3 classic sketches from recent South Boston St. Patrick’s Day breakfasts
Whether or not they're good is up for debate.
The South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast, perhaps the holiday’s most cringe-worthy local tradition, returns again Sunday.
Unlike the often controversy-laden Southie parade that follows, the historic tradition has served as a more light-hearted affair, where local Massachusetts politicians honor Irish-American heritage and crack jokes about their rivals and allies alike. Only some of them land.
This year’s breakfast is set to see Rep. Stephen Lynch, a Southie native and longtime fixture at the event, return as host. Lynch fills in for former Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry, a Haitian-American woman from Dorchester, who took over hosting duties in 2014. The first woman to preside over the breakfast, Forry took over from a long line of Irish-American male hosts, including former Senate President Billy Bulger, the brother of Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger.
Under Forry, the breakfast was “infused with fresh energy,” while continuing the tradition of hit-or-miss monologues from local politicians. And though Forry, Mayor Marty Walsh, and the rest of the crop of Massachusetts elected officials may not be as natural comedians as Bulger, they have taken some relatively ambitious swings at getting a laugh.
Creative? Sure. Funny? See for yourself:
1. Forry meets Southie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SjoKCfJ3-Y&feature=youtu.be
In 2014, Forry recorded a skit of herself “training” to host her first breakfast with Lynch teaching her about important Southie traditions like space savers and threatening people who disregard your space saver. A few other local lawmakers offer up lessons on how to double park and order at Sullivan’s on Castle Island. Eventually, she figures it out.
2. The winter of 2015 was pretty crazy
Nearing the end of a record winter, Walsh put together a parody highlight reel of his snow press conferences for the St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast. Left speechless by the crazy amounts of snow, people jumping out of windows, and reports of missing Jedi on the planet Hoth, the Boston mayor pleads for help.
“Marty, use the sweater,” former Gov. Michael Dukakis tells him. “The sweater is strong with you.”
But not even a Dukakis-esque sweater could salvage City Hall from the snow, and Walsh, who resigns to run for mayor of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, ultimately hands over the reigns to the Boston Yeti.
3. ‘Hello,’ it’s Marty
https://vimeo.com/159712900
In 2016, as Adele’s song “Hello” was topping the charts, Walsh arrived at the St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast and showed his own sepia-toned parody of the singer’s popular music video. In the ode to his “bromance” with Gov. Charlie Baker, the mayor dons a giant fur coat (just like Adele’s) on Boston Common. He even deadpans the line “I’ve called about a thousand times.”
Only time will tell what spoof clothing Walsh will wear during Sunday’s breakfast.
