Blarney, Block Parties, or Bust

Across college campuses, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in wildly different ways, from 6 a.m. pregames at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to radio silence at Harvard, as the Yard empties each year for spring break. 

The fifth-century commemoration of Saint Patrick—the man credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland—was historically celebrated as a religious observation. However, in 1762, the day began taking on a more celebratory character as Irish immigration to America increased. As the immigrant population continued to grow over the 19th and 20th centuries, the holiday evolved into the celebration we know today, filled with shamrocks and leprechauns. This shift is most evident on college campuses, where the holiday takes on its own distinct form.

At the University of Massachusetts Amherst, St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into one of the most widely known campus parties in the region. Students celebrate “Blarney” on the Saturday before the holiday to avoid conflicts with spring break. The festivities center on a group of off-campus houses commonly known as the “Townies.” 

“People wake up at six in the morning to start drinking,” Emily Belmont ’27, a student at UMass Amherst, said. “You’ll just see people walking miles from their dorms to get there.” 

According to Belmont, the typical day’s trajectory begins at the Townies, moves to one of the campus dining halls for breakfast, pauses for a quick afternoon nap, and then ends at the bars in downtown Amherst. The event has grown large enough to attract students from nearby colleges. “No matter how much the school tries to prevent it, there are just so many people,” Belmont said. 

The increase in crowds has led to greater surveillance, Belmont explained with expanded police presence  and officers from surrounding towns called in to monitor the area. Students say that enforcement has increased in recent years. During one celebration, Belmont recalled, police vehicles lined a nearby street with officers issuing citations for open containers of alcohol. 

“They were literally mass-arresting people,” Belmont said. “If you had an open container, they would throw you in a van, take you to jail, and give you a court date.” Despite these crackdowns, the event remains fixed in the university’s social calendar. “It’s honestly chaos,” Belmont said. “But it’s the event that unites everyone at UMass.”

At the University of Notre Dame, home of the Fighting Irish, St. Patrick’s Day has a different kind of significance. Given the school’s association with Irish heritage, the holiday might be expected to play a large role in campus life, but students say celebrations tend to be contained. Unlike large universities, Notre Dame does not have fraternities, and students live in the dorms for their first three years, student Nick Candela ’26 explained. Off-campus celebrations tend to focus on a row of senior houses known as Legacy Street. 

Students organize a block party-style function along Legacy Street, where houses are owned by sports teams or cohorts of seniors. “All the houses will throw at the same time,” Candela said. “Everyone tends to gather outside on the street.” 

One informal tradition, known among students as the “Ginger Run,” draws the most attention. “Everybody lines up on both sides of the street, and a bunch of redheads run down the road while people cheer,” Candela said. 

However, students believe the holiday’s significance is more of an obligation than a cultural celebration of the school’s mascot. “We definitely celebrate St. Patrick’s Day because it’s like, ‘We’re Irish, we have to,’” Candela added. Still, he acknowledged that the identity is not especially strong. “I wouldn’t say there is a strong Irish influence on campus.”

At Williams College, the holiday plays an even smaller role. “It’s kind of an afterthought here,” said Luke Rostan ’27, a Williams College student. “It doesn’t mobilize people here like it does at other schools.” 

Similar to Notre Dame, the social scene at Williams revolves around a street of off-campus houses on Hoxsey Street. Houses are primarily owned by seniors on the athletic teams that often host mixers or “throw” for the general school population. Holidays often turn into the theme of an existing gathering, rather than their own spectacle. “If a team happens to be throwing that weekend, the theme might become ‘Wear Green,’” Rostan said. “That’s about the level of engagement.”

Timing also plays a large role. The holiday falls close to the College’s spring break and the school’s “100 Days” party, celebrating seniors’ final hundred days before graduation. “Every week that the school hosts a senior dance, Hoxsey tends to shut down,” Rostan said. With the school’s main social gatherings closed, St. Patrick’s Day seldom becomes a central event. 

At Harvard, the holiday tends to overlap with spring break, shifting celebrations away from campus almost entirely—most students aren’t present in Cambridge when the holiday arrives. Those who remain often cross the Charles River to celebrate in Boston, which has long been known for its Irish cultural influence. 

“It’s really big in Boston,” Aliza Fergang ’27, a current Harvard student, said. “If people are back from break, they’ll just go bar hopping.” Each year, Boston hosts a vast parade, drawing thousands of spectators in the region. The absence of campus festivities perpetuates the pattern of students heading into Boston for their green fix. 

Yet across all four campuses, whether the day means beers before breakfast in Amherst or a downtown bar crawl in Boston, St. Patrick’s Day has a way of finding students, even those who don’t seek it out. “Everyone says they didn’t really have fun,” Belmont said. “But you still have to go. It’s kind of a rite of passage.” 

Audrey Adam ’27 (audreyadam@college.harvard.edu) can’t wait for an excuse to eat Lucky Charms.