St Patrick’s Day is less than a week away, with the annual celebration of Irish culture and identity offering an opportunity to reflect on what Ireland and Irishness means in an increasingly volatile modern world.
What makes you proud to be Irish in 2025? And what does Ireland mean to you? Where are we falling down as a society, and who are we failing? And how can Ireland improve in the years ahead?
The St Patrick’s Day festivities themselves are also the source of mixed feelings. Mark O’Connell wrote at the weekend about how the festival is largely an American invention, and in Ireland centres on aspects of our culture “that are not particularly worth celebrating ... [including] public drunkenness and the remorseless and relentless fleecing of tourists.”
Do you celebrate St Patrick’s Day? If so, why do you find it important to mark the occasion? And if not, why does the day leave you cold? Are there any new traditions you would like to see introduced?
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