# What are Irish Catholics eating/drinking on St. Pat's Day (a Friday in Lent)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 12, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-irish-catholics-eating-drinking-on-st-pats-day-a-friday-in-lent/348088 "2006-03-12T22:10:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-irish-catholics-eating-drinking-on-st-pats-day-a-friday-in-lent/348088/21 "2006-03-13T18:06:46Z")
**Tom~** or **Bricker** will no doubt be along to explain the differences in fasting, abstinence, and personal self-discipline associated with Lent and Fridays. The bottom line, though, is that, while it’s customary for many Christians to voluntarily enter into some manner of self-denial as a spiritual discipline, either on Fridays in memory of the Crucifixion, during Lent as preparation for Easter, or at other times for other causes, and that Roman Rite Catholicism prescribes specific abstentions on Fridays in Lent for all the faithful, this is superseded by a feast day – which includes every Sunday, and particular holy days as well. While St. Patrick’s Day is not according to church calendars a Major Feast such as Christmas or Pentecost is, with the prevalence of Irish Catholics in much of America it has come to be regarded as such. ---
**Author:** ![parsnip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parsnip/32/4564_2.png) [@parsnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parsnip)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-irish-catholics-eating-drinking-on-st-pats-day-a-friday-in-lent/348088/22 "2006-03-13T18:18:09Z")
[http://www.catholicherald.com/articles/06articles/dispense.htm](http://www.catholicherald.com/articles/06articles/dispense.htm) Bishop Loverde reminds us to trade out for another day during the week. ---
**Author:** ![parsnip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parsnip/32/4564_2.png) [@parsnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parsnip)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-irish-catholics-eating-drinking-on-st-pats-day-a-friday-in-lent/348088/23 "2006-03-13T18:20:58Z")
Guess it’s not a simulpost if it’s 2 hours apart. The think that amused me was the announcement started appearing in the newspaper about 5 weeks before Lent began. I guess to make sure that any parish events planned were legit for 3/17. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-irish-catholics-eating-drinking-on-st-pats-day-a-friday-in-lent/348088/24 "2006-03-13T18:30:04Z")
I’m not Irish or Catholic - but I noted that the bishop for this diocese has announced a dispensation for Friday, which had also been the tradition of his predecessor. Odd, though - I’m not aware that Nashville has an especially large Irish population. I’m an Episcopalian observing no-meat Fridays during Lent, and I’m trying to decide if that gets me off the hook this week or not. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-irish-catholics-eating-drinking-on-st-pats-day-a-friday-in-lent/348088/25 "2006-03-16T20:38:51Z")
GQ section: > [@jjimm](#): > > Do you mean “Irish” as in Ireland, or “Irish” as in American Irish? > > If the former, speaking from experience, the meat/fish thing is rarely observed, and the green beer thing never. Really? It’s not like abstinence during Lent is an American Catholic idea. 😕 IMHO section: > [@Johanna](#): > > When I was very small (the Kennedy administration), meat was banned on every Friday in the year. I remember the dispensation for St. Joseph’s Day, but never knew why. So “fish on Friday” was the rule in our house all the year round. My three-year-old intellect deduced the obvious causality when my Mom would fry fish every Fryday, which explained the name of the day. My parents still observe the every Friday rule, so when I was growing up it was homemade mac-and-cheese or homemade mac-and-cheese with tuna. I didn’t really miss the red meat. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-irish-catholics-eating-drinking-on-st-pats-day-a-friday-in-lent/348088/26 "2006-03-16T22:24:27Z")
As I mentioned in another thread, the Catholic bishops of England & Wales abolished the requirement to abstain from eating meat on a Friday (never mind a Friday in Lent) as long ago as 1967, so I - and a great many of my fellow Catholics - will be eating whatever the hell we want to on the 17th! ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-irish-catholics-eating-drinking-on-st-pats-day-a-friday-in-lent/348088/27 "2006-03-17T02:43:51Z")
> [@toadspittle](#): > > Not sure if this is GQ, IMHO, or CS… I realized the other day that St. Patrick’s Day lands on a Friday this year. What are Irish Catholics doing about dining/drinking, since it lands on a Friday in Lent? Is it Fish instead of Corned Beef? Is the green beer being kept in the fridge until Midnight? Just curious what happens when the cultural and the religious collide. A number of bishops are reported to have approved/issued dispensations to allow cornd beef (and cabbage?) for St. Paddy’s day. 🙂🙂🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-irish-catholics-eating-drinking-on-st-pats-day-a-friday-in-lent/348088/28 "2006-03-17T14:03:18Z")
> [@seosamh](#): > > As I mentioned in another thread, the Catholic bishops of England & Wales abolished the requirement to abstain from eating meat on a Friday (never mind a Friday in Lent) as long ago as 1967, so I - and a great many of my fellow Catholics - will be eating whatever the hell we want to on the 17th! Thanks for the correction. ---
**Author:** ![tolcreator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@tolcreator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tolcreator)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-irish-catholics-eating-drinking-on-st-pats-day-a-friday-in-lent/348088/29 "2006-03-29T11:09:00Z")
Ok, as an Irish person, in Ireland… I’ve never eaten corned beef, let alone had it with cabbage… what’s with corned beef? Never really thought of it as especially “irish”… it’s just something you see in the cold meat section… I’ve only actually heard of it as associated with Ireland in this thread! Ireland is a _very_ secular society today. Fish on fridays during lent? No _alcohol_? I never even heard of this. Maybe back in the 50s and 60s… and my parents are relatively religious. The only real “fish days” these days are ash wednesday and good friday… and even then, I would be surprised if even half the population observes them. As for no alcohol… the country would riot. The only restrictions on alcohol is the sale of alcohol on good friday. Bars etc are closed on good friday, but that dosn’t stop people drinking (load up from an off licence the night before). Amusingly, for some reason the bars on trains are exempt from this, and Iarnrod Eireann (the state rail company) runs special trains that day that just go in circles just for thirsty customers. Paddy’s day is a national holiday… it’s a bank holiday, most people are off work. There are parades. But for some reason, I don’t think it’s as “big a deal” here as it is for say, Irish Americans. We don’t have green pints, you don’t really see people making an effort to wear green, or shamrocks, it’s not a big “familly dinner” thing like thanks giving… I guess the nearest analogue is 4th of july but even then it’s not that big a deal… new years is a much bigger deal… everyone has a party on new years eve. I can’t ever remember making an effort to have a Paddy’s day party. Paddy’s day was actually cancelled a few years back due to the foot and mouth crisis, and no one so much as raised a voice in argument. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-irish-catholics-eating-drinking-on-st-pats-day-a-friday-in-lent/348088/30 "2006-03-29T12:03:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Paddy’s day is a national holiday… it’s a bank holiday, most people are off work. There are parades. But for some reason, I don’t think it’s as “big a deal” here as it is for say, Irish Americans. We don’t have green pints, you don’t really see people making an effort to wear green, or shamrocks, it’s not a big “familly dinner” thing like thanks giving… I guess the nearest analogue is 4th of july but even then it’s not that big a deal… new years is a much bigger deal… everyone has a party on new years eve. I can’t ever remember making an effort to have a Paddy’s day party. A lot of the odd customs associated with the day in the U.S. are tied to attempts by the Irish immigrant community to display solidarity in the face of discrimination in the nineteenth century. Some dumb ones, such as green beer, were invented outside the Irish community by marketers just trying to capitalize on the hullaballoo surrounding the event as it expanded out from the Irish community. St. Paddy’s Day as a day and night of riotous drinking by the general public is fewer than 40 years old. (And there are an awful lot of people, here, who think “four-leafed clovers” instead of “shamrocks” thanks to an advertising campaign for a tooth-rotting toasted oat and marshmallow cereal marketed to children that uses a cartoon leprechaun for a “spokesman.”) Corned beef and cabbage became a sort of default ethnic dish based on the fact that it was a rather cheap dish that was probably adopted by the immigrants. (Corned beef resists spoilage (as does cabbage) and so was a good choice for folks who could not afford to eat freshly butchered beef every day.) It is recognized as an immigrant dish, not one from the old country. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-irish-catholics-eating-drinking-on-st-pats-day-a-friday-in-lent/348088/31 "2006-03-29T19:20:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Amusingly, for some reason the bars on trains are exempt from this, and Iarnrod Eireann (the state rail company) runs special trains that day that just go in circles just for thirsty customers. The standard Catholic fasting rules do not apply to travellers. I think that the original reasons for this were, first, that travellers would need all of their strength for the road, and second, that they might find themselves in places where it would be difficult to observe a fast. Picture the middle-of-nowhere diner, where the only meal options are fried chicken, country fried steak, or meatloaf. Trains going in circles just to get people drunk may fall within the letter of this rule, but certainly not the spirit. But it’s not even the first time I’ve heard of such loopholes. Here in the States, many states allow casino gambling only on riverboats. Which leads to casinos built out on piers into the river, and which once an hour raise the gangplank for five minutes, so as to be officially “on cruise”. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-irish-catholics-eating-drinking-on-st-pats-day-a-friday-in-lent/348088/32 "2006-03-29T19:30:39Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > People will eat what they normally do, except a lot will get really, really drunk. So, it’s just a normal day, then? :::: d+r :::: ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-irish-catholics-eating-drinking-on-st-pats-day-a-friday-in-lent/348088/33 "2006-03-29T19:31:20Z")
Sorry I’m late with this, but traditionally in Cleveland OH the Catholic bishop grants a dispensation for meat eating when St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Friday. [Cite](http://www.cleveland.com/living/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/1142502054100950.xml&coll=2) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-irish-catholics-eating-drinking-on-st-pats-day-a-friday-in-lent/348088.md?page=1)