As I write this, the city where I live, Halifax, Nova Scotia, is finally opening up after two long years of restrictions and struggle with a global pandemic. I will always associate the beginning of lockdown with the cancelling of the St. Patrick’s parade in 2020. Compared to everything else that has happened, it might seem like a small sacrifice, yet there is a deep significance to cultural events that shouldn’t be neglected. I have noted elsewhere the importance of asserting Irish identity in a huge city like Chicago when I was a teenager there and how Francis O’Neill might have felt about it. As Brian Doherty (of Nova Scotia folk duo Evans & Doherty) quips in an article in todays Chronicle Herald: “For one thing, I don’t think anyone’s going to be saying, ‘Kiss me, I’m Irish'”. Although many of us won’t miss that so much, the article does go on to point out some Irish-themed events despite lingering restrictions. Special thanks to Dusty Keleher of An Cumann: The Irish Association of Nova Scotia for mentioning my online reading from Chief O’Neill as part of their online celebration.
