The Campus Activities Team, along with the University Center for Irish Studies and the University Alumni Association, celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with a list of Irish themed events and activities. 

The celebrations kicked off last weekend with a Senior Pub Series event Saturday at the Oreo, featuring food trucks, fire pits and beers for 21+ seniors. Those who attended were given a custom St. Patrick’s Day themed plastic beer stein. On Sunday, the Villanova club rugby team and Irish Cultural Society held a game watch for the 2021 Ireland vs. Scotland Rugby Match. 

Celebrations on St. Patrick’s Day began in the morning with an “Irish Breakfast in Galway” over Zoom, led by Mary Madec, Director of the University Study Abroad Program at NUI, Galway. Madec and her family walked attendees through the cooking of a traditional Irish breakfast from her home in Kinvara, Galway. 

The festivities continued with a “Lunchtime in Dublin City” with Irish actor Johnny Murphy. Murphy traditionally leads the Dublin St. Patrick’s Day parade as St. Patrick himself, but the event was cancelled this year due to COVID-19 concerns. Instead, Murphy donned his St. Patrick outfit and travelled the streets of Dublin, asking Dubliners the quickest way to get to Villanova. The event was full of laughs and insight into how the holiday evolved from a 17th Century religious feast day to a worldwide celebration of Irish culture. The Zoom event  finished with the playing of popular traditional and contemporary Irish songs. 

Continuing the focus on Irish music, the main event of the day was a streamed concert featuring the Irish musical groups We Banjo 3, The Friel Sisters and One for the Foxes. Freshman Mark Moore, who listened to the concert, said of the event, “it was a great way to sit around with friends and enjoy some music that I probably wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise.”

POWER held a Sip and Paint event at the Driscoll Tent, complete with mocktails, painting and alcohol education trivia. CAT held a St. Patrick’s Day cookie decorating around fire pits on the Campus Green, complete with themed decorating kits. The University Irish Dance Team performed on the Green for all those in attendance. 

To finish off the night, the campus-favorite food trucks made an appearance on the Campus Green.. Fire pits were also available to be reserved. Donohue and Dougherty dining halls featured a special St. Patrick’s Day themed menu alongside the more traditional options, including ham, cabbage and Irish soda bread. 

All of the events were focused on being as safe and COVID-conscious as possible and seemed to achieve that goal with flying colors, as there was no significant increase in cases during the past week.