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It's a particular bugbear of most Irish people; one which usually only rears its head around this time of year. We are, of course, talking about the mythical 'St Patty's Day'. We don't know how it started or where it came from, but we want... nay NEED it to stop right now. It's St  Patrick's Day or Paddy's Day, nothing else.

Marcus Campbell, an Irishman in British Columbia, feels the same way. In fact, he feels so strongly about the whole issue that he set up a website, paddynotpatty, to explain the whole situation to people who may not know the difference.

It's very funny and well worth a look. We've reproduced his explanation as to why it's always Paddy below. 

Each and every year millions of Irish, Irish-ish and amateur alcoholics are needlessly distracted from their Holy Tradition of drinking themselves into a stupor in the name of Saint Patrick, a Roman Briton slave holding the dubious honour of bringing Christianity to an island that would use it as another convenient excuse to blatter the hell out of each other for centuries.

The source of this terrible distraction?

An onslaught of half-hearted, dyed-green references to St. Patrick’s Day as St. Patty’s Day. It gnaws at them. It riles them up. It makes them want to fight… you know, more than usual.

IT'S PADDY, NOT PATTY. EVER.

SAINT PATRICK’S DAY? GRAND.

PADDY’S DAY? SURE, DEAD-ON.

ST. PAT’S? AYE, IF YE MUST.

ST. PATTY? NO, YE GOAT!

Paddy is derived from the Irish, Pádraig, hence those mysterious, emerald double-Ds. Patty is the diminutive of Patricia, or a burger, and just not something you call a fella.

There is not a sinner in Ireland that would refer to a Patrick as “Patty”. It’s as simple as that.

So, to sum up:

Grand

Paddy
Pat
Packie
Podge
Pád
Pod

Daft

Patty

Check out Marcus' website here, featuring a real time feed of 'Patty's Day' tweets. You know who you are!

Categories: St Patrick's, Ireland, Canada