Joe Fox and Tim Wilson moderated the meeting.
Out-of-control pub crawls.
Offensive St. Patrick’s Day merchandise.
Members of the new Irish Anti-Defamation Federation really have their work cut out for them. How are they going to do it? A little at a time, it seems, and with considerable diplomacy.
The Federation hosted a meeting at the Philadelphia Irish Center in Mount Airy Thursday night, drawing representatives from a wide sampling of Delaware Valley Irish organizations, from the Rose of Tralee to the Ancient Order of Hibernians to Clan na Gael.
The discussions were also fairly wide-ranging, but two issues of pressing concern moved to the fore: Pub crawls conducted around St. Patrick’s Day, featuring some noteworthy exhibitions of public drunkenness; and tasteless, insulting t-shirts, mugs and other Irish-themed tchotchkes of the like sold by many merchants around the saint’s day, with Spencer Gifts apparently regarded as Offender No. 1.
Joe Fox, president of the AOH Philadelphia County Board, chaired the meeting, with help from Tim Wilson. The purpose of the meeting was to help determine where the group should focus its efforts—and how to do it.
Starting off the meeting, Fox was at pains to stress that the IADF is for anyone and everyone who is interested. “Even though Tim and I are with the AOH, this is not just an AOH thing, he stressed. “This is all of us.”
With that, he opened the floor, and a free-wheeling discussion ensued. What emerged was a consensus that the defamation of the Irish did not happen overnight, and it won’t be solved overnight.
Too, there was a sense that the Federation will need to choose its battles and try not to come across as—to employ a phrase offered up by one attendee—”Irish crybabies.”
Deciding which problem to tackle and how to tackle it, many in the room acknowledged, is also going to be an issue of some delicacy. After all, several noted, AOH divisions themselves run pub crawls, and the North Wildwood Irish Weekend—where public drunkenness is hardly unknown and derogatory Irish merch can be easily located and bought—is sponsored by a division of the AOH in South Jersey. Other Irish and Celtic organizations run similar festivals and fairs, and they have similar problems.
Fox noted that the AOH in particular rigorously rides herd over pub crawls to ensure that members behave in a manner that will not bring dishonor to the organization. And as far as North Wildwood is concerned, he added, the local AOH specifies in contracts with sellers that insulting and derogatory merchandise must not be sold—and when such merchandise is found, sellers are warned to cease and desist.
That said, it was clear to many that the Federation can’t and won’t declare war on bars and purveyors of Irish-themed apparel. People are allowed to make money, and what’s more, they’re allowed to have fun. “There’s nothing (inherently) wrong with pub crawls,” Fox said by way of example. “We’re not looking to stop people from drinking. It’s only when they go too far. We need to think about these matters and how to be successful with them.”
Joe Roan, from the Dennis Kelly division of the AOH in Havertown, concurred. “We can’t come across telling pub owners that they can’t have a pub crawl,” he said. But he suggested that the Federation have frank discussions with pub owners to see about moderating the conduct of pub crawlers. “When we’re calling someone down, we can’t be doing it with a hammer in our hands,” he said. “And let’s not lose our sense of humor. Every time someone paints something green, let’s not get all upset over it.”
The group plans to reconvene to continue discussing these issues, and to hold an election for a new board in coming weeks.