It’s the one day of the year where it’s acceptable to drink a Guinness in the morning and Wollongong’s only Irish pub Dicey Riley’s was taking full advantage.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
From 7am a mix of mainly locals with the odd tourist and Irish expat wandered in to celebrate St Patrick’s Day with traditional stout and pork blood sausage or Irish stew.
Owner George Poulos said it was their biggest day of trade for the year and was even more significant in 2016 with the 100 year commemoration of the Easter Rising.
Pub regular Mickey Connelly has strong ties to the historical episode which began the reclamation of independence from British rule.
His great grandfather James Connelly fought and died in the uprising against the British, a revolt instigated by the Irish Republican Brotherhood.
THE EASTER RISING:
For centuries Ireland had been under some form of English control, becoming branded under the United Kingdom in 1800.
In 1916 members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood hatched a plot to take back their independence, something that was supposed to take place all over Ireland but remained largely contained in Dublin.
On 24 April 1916, Easter Monday, the rebels and 1600 supporters stormed the city's General Post Office, also seizing other prominent buildings and clashing with British troops.
That afternoon one of the leaders of the revolt Patrick Pearse stood on the steps and read a proclamation, declaring Ireland as an independent republic and announced formation of a provisional government.
The British however declared martial law and crushed the revolt in the space of seven days. The battle left 485 people dead and another 1,500 wounded.
Three thousand suspected supporters were arrested and 1,800 imprisoned without trial.
By 1921 the Irish Free State had been created, a self-ruling nation of the British Commonwealth.
A fully independent Republic of Ireland finally came into existence on Easter Monday 1949.
Meantime Britain still retains a piece of the country, continuing to rule over counties in Northern Ireland.
WHO IS ST PATRICK:
It is generally agreed St Patrick was a 5th-century Romano-British Christian missionary, born in Britain in AD 387. His name, before adopting "Patrick", was thought to be Maewyn Succat.
When aged 16, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Ireland. Legend has it he was sold to a druid chief and for six years he worked as a herdsman. While among the sheep, he "found God" and escaped and returned to his family in England where he eventually became a priest.
He took the Christian-Roman name of Patricius, which was later known as Patrick.
In his 30s he returned to Ireland, to convert the pagan Irish to Christianity, supposedly using the three leaves of a shamrock to explain the Christian holy trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Over three decades, he is said to have traveled the Emerald Isle, establishing monasteries, schools and baptising and ordaining priests.
His encounters with the pagan druids, many of whom resisted the rapid cannibalisation of their old religion by Christianity, are said to have inspired the allegory of St Patrick driving the snakes from Ireland.
It is believed St Patrick died on March 17 in 461AD and was buried at Downpatrick.