For nearly sixty years the pubs in Ireland were closed on St Patrick’s Day. The progressive forces which flowered in 1916 had sufficient influence a dozen years before that to prevail there, although James Larkin’s ambition of seeing the grass grow over St James’s Gate was never realised.. Ireland sober, Ireland free and prosperous was the general idea. Perhaps the best boost to sobriety was given by a product of Welsh non-conformism in his Budget which
imposed heavy duties on spirits. But David Lloyd George’s contribution to the cause of Ireland Free is more questionable.
Anyhow, I remember when, if you wanted to buy a drink in Dublin on St Patrick’s Day, you had to go to the dogs or the horses. The Dog Show was held in the Royal Dublin Society grounds in Ballsbridge, and the horses were racing the other side of the city in Baldoyle. And some very unusual dog-fanciers turned up in Ballsbridge. Including Brendan Behan, who wrote a very entertaining piece about the event. Though I can’t recall if he had anything to say about the dogs.
In 1961, on a miserably cold St Patrick’s Day, I went with my friends to Baldoyle. I can’t recall seeing a horse, for we spent what time we had, and what few shillings we had, in the beer tent.
In 2004 I was in Manhattan, watching the parade. I learnt more about horses. When the horse-mounted Color (as they spell it) parties went by they were followed by men with shovels, so the marchers kept their shoes clean. And unlike in Baldoyle, I could buy draught Guinness. And in comfortable surroundings.
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