Given that everyone is a little bit Irish on St Patrick’s Day, there are plenty of places to celebrate right here in Naperville . From a big parade to a real Irish pub, revelers could be forgiven for thinking that they are right there in the Emerald Isle.
It’s no blarney that if you are looking to party, you’d probably be better off here than in Ireland. St Patrick’s Day is a much bigger deal in the U.S. than it is there. The Irish-American population is larger than the entire population of Ireland. There are 32.7 million people who claim Irish ancestry here, making up just over 10 per cent of the population, seven times the size of Ireland. Records show the first St Patrick’s Day parade anywhere was held in New York in 1762, although they now take place all over the world, and Ireland, of course.
At the center of the Naperville festivities are the West Suburban Irish, who have proved that it is, in fact, pretty easy being green for the past 25 years. Their main event is the St Patrick’s Day parade, which takes place on the Saturday before the big day as part of a week-long celebration. In addition, the group sponsors other celebrations, such as the Emerald Dinner Dance, a Mass in honor of St. Patrick, and a Post-Parade Party.
The West Suburban Irish was founded in 1993 by Kevin Dolan (grandfather County Cavan, grandmother Limerick). Together with fellow member Mike Reilly, they are the voices of the parade, commentating for the crowds and NCTV17.
“I didn’t realize we would still be going 25 years later,” Dolan told me. “The first parade had 41 units taking part and I coerced about 200 people to watch.”
This year’s parade drew an estimated 3,500 participants and as many as 10,000 people waving from the sidewalks along Mill Street to Water Street.
Reilly (77% Irish) said preparations for the parade pretty much begin as soon as the last one is over.
“We are very active in December and January,” he said. “The parade is a fun day for families. It’s the first day everyone gets to come out after winter.”
The parade features tiny Irish dancers to politicians and the organizers don’t mind that at all.
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“It’s the perfect time for political candidates to come out as the parade is always just before the Illinois primary,” Dolan said.
The children of the McNulty School of Irish Dance have been hopping, skipping and jumping around Naperville since 1971. About half of them are of Irish descent. Founder Barbara McNulty (100% Irish father County Mayo, mother County Kerry) says they were scheduled to perform 39 times at various Chicagoland venues on St Patrick’s Day alone.
“Some of our choreography is made up of traditional set dances, but others are made up by our teachers,” she said. “Some of our students start as young as 3 or 4 and stay on through high school, although we have adult classes, too. We start with basic steps and work up. If you do it that way it’s not that hard. Others start as adults. It can definitely be exhausting — it’s a great aerobic form of dance.”
The dancers are always a highlight of the parade in their traditional costumes topped with cozy Aran sweaters, not to mention those curls!
“As a child, my mother would set my hair in curls before I performed, but usually that was only about three times a year,” McNulty said. “I don’t know that the hairstyle is even part of the Irish dance tradition in Ireland, but it is here. Today we use hairpieces to make it easier for the girls. If they can do it for Riverdance, so can we!”
If you are literally looking for a taste of Ireland, pop over to Casey’s Foods on West Gartner. They’ve been brining their own corned beef for the past four to six weeks.
Dan Skulavik, meat department manager, expects to sell around 3,500 lbs of brisket over the holiday period.
“Not a lot of butchers do it themselves,” he said. “We cut them up and pack them up and give them just enough flavor.”
With owner Dan Casey also being of Irish descent, it’s not surprising that the store sells everything you could want for a traditional Irish meal. As well as the ubiquitous corned beef, they also offer their own baked soda bread, Kerrygold butter, Irish bangers and black pudding.
“I think everyone wants to be a little bit Irish over the holiday, just to be part of the traditional family values that go along with it,” Skulavik said.
While that may be, there’s one place in Naperville that really is Irish – Quigley’s Irish Pub, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in November. It was not only designed in Ireland but built there and shipped over. The antique fireplace, book cases and paintings were brought from Dublin and the glass was hand-etched and colored especially for the pub.
The mother-daughter team of Nancy Quigley and Michele Michael have been serving “craic,” a Gaelic term for “fun and good times among friends” since 1998. It’s not only Irish eyes you’ll catch smiling if you pop in for a pint on a Saturday night.
Michael told me: “We are like the Cheers of Naperville. A lot of regulars meet here. It’s the place where everybody knows your name and what you drink. A lot of couples first met here and come back to celebrate anniversaries. We screen English soccer on our TVs, which brings out a lot of English people too.”
St Patrick’s Day is Quigley’s Super Bowl. Typically, the pub is filled to capacity (250 people) with lines outside. Michael estimates that they will sell more than 1,200 pints of Guinness, compared to 125 on a normal weekend, and 50 bottles of Jameson whiskey, compared to a dozen. In addition, they expect to sell four times more corned beef and cabbage than on a regular day.
Whether St Patrick’s Day is a true celebration for the Irish or just an excuse to finally dig your way out of winter, it really doesn’t matter. As an old Irish poem might have said:
If it’s not only your thumbs that are green,
if your curls are a sight to be seen,
If you enjoy a good craic, there’s no turning your back, on a place that you all will have been.
In the home we all call Nape O’ville,
Folk are Irish if only by will,
But with corned beef and beer, it’s the time of the year
When we warmly escape from the chill.
Hilary Decent is a freelance writer who moved to Naperville from England a decade ago.
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