Thursday 17-03-2022 - 09:27

Walking through the streets of Liverpool as someone who had never visited the city before, I thought at times I was walking through the streets of my home. Liverpool and Belfast have countless similarities: street names such as Ulster Road, Munster Road, Belfast Road, Killarney Road and Donegal Road; a welcoming, family attitude where people take you in as their own; and most importantly, the craic. If you’re from Belfast, you will definitely know what that means. Being a ‘good craic’ is the ultimate compliment you can get from someone.

I decided to move to Liverpool because to me, this city is like a bigger Belfast. Crossing the Irish sea on Stena Line feels sentimental, despite being sleep deprived and feeling nauseous at the thought of sailing on a boat for eight hours. There is tonnes of history behind us making that journey. Irish people have been migrating to Liverpool for centuries, ever since the Irish famine. Liverpool was a stop-gap for Irish people who tried to migrate to North America (I’m sure you have heard about the Titanic by now).
I promise this isn’t a history lesson. For St Patrick’s Day, I’m dedicating this blog to everyone who has travelled overseas to study. You’re brave enough to study independently and driven enough to move from your hometown to achieve a degree, and that takes a lot of guts. 

It also helps that Liverpool is one of the best cities for a night out. But what makes Liverpool so great? Part of it is the huge Irish scene. Liverpool has some of the best Irish bars – my favourites are Fitzgerald’s, Pogue Mahone’s and Punch Tarmey’s, which are all great spots for an after-party following the St. Paddy’s Night Party at SU Bar & Venue. 

St Paddy’s is more than a day just for drinking Guinness by the gallon. It’s a day of acceptance, a day to celebrate how far we’ve come as a country, a day of appreciation, and a day of hope, whether you are celebrating in Ireland or in Liverpool. My hope for Ireland is that one day our country will progress beyond the sectarianism built in to our society, that we will focus on real problems that our country is facing, including better mental health support for people struggling through transgenerational trauma following the conflicts of the Troubles. I hope that we won’t have gates dividing communities, we will have greater acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community, and we will work towards living in further peace and harmony.

Let’s stop making St Patrick’s Day about the orange or the blue, refrain from focussing on the struggles of the past. Instead, let’s educate ourselves into being a more inclusive and forward-thinking society.

Most importantly, St. Paddy’s is an opportunity to celebrate Irish culture. Our resilience, our values, our artists – including, of course, the legend that is Cillian Murphy. Raise a toast to being Irish, try baby Guinness, attempt Irish dancing, eat loads of potatoes and have the best night’s craic -- because without the craic life would be pretty boring. 

Always remember: “wherever you go and whatever you do, may the luck of the Irish be there with you.”

Sláinte everyone!

Rhiannon (Student Engagement Officer for Faculty of Arts and Sciences)