Know-Nothing Party that sought to expel Irish immigrants from the United States were very different acts from celebrating Irish heritage a century later.

Despite this ill treatment of Irish immigrants in the 19th century and the lingering anti-Catholic sentiment that persisted at least until John F. Kennedy's presidency, Irishness was incorporated into the American identity. This is most true in parts of the country where the Irish have had a major role in the formation of settlements and institutions, such as the northeast and New Orleans. Both Boston and New York have celebrated St. Patrick's Day since the colonial era, and both cities boast large Irish populations and parades of significant size. In Boston, schools close on March 17 for a double celebration: it is not only St. Patrick's Day but also Evacuation Day.

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