Quick question – what is the point of St. Patrick’s Day?

Is it to sell Irishness? To sell beer? Because I’m kinda sick of this appropriation of Irishness for reasons that seem entirely commercial/designed to attract tourists. It’s a lot of bullshit (and internalised post-colonialism) to wade through before you can even start thinking about Irish culture/cultures in/from Ireland and communicating with other Irish people/artists.

Not to mention the fact that St. Patrick’s Day Festival Berlin is sponsored by sweatshop-lovers Primark. Wat?

P.S. This is not a dig at artists / bands etc. that play around the world on St. Patrick’s Day. It’s hard enough to get gigs when you’re from a small island with less cultural infrastructure than other (European) countries.

If you are an Irish artist / artist based in Ireland who is participating or not participating, what are your thoughts? If you are an Irish person in Ireland or abroad, how will you spend the day, will you ignore it completely? If you are German / non-Irish, what does it mean to you, if anything at all?

P.S. If Karan Casey was playing in Berlin, I would be there like a shot! This is her singing the song “Ballad of Accounting” at the Festival interceltique de Lorient 1999. I’ve been a fan since I first saw her as a teenager in Waterford, playing with some great musicians.