Between 2003 and 2009 my friends and I used to host something called the St. Patrick’s Day Drunk Dial Contest. What was the St. Patrick’s Day Drunk Dial you ask? At its heart, it was a simple attempt to connect friends from university in Newfoundland and who were now spread throughout Canada and the world.

St. Patrick’s Day, which is the national day of Ireland, is also celebrated around the world wherever Irish immigrants settled. In Newfoundland, it’s a rare public holiday as winter blows its last. It was a day friends would gather at the pub. When I left Newfoundland and the shamrocks went up in all the bars no matter where I was living, I longed to hear the voices of my friends.

Initially I had asked friends to phone me when they were out, night or day, on St. Patrick’s Day. Later someone gave my phone number out to strangers and the calls I received got weirder and even more fun. Each year the tradition grew until in 2009 when we decided to go big with an advert on Time Square and more.

So this is the story of the St. Patrick’s Day Drunk Dial Contest along with the calls of many of the winners.

I hope you have have great St. Patrick’s Day, no matter your nationality, but especially to all my friends in Ireland and those of Irish descent.

Show Notes and Highlights

1. Interview with Niall Brown including the fallout from the Global TV news spot.
2. Watch the Global TV news spot from Montreal, 2009
3. The Times Square ad and pictures of the 2008 Montreal St. Patrick’s Day parade.

God Save the Queen, Instrumental by the Band of the Grenadier Guards, 1952 from the Wikimedia Commons