Q&A by Brad Balfour
When rock-punk poet Shane McGowan died, the love of drink was again in focus as part of his story. Over Indulging has been a part of the Irish experience, and certainly, when St Patrick’s Day rolls around, it becomes part of the narrative. Bar hopping is extolled as much as the somber services at St Pats church. After the weary march up 5th Avenue, imbedding became the word of the day. Well, 13 years ago, William Spencer Reilly launched his Sober St. Patrick’s Day celebration as a counter and contrast.
For the 13th year, Sober St. Patrick’s Day held its celebration of Ireland’s biggest day in an alcohol-free environment offering a healthy family-friendly mix of Irish arts, culture, and craic! The event “reclaimed the day” on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at the Church of the Epiphany Parish Hall.
As Reilly said, “St. Patrick’s Day should be a celebration of the richness of Irish culture and the legacy of St. Patrick, rather than an excuse for overindulging in alcohol. Sober St. Patrick’s Day offers a way to enjoy Ireland’s biggest day in a healthy, enriching way.”
An award-winning theatre and television producer, Reilly has run several not-for-profit arts organizations and start-ups in New York City. He began his tenure at The Sheen Center by co-producing the pre-Mass program, “A Journey in Faith,” for the Papal Mass held at Madison Square Garden in September 2015. Reilly worked the first half of his career in the Broadway and off-Broadway theater, serving as The Program Director of The American Theatre Wing, founders of The TONY Award, as founding Executive Director of The TriBeCa Center For The Performing Arts, and Executive Director of Fordham University’s Sesquicentennial Celebration.
In television, he won over 30 national awards for his work on Hallmark Channel movies, documentaries and series while serving as President of Lightworks Pictures and EVP of its parent organization, Odyssey Networks (aka Faith & Values Media). He also completed a successful turnaround of the company Sea Lion Productions as its President & CEO.
As a producer of award-winning, #1 rated television and special events productions, he is known for and ability to infuse new life into struggling production ventures to increase ratings, viewership, membership, and profitability. He’s an adept capital raiser with a knack for sourcing and nurturing global strategic alliances to fund projects, leverage resources, increase sales and move companies and productions to the next level.
With cause-related experience, Reilly has produced public service announcements, television promotions, and viral videos to increase awareness and incite action in support of a cause. And in doing so, also responded to my questions about his latest efforts.
Q: What was the tipping point that led you to form Sober St. Patrick’s Day?
William Spencer Reilly: The tipping point was a moment at the 2011 NYC St. Patrick’s Day parade when I was feeling very proud being Irish American. As the marching bands were going by I felt elated, and then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a young man, about 22, who was holding a can of beer – it was about 12:30 in the afternoon, and he was drunk as a skunk. He was with a bunch of his buddies who were all equally wasted, and then I noticed the t-shirt he was wearing. It said, “St. Patrick’s Day Today! Hungover Tomorrow. I didn’t pass judgement but asked where he got it. He told me he “got it in the mall in New Jersey” where he lived, and added “Isn’t it cool!?” Right then and there, a light bulb went on for me. I thought, what if, next year, we could hold a rip-roaring party with world-class Irish musicians, dancers and singers….. But no booze!”
Q: When Sober St.Patricks was formed, what were your expectations?
William Spencer Reilly: People thought I was “out of my mind!” But I truly felt there was a huge audience for this. Certainly people in recovery – who run for the hills on St. Patrick’s Day, but also a much larger audience of folks who were just sick and tired of being hijacked by the drunkenness in New York on St. Patrick’s Day, particularly, families with children who won’t bring their kids to the bars. Nevertheless, I knew we’d be swimming against the tide, but having almost lost a teenage daughter to addiction a couple of years before, I was hell-bent on doing this because St. Patrick’s Day has become the #1 day of the year for the introduction of binge-drinking among high school and college kids.
Q: Who did you first reach out to when you started it?
William Spencer Reilly: I knew a few leading execs in the Recovery field such as Sis Gallagher Wenger, Todd Whitmer, and Bob Lindsey. They jumped on board, as did some family foundations. Then, Maura Kelly introduced me to the Consul General of Ireland, Noel Kilkenny, who couldn’t have been more helpful and supportive, knowing fully well we‘d have “a very tough road” ahead of us. The best part was calling Noel two nights before the inaugural event, on the Ides of March, to tell him that Sober St. Patrick’s Day was “sold-out in advance!” He then brought several Irish government dignitaries with him to our event after the parade in 2012, and the rest is…
Q: How have you applied your experience in production to develop this organization?
William Spencer Reilly: I’ve done a lot of events and shows in my day, some considerably bigger than this, so applying those production skills where you “assume, nothing” has always been my guiding principle.
Q: I have the feeling that in creating this organization, you had a deep personal motive in doing so. Can you tell how this relates to you personally?
William Spencer Reilly: I almost lost my teenage daughter to addiction when she was 17, and I grew up with alcoholism in my family. Lots of red flags for me. The truth is, most families have a member affected by addiction, and few are aware how their loved one’s addiction actually affects themselves. Tons of help out there for both addicts — and family members of addicts — it’s all there for the asking. Folks just need to admit that they have the problem. The stigma attached to addiction, thank God, is diminishing. SSPD tries to play a tiny role in that.
Q: You must have gathered some interesting testimonials as to what led people to support sober st pats; can you relate some?
William Spencer Reilly: See the woman with the baby in her arms in our five minute video on our homepage under the banner “This is Who We are!” There are many others in that video, too. “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
Q: Your very positive bio on LinkedIn makes me wonder how you are applying such experience to sober St. Pats?
William Spencer Reilly: Only work with people who get it, and really care about your mission. In production, “Assume nothing, and communicate, communicate, communicate. Tell everyone on staff that there are no dumb questions.”
Q: Besides the Sober St. Pats efforts, what else are you working on in general and in dealing with sobriety and other sober organizations?
William Spencer Reilly: A rather big idea for 2025 with Former Congressman Patrick Kennedy (our Honoree last year) which I hope to be able to announce in September on “Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day.”
Q: Are you developing any kind of programming related to this topic or other things in general?
William Spencer Reilly: A new drama TV series I’ve been developing with other writing partners, which I expect to start pitching very soon to the major networks. Naturally, I can’t tell you anything about it.
Q: Do you have examples of people who have gotten involved with sober St. Pats that have turned their life around?
William Spencer Reilly: Yes, both projects alluded to above are related to that.
Q: Just from your point of view, why has this onus of excessive alcohol consumption become associated with the Irish community and can that notion be countered?
William Spencer Reilly: Yes, it can be countered if more people “own” the fact that this is not only “a disease of denial” for the alcoholic, but also for his/her family members collaterally affected by it. The mistreatment of the Irish by the English, particularly during the Great Famine, may well have left severe, lasting trauma in our DNA, akin to the mistreatment of Native Americans by some European settlers. There have been recent scientific studies showing these parallels of alcohol abuse by both peoples. But I’m no scientist. Basic awareness of that potential trauma will go a long way to combating it. Just as in recovery, one learns about “awareness, acceptance, action”. The so-called three A’s. There’s plenty of help out there for those who are simply willing to finally admit that they may need it. Then, mutual anonymity goes a long way.
for more info go to: SoberStPatricksDay.org