The big day is coming. Are you ready?
The big day is coming — the day when people all over the world celebrate everything Irish. If you’re like me, you probably already know what you’re going to be wearing, where you’re going to be celebrating, and who (and what!) you’re going to be celebrating with. You’ve laid in a supply of Guinness (or — gack! — green beer!), and the craic is ready to start flowing!
There’s just one question: What do you call the occasion we’re all going to be celebrating? Who is being commemorated?
Come on! Let’s shout it out together!
A haon, a dó, a trí —
Happy Saint….er…Saint Who?
What did you say?
How many of you skipped the English entirely and said “Lá fheile Pádraig sona”? Maith sibh! Go to the head of the class!
How many of you said “Happy St. Patrick’s Day”? Dead on! Gold star for you!
Did any of you say “Happy St. Paddy’s Day”? Sure, that’s fine.
Anyone say “Happy St. Pat’s”? Eh…sure, that’s OK.
But did any of you say “St. Patty’s Day”? Really? Seriously?
Ouch. OK, it’s remedial education for you! So, while the other kids go out for recess (or more likely to buy more green beer and Guinness), you get to sit through….
Culture and manners 090
I’ll start by saying it straight out: There is no such thing as “St. Patty’s Day.” There was no such person as “St. Patty.” It doesn’t matter what it says on the card your grandmother sent you, or on the tacky green T-shirt in the drug store, or even on the corned beef display at the supermarket — “St. Patty’s Day” is just plain wrong. End of story.
In Ireland, as in the U.S., “Patty” is traditionally a girl’s/woman’s name — short for the name “Patricia.” The usual nicknames for a boy or man named “Patrick” are “Pat,” “Patsy,” “Pa,” or “Paddy.”
That’s right: Paddy with d’s, not with t’s.
Why? Because it comes from the Irish-language form of the name of the man English speakers call “St. Patrick”: Naomh Pádraig.
Generally pronounced “PAW-drig,” with the tongue placed against the back of the top front teeth to form the “d” sound, Pádraig was how the Irish to whom he ministered rendered Patricius, St. Patrick’s name in religion (His actual given name is thought to have been Maewyn Succat. Before he became first a slave and then an apostle in Ireland, he was a Roman citizen born somewhere in Great Britain — the most likely candidates being Wales or Scotland. But that’s for another post).
The “Patty” confusion likely resulted from Americans unfamiliar with the nickname “Paddy” mis-hearing the d’s as t’s.
Mis-hearings happen. That’s not the problem. The problem is that people persist in saying and writing “St. Patty” even when they’re told it’s wrong. And that’s just rude.
Names matter. It’s a matter of respect.
Ask an Irish person what they think about people from other countries referring to St. Patrick’s Day as “St. Patty’s Day,” and you’re likely to get an eye roll and a (hopefully) good-natured explanation of why it’s “Paddy” and not “Patty.” Tell them you’re going to keep saying “Patty” anyway because that’s how you learned it/that’s how your “very Irish” (American) great uncle said it/that’s what it sounds like to you/etc., and you’re likely to get, at best, a cold shoulder.
It really does come down to respect — respect for Irish culture (which is NOT the same as Irish-American culture), history, and language. It is “Paddy” because “Paddy” is an Irish male name derived from a name in the Irish language. It’s not “Patty” because that name is NOT an Irish male name, and has never been used in Ireland to refer to the saint, to the holiday, or even to ordinary men and boys named “Patrick.” It’s really that simple.
To put it in perspective, it’s a little like calling “Dia de los Muertos” “Day of the Mortos,” or Diwali “Denali” (Yes, I’ve heard both). Done in ignorance it’s one thing, but done with full knowledge that it’s incorrect, and with no attempt to do it correctly, it’s an insult.
Or to put it another way, when people refuse to call you by your name, whether it’s the one you were given at birth or one you’ve chosen, and instead call you by something that they prefer, it’s disrespectful, yes? Yes! Pure and simple. It doesn’t matter why they prefer it — whether, to their mind, it’s easier to pronounce, or easier to remember, or if it’s the first name they learned for you and they don’t want to learn to use another, or if it helps them keep track of multiple people with similar names, or any number of a plethora of excuses — it’s your name, and you have the right to insist that people use it. They may get it wrong from time to time, but it matters that they keep trying. If they can’t be bothered, they’re just being jerks.
You don’t want to be a jerk, do you? Not on St. Patrick’s Day! Not on any day!
Just say Paddy.
Here endeth the mythbusting
This post is the third and final post in my 2024 St. Patrick’s Day “mythbusting” series (the other two being Rising Roads and Other Rants and Ramblings and The Saint and the Shamrock). I hope you’ve found them useful, and perhaps been able to educate others about these misconceptions that, unlike the roads, always seem to arise around St. Patrick’s Day!
Here’s wishing you all a fun, happy, and safe St. Patrick’s Day! Lá fheile Pádraig slán sona daoibh!
Featured image “Paddy vs. Patty” designed by Anna “Acey” Nickel for “The Geeky Gaeilgeoir,” © 2024. Use authorized if properly credited. Enjoy Acey’s blog “Simpsons Sundays” at Acey‘s Word Vomit Emporium.
In addition to being “The Geeky Gaeilgeoir,” Audrey Nickel is the author of The Irish Gaelic Tattoo Handbook,” published by Bradan Press, Nova Scotia, Canada. For information about the book, including where to buy it, please visit http://www.bradanpress.com/irish-tattoo-handbook/
PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM UNABLE TO OFFER TRANSLATIONS VIA THIS WEBSITE OR VIA EMAIL. IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A TRANSLATION, PLEASE VISIT THE IRISH LANGUAGE FORUM, WWW.IRISHLANGUAGEFORUM.COM.
The Geeky Gaeilgeoir 