March 17-23, 2005

city beat

Green Genes

Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Not Irish? Here's how to talk a good game today.

by Mike Newall

The men's room at 30th Street Station was peaceful as Rudy, a homeless man wearing untied boots and a muddy overcoat, sat on the corner toilet. An uninhibited fellow, Rudy kept the stall door open as he read a crumpled newspaper and went about his corporeal matters while a group of revelers stumbled in.

One wore shamrock suspenders and an oversized green hat. Another painted his face green. All were completely muddled. One sang "Whiskey in the Jar" — "Whack for my daddy-o / There's whiskey in the jar-o" — while taking bad aim at a urinal.

Rudy looked annoyed and glared over his newspaper as more partygoers filed in. "Man, is it St. Irish Day already?" he shouted.

"Whack for my daddy-o," answered the bathroom balladeer. "There's whiskey in the jar-o."

Yes, Rudy had unwittingly found himself in the middle of the Erin Express Pub Crawl. On the first two Saturdays in March, thousands of merrymakers pack yellow school buses supplied by local tavern owners and tour 15 of the city's Irish bars, including Bridgewater Pub in 30th Street Station. The event, says Mike Callahan, owner of Callahan's South Street Grille, "kicks off Philadelphia's two-week celebration of Saint Patrick's Day."

According to the 2002 census, nearly 1.1 million people in the greater Philadelphia area claim Irish heritage; that's 100,000 more than any other American metropolitan area. Their presence is felt.

Aside from the Erin Express, a City Hall ceremony proclaims March "Irish Month," his eminence Cardinal Justin Rigali presides over a commemorative mass at St. Patrick's Church and an army of 25,000 Irish dancers, bagpipers and string bands file down Broad for a March 13 parade. Plus, today, many Philadelphians will ditch work and head out to lift a few pints. Not that's there's anything wrong with that, of course. After all, as bar owners like to say, "Everybody's Irish on St. Patty's Day." Here are three barstool topics of conversation to help you play the role:

1. Sinead DeRoiste: This 26-year-old Penn State graduate made history by becoming the first black woman to participate in the prestigious Rose of Tralee Irish beauty pageant. DeRoiste grew up in Harrisburg but spent summers with her father in his native Cork County. She won the Philly crown last June and nearly won the world title this past August.

"It's a conversation starter," said DeRoiste, relaxing at Tir Na Nog Pub after the parade. "I'm not your stereotypical girl who wins Irish pageants."

2. Malachy McAllister: Last Monday, lawyers filed final briefs in the case of McAllister v. Ashcroft at the federal courthouse at 6th and Market streets [News, "New Troubles," Mike Newall, Oct. 28, 2004]. As a young man in strife-torn Northern Ireland, McAllister participated in an ambush on a British military convoy during which an officer was wounded. McAllister served four years in prison and had his home attacked with gunfire by loyalist gunmen. He fled to America and, for the last 10 years, has lived peacefully and paid his taxes. But the U.S. government has labeled him a terrorist and wants the 47-year-old father of four from New Jersey and his family deported. McAllister has received broad support from Irish-Americans who feel that in the wake of 9/11, there has been a widespread crackdown on Irish immigrants with nationalist pasts. In June, the Federation of Irish Societies will host a conference in Philadelphia to address immigration issues facing Irish-Americans. A decision in the McAllister case, which will offer precedent for many Irish immigrants in America, is still pending.

3. Northern Ireland: The political wing of the Irish Republican Army, Sinn Fein, has come under a firestorm of criticism in recent weeks. They were accused in a Belfast bank robbery that netted $50 million. Then, the IRA publicly offered to shoot four members who killed a man in a barroom brawl. President Bush, as well as hardcore Irish supporters like Sen. Edward Kennedy, refused to meet with Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams while he visited America last week. During the visit, Adams admitted the recent setbacks but vowed Sinn Fein will still work toward peace.

And finally, there's this nugget from last Sunday's St. Patrick's mass. The gospel was being read when a young family of five strolled up the side aisle. A husband with a construction worker's meat-and-potato build and his wife looked apologetic as they ushered the toddlers into a pew.

"That's what this day's really all about," whispered a 66-year-old father of six descended from farmers in County Cavan. "A hard-working mick trying to get the family to mass on time."