From fairy queens to warrior queens, Ireland’s folklore is rich with regal women. In Denver, it’s Queen Colleen. Otherwise known as Sara Myles, she’ll preside over the 45th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday
A 21-year-old student at the University of Northern Colorado, she’s studying to become a high-school teacher.
But she also wants to travel the world. In preparation, she’s learned Spanish and Japanese, and is working on Czech, Irish and sign language.
Recently, Myles participated in a UNC exchange program that allowed her to spend four months in Dublin, studying at St. Patrick’s College.
There, she became a fan of hurling, the national sport of Ireland, which is called iománaíocht or iomáint in Irish. Entranced by the sport, Myers now plays it with the Denver Gaels, one of many ways she continues to explore her Irish heritage.
– Colleen O’Connor
How did you end up with the Denver Gaels? Same way I learned about Queen Colleen, at the Irish festival that’s held each summer. I came to know how the game was played at St. Patrick’s College. They only had a boy’s team there. But here they don’t have enough women, so women play with the boys. It’s a really interesting sport.
How would you describe it? It’s played with a stick and ball. I call it a mix between lacrosse and field hockey.
Do Americans confuse it with the pop-culture meaning of hurling, or throwing up? Yes, that and the Olympic sport of curling. Most people can’t picture it.
So how did you end up speaking such a variety of languages? I really love languages. They always come fairly easy to me. When I was studying over in Ireland, I met a lot of international students. Some Czech, some Polish, some from Belgium. They just started to teach me.
What want to do with your reign as Queen Colleen? Represent Denver in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade as queen. And I just got done with the (Annual Gaels “Paddy Wagon”) Pub Crawl. We started at the Irish Rover, and ended up in LoDo. It was a fun night, hanging out with other people who are also very into the parade, and showing off their Irishness.
Did you drink Guinness? I drink Guinness mostly for nostalgia, because it reminds me of Ireland.
What’s the difference between Guinness in America, and over there? It’s not nearly as good (here) as in Ireland. It’s more stale over here. There, they pour it on tap. On my second day in Dublin, I toured the Guinness factory at St. James Gate (Brewery). The Irish are very proud of Guinness.
What do you love most about being Irish? I love how we’re known for being so welcoming and warm. Great storytellers, so interested in singing and dancing and really living life.
MARCHIN’ GREEN
Wave to Queen Colleen during the Bellco Credit Union Denver St. Patrick’s Day Parade at 10 a.m. Saturday. It runs down Blake Street from 27th to 17th streets, down 17th to Wynkoop Street to 19th Street, up 19th to Wewatta Street and north along Wewatta to Coors Field parking.
Themed “Irish Roots and Cowboy Boots,” the parade is expected to include five cowboy grand marshals – Rob Wright, Shaun Terhune, Jared Ficklin, Anders Heintz and Robby Cabezuela from the PBS reality series “Texas Ranch House” – and 200 entries, including floats, clowns, pipe bands, high-school marching bands, Irish step dancers, El Jebel Shriners and the Vail Lawn Chair Brigade.
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