ISU prof.: American and Irish St. Patrick’s celebrations value culture

While Americans are used to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a big parade and lots of fanfare– Jason Stover said the celebration’s country of origin only recently started celebrating like the U.S.

Stover lived in Dublin, Ireland, from 2004 to 2011 while obtaining a Master of Arts degree and a P.h.D. During his time there, he noticed while the country is an English-speaking nation, there’s definitely some clear cultural differences.

“When I would say, ‘Oh yeah, we used to drive from Detroit to Chicago it was a six hour drive, not a big deal,’ my Irish friends would say, ‘That’s outrageous! That’s so far!'” said Stover.

Besides space perception, St. Patrick’s Day is another. Here it’s hard to miss the parades that happen in almost every city and town. That’s on top of some cities like Chicago, where the Chicago River is dyed green every year.

Stover remembers celebrating in a quieter way.

“It was just as much fun to go to your local pub or your local restaurant with your friends and observe St. Patrick’s Day in a more quiet sense while knowing the great fanfare is going on in the city,” he said.

Experiencing both sides of the celebrations is a good thing in his opinion.

“You can see the American fanfare is based on a true appreciation for Irish culture and for Irish heritage,” Stover said. “It may be over the top, but it’s a celebration for Irish-ness full stop.”

Stover’s modern Irish history class will be hosting a pop up museum to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of Ireland’s Easter Rising rebellion in 1916.

The museum will be hosted at ISU’s Pond Student Union’s Little Wood River Room on March 28 and 29, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. It is free and open to the public.