Essay Contest

2010 Essay Contest Announcement...

The Atlanta St. Patrick’s Day Committee Announces
“The Meaning of St. Patrick’s Day”:
An Essay Contest for Georgia High School Students
$1000 Prize

Here in Atlanta the annual St. Patrick’s Parade was first held in 1858 by the Hibernian Benevolent Society.  Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is even older, dating back to 1813 and is the second largest in the country.  Thousands of people march in both parades to the skirl of brilliant pipes and drums, while revelers line the streets and enjoy the festive air.  But sometimes people forget that a holiday such as this originally came out of dire and compelling circumstances: the horror of famine and religious persecution, the sorrow of leaving one’s homeland, family and friends, the terror of ocean voyages in crowded, disease-ridden boats, and the challenge of building new homes in a foreign land.

This St. Patrick’s Day, honoring all Americans who have come to our country in hopes of finding new opportunity, the Atlanta St. Patrick’s Parade Committee is pleased to announce its annual contest for high school students.  With a prize of $1000 for the first place winner and $250 each for two runners-up for a 1000-word essay on “The Meaning of St. Patrick’s Day,” the contest will be adjudicated by a committee headed by Dr. James W. Flannery, Director of the W. B. Yeats Foundation and a member of the Irish Studies program of Emory University. 

Students are encouraged to look at the meaning of St. Patrick’s Day from any number of perspectives: historical, religious, sociologic, folkloric, cultural or multicultural.  We encourage students to share their familial or community histories, stories and customs with us, whether or not they happen to be Irish.  Another approach might be to look at the life and values of St. Patrick:  a slave himself, he was a fierce opponent of slavery.  The only criterion is that, in some way, the essay should shed a fresh light on the continued meaning of St. Patrick’s Day. 
 

The deadline for submissions is March 3, 2010 
Please mail to:
Dr. James Flannery
Director, W. B. Yeats Foundation
Winship Professor of the Arts and Humanities
Emory University
1655 North Decatur Road  Suite 105
    Atlanta, GA 30322
or email to St.Patricksessay@gmail.com

Previous Essay Contest Winners

2009 Winning Essay

Kevin Conboy & Dr. James Flannery
present check to winner Chad Wisinger

Chad Wisinger
South Forsyth High School
Cumming, Georgia

As a teenager Patrick was captured by Irish raiders and taken into slavery. In despair over his slavery, Patrick turned to intense prayer as a means of achieving tranquility. Six years later he escaped his captors. Although his days as a slave had ended, the suffering of Patrick left him with a desire to end the practice of slavery and to spread the truths of his religious faith. These convictions were so deep that he voluntarily returned years later to share his convictions with the Irish. Despite the fact that his letters express a concern for the victims of slavery, it is also likely that Patrick worked directly with the leaders of the slave trade so as to persuade them of the evils of their awful practice.

St. Patrick's heroic story continues to resonate down through the ages over fifteen centuries after his death. In particular, St. Patrick's battle to overcome slavery, oppression, and severe personal hardship serves as a moral lesson not only for the Irish global diaspora of over seventy-five million people but for freedom-loving people everywhere.

St. Patrick's battle against slavery also serves as a necessary reminder of how much the Irish have overcome on the way to achieving political freedom and, with that, their own cultural identity. For instance, after the bloody Elizabethan Plantations of the early 17th century, a Catholic Confederation was formed to defend the Irish people against further exploitation. In 1649, Oliver Cromwell invaded Ireland, defeated the Catholic Confederation, and put Ireland under a brutal occupation. The English Parliament was eager for a conquest of Ireland for three reasons: first many parliamentarians wished to punish the Irish for the massacre of English colonists in the rebellion of 1641; second, Cromwell's puritan army considered all Roman Catholics to be heretics; and third, members of Parliament raised money to conquer Ireland with the understanding that they would be repaid with land confiscated from the rebels. Determined to firmly establish the conquest of Ireland, the army of Cromwell began a reign of terror that lasted over a decade. From 1641 to 1652, over 550,000 Irish were killed by the English and 300,000 were forced to live as near slaves within their own country. Eventually Cromwell's army completed the British colonization of Ireland. Far from compromising their Irish heritage, however, the bitterness left by the Cromwellian invasion inspired a strong sense of Irish nationalism that endured for another three hundred years. Irish perseverance during the British occupation of Ireland served as a ringing declaration of fortitude in the face of suffering that would have destroyed the spirit of a lesser people.

The same fortitude and cultural cohesion also sustained the Irish during the massive emigration from their homeland that took place following the Great Irish Famine. In the mid-1840s, the potato crop that the Irish depended on as their main source of food was attacked by a terrible fungus. Two million people dependent on the crop were swept away by disease and hunger. Another two million destitute Irishmen fled the barren landscape of Ireland for the land of freedom, America. Although they came for a life of abundance, they lived in squalor. As competitors for jobs, the Irish were hated by the existing American workers. "No Irish Need Apply" was a sign that was so common it was often abbreviated to NINA. Due to the fact that jobs outside of construction were hard to find, these impoverished Gaels were forced to reside in the crowded immigrant ghettos of the northeast. Mortality rates were astoundingly high. If the agrarian roots of the Irish scarcely equipped them for economic survival in American cities, their cultural heritage instilled in them a stubborn resistance to their new foes. Hated by the Nativist Americans, the Irish relied on solidarity to help themselves survive. The Ancient Order of Hibernians, a nationalist society formed in Ireland, served in America by helping the downtrodden Irish to maintain a sense of their own pride and dignity. For Irishmen in nineteenth century America, celebrating St. Patrick's Day was not just a way to escape the horrors of their existence in the New World, but a means of holding on to who and what they really were. In fact, the holiday was celebrated with greater fervor here than in Ireland as Irish immigrants used it to boost their distinctive identity and morale.

In the multicultural times of the twenty-first century, St. Patrick's Day not only honors the many Irish contributions to America but, in the process, celebrates the glory of American diversity. Those that are not Irish are encouraged to join in the celebration as a reminder of the battle all newcomers to this country have had to fight in ultimately finding their rightful place as Americans. Therefore St. Patrick's Day belongs not just to the Irish but to the Italians, the English, the African Americans, the Jews, the Arabs, the Hispanics, the Germans, the Chinese and all other immigrants that have fought to win their own place in the sun. St. Patrick's pursuit of freedom epitomizes a basic American ideal, namely that an outsider, an outcast, and even a one-time vagabond, by working hard and living responsibly, can achieve the American Dream. The true story of St. Patrick therefore carries a particularly important lesson for minority groups who have experienced discrimination and oppression in pursuit of their own versions of that dream.
In first grade, aside from an excuse to pinch your friends when they don't wear green on St. Patrick's Day, the holiday inspires in American boys and girls a unique understanding of and pride in the diversity of our nation. The holiday also inspires us through the story of a selfless man who sought to improve the lives of those who had once been his enemies. For all Americans and others who celebrate the holiday throughout the world, St. Patrick's Day is a continual symbol of the lessons of perseverance, freedom, and hope. In celebrating St. Patrick's Day, we do nothing less than affirm the core values of our nation - multicultural values that make us proud to be citizens of the United States of America.

Chad Wisinger
South Forsyth High School
Cumming, Georgia
 

2008 Winning Essay

The Meaningfulness of
St. Patrick's Day in
"The City Too Busy to Hate"

by Katrina Parsons
Atlanta Girls' School

    The first St. Patrick's Day parade in Atlanta was held in 1858.  It was coordinated by the newly formed Hibernian Benevolent Society of Atlanta.  One can only imagine whether the founding members wondered what might become of the parade and the city 150 years later. Would founder, Bernard Lamb, be proud that by 2008, the parade had expanded its emphasis to recognize the hardships of all immigrant groups to America? Could early member, Father Thomas O' Reilly, have envisioned that Atlanta would someday become known as "The City Too Busy to Hate"?
    Probably, young Father O' Reilly knew of St. Patrick.  As an Irish priest, Father O' Reilly likely studied St. Patrick's much admired traits of patience, love, tolerance, and forgiveness. Interestingly, St. Patrick was a significant figure in Ireland, even though he was not Irish.  In the fifth century C.E., he was kidnapped from Britain and taken to Ireland as a slave for six years. He eventually escaped and returned to Britain to be with his family. While there, he had a vision and wrote that he heard a calling to help the Irish people. He then returned to Ireland. As  bishop of Ireland, he busily set about converting Ireland to Christianity.  Instead of harboring hatred, he established monasteries and schools, which became famous throughout Europe. “The Island of Saints and Scholars;” that's how Ireland was known. He brought Latin and learning to the island so that the Irish were less isolated.  He forgave the Irish for his years of mistreatment In fact, he pleaded for the lives and improved conditions of enslaved Irish people in his Letter to Coroticus.

    Father O'Reilly could not have known that he, too,  would be challenged to practice those same traits of love, patience, forgiveness and tolerance here in Atlanta, Georgia.  In 1864 the Irish priest found himself in the middle of the American Civil War.  He had been assigned by a bishop to minister to Federal troops in the prison camp in Andersonville, and had been appointed a chaplain by the Confederacy.  In Atlanta, he trekked up to 20 miles per day to help over 20,000 sick and wounded soldiers of both the Confederacy and the Union, both Catholics and non-Catholics.  After the fall of Atlanta in the autumn of 1864, Father O' Reilly pleaded for the saving of Atlanta churches.  Remaining with the priest after the evacuation of the city, were still a small group of frightened citizens, including 10-year-old Carrie Berry whose diary is at the Atlanta History Center.  She quotes in her diary “We were fritened almost to death last night” and “they said that they would set the last house on fire if they had to leave this place.”  Father O'Reilly courageously stayed on at the parsonage of the Catholic Church in Atlanta (the church is now known as the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception) where he had been pastor since 1861.  The young priest interceded with General William Tecumseh Sherman after the general's famous order to begin the final destruction of the standing buildings in Atlanta, prior to the Union Army's March to the Sea.  The outraged cleric said that many of General Sherman's soldiers were Catholics and he threatened to have them excommunicated if the churches were burned.  His actions saved the churches of five different faiths: St. Philips Episcopal Church, Central Presbyterian Church, Trinity United Methodist Church, Second Baptist Church, and last but not least, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.  Atlanta's City Hall, the Fulton County Courthouse and the buildings between Mitchell and Peters Streets were also spared thanks to his efforts.  The war weakened Father O' Reilly's health though, and he died on September 6, 1872.  (His crypt lies in the basement of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Church, where it had been buried, undiscovered, until 1982.)

    Almost a hundred years after Father O'Reilly's courageous stand, a new civil war came to the United States- this time a war for equal rights, regardless of race or background.   Concurrently the city of Atlanta adopted the slogan "The City Too Busy to Hate".  In Atlanta, the city leaders may have taken inspiration from Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.  In his "I Have A Dream" speech given August 28,1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC Dr. King prayed that “my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."  He wanted an end to segregation; he thought that people should be valued by their human qualities and not by their racial attributes. In this same speech, this son of Atlanta envisioned:  "I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood". This quote demonstrates Dr. King's belief- that everyone of any race, religion, age, or gender should be able to sit together (on the bus, in a restaurant, at a parade, etc.) without fear of discrimination or prejudice. Tragically, Dr. King was killed in Memphis, Tennessee in April, 1968.  His crypt now lies downtown, only a mile away from Father O'Reilly's. 

    In 2005, the Parade Committee, (Atlanta St Patrick's Parade Inc., including the Hibernian Benevolent Society) returned the Atlanta St. Patrick's Day parade to downtown.  The Parade Committee extended the celebration to include not just Irish American immigrants, but all immigrant groups. It is thus a celebration of America's best.  With this 150th anniversary of the Hibernian Benevolent Society of Atlanta, as well as the 127^th Atlanta St. Patrick's Day parade, it is fitting that the 2008 ceremonies will include a commemoration of the heroism of  Father O'Reilly. With this 40th anniversary of Dr. King's death, it is also meaningful that the 127th parade in honor of a former slave, St. Patrick, will be celebrated in the hometown of a descendant of slaves, Martin Luther King Jr.  That hometown is Atlanta, "The City Too Busy to Hate". 
 

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

$1,000 Winner 2007
Emily Halstead - Etowah High School
See Essay Below

$1,000 Winner 2008
Katrina Parsons - Atlanta Girls School
See Essay Above

Photo
Coming

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

$1,000 Winner 2006
Marcella Preininger
Receives check from Dr. James Flannery

$1,000 Winner 2005
Paige Lanier ...
Click Here to read Paiges Essay

2007 Winning Essay

The Meaning of St. Patrick’s Day:
A True Marathon Celebration
Emily Halstead ... Etowah High School

A marathon is a competition of endurance. It not only tests physical fitness, but also measures mental strength under pressure. No matter where the race is held or who is competing in it, one thing is always assured: a large celebration will be held at the end. Everyone joins in, athletes along with their supporters, in order to take joy in the fact that wonderful goals have been accomplished in the face of tremendous challenges. Similarly, all people can find a reason to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. It is a day that marks the triumph not only of the Irish who came here beginning in the early eighteenth century, but also all of the diverse peoples of America who have braved tremendous obstacles and emerged triumphant despite hindrances in their own marathons of life. There are no requirements for participation in this celebration; one need not be of a certain nationality, religion, or race. While the meaning and purpose of Saint Patrick’s Day for individuals and ethnic groups has evolved since the time when it first began, this holiday has continued to be one of hope and unity for people of all backgrounds and walks of life.

The Feast Day of Saint Patrick was established by the Catholic Church to take place on March 17th, the anniversary of his death. In Ireland it was originally observed in a somber and reverential manner, usually involving Mass and observance of the usual Lenten practices. It was actually in America in the late nineteenth century that people began to recognize this feast day with a more celebratory tone. Following the Potato Famine of the 1840s and the surge of immigration into the United States that ensued, waves of nativism struck the country. The Irish constantly faced discrimination in forms such as signs on factory walls and other workplaces reading “No Irish Need Apply”. Ever a proud and persevering people, Irish-Americans soon used Saint Patrick’s Day as a celebration of pride in their ethnic identity, and the holiday quickly grew more and more popular. Even as the barriers of scorn and hatred toward the Irish died down, the love of this green day in March quickly grew stronger among people of other backgrounds, including Italian, Greek, Jewish, and Chinese immigrants as well as African Americans. The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade was held in Boston in 1737, but by the end of the nineteenth century the holiday had become one celebrating America’s cultural pluralism.

We have no way of knowing how deeply the earliest celebrators of Saint Patrick’s Day in America understood what they wanted March 17th to represent. It’s possible that their only aim was to have a specific day to call their own in the form of a public ritual celebrating their new identity in a new nation. What better way to do this than to honor the feast day of the patron saint of their native country? What the Irish celebrants may not have realized, however, is that Saint Patrick was not a native of Ireland. Actually born in Britain, Saint Patrick spent his life working hard to achieve his own goal of helping others. He overcame every challenge that arose in his life including the experience of slavery, without faltering in his faith.  It was, in fact, as a slave that Saint Patrick first came to Ireland. The Irish people thus found an extraordinary moral example to look up to in their own struggle for survival in the face of centuries of oppression.

Saint Patrick also provided a benchmark for the Irish in America - a benchmark corresponding to the fundamental American belief that any person who puts forth a proper effort can ultimately achieve his or her dreams, regardless of any roadblocks faced along the way. Americans of all backgrounds came to admire the way the Irish combated adversity in establishing new roots in the United States.  The green frenzy caught on. That connection between Irish and American values may be the ultimate reason that an Irish holiday quickly became an American one.

Saint Patrick’s Day is today celebrated chiefly as a large party in America. It happens to be the only ethnic and religious holiday that is celebrated by Americans of virtually every race and faith. While one could argue that Thanksgiving presents a similar spirit of inclusion by uniting the various cultures that make up America, one can see a clear distinction between the two holidays. No doubt, in the year 2007 here in Atlanta, Saint Patrick’s day is primarily an occasion of fun. It’s a southern rite of spring. But Saint Patrick’s Day is much more than that. It’s a day when contemporary immigrants are given a chance to honor the cultural diversity that is a basic part of the American way of life. Saint Patrick’s Day thus presents an opportunity for all of us to recognize that there’s always a way to overcome hardship and prejudice and ultimately earn the respect of a nation as well as a permanent place in its culture and history.

Each of us can be proud of his or her ancestry and the struggles and triumphs within it, just as everyone can be proud of a person who has worked hard and completed a grueling marathon. To understand this can lead one to realize that the real purpose of Saint Patrick’s Day is not to celebrate the contributions and pride of the Irish alone, worthy as these may be. Nor is it all about the revelry, enjoyable as that may be. Above all else, it is a day of celebration for those who have persevered and completed their own personal and collective marathons, thereby earning not only the right to pause and reflect on how far they’ve come, but also the opportunity to share their blessings with all of us.
 

Page Last Updated 02/23/2010 03:14 PM