Every Saint Patrick’s Day season, ginger students face an onslaught of relentless teasing. From questions about participation in the Ginger Run and low punches about alcoholism, gingers have become accustomed to every joke in the book. Liam O’Leary, a ginger economics student at UofT, has reached his limit for one joke in particular: being called a Leprechaun.
“People think they’re sooo funny and original,” O’Leary said in a thick Irish accent while adjusting the buckles on his boots. “I get it, I have red hair. So do a hundred million other people.” O’Leary reported his frustration with the dozens of people approaching him daily asking if he’s a Leprechaun, some of them going as far as to ask if they could have some of his gold.
“Yeah, ha ha ha. Leprechauns have gold. Come up with some new material for Christ sake,” he said. “And, yes, technically I have a pot of gold, but that’s a family heirloom.” O’Leary receives constant harassment even at his home at the end of Rainbow Blvd., where onlookers wait outside trying to capture him so he can grant them wishes.
To readers of this article, O’Leary pleads, “Just stick to those feckin economics student jokes, ya gowls. You won’t be getting any wishes for me to be sure, to be sure. Anyway, happy Paddy’s.”