Yes, that's true. It's down to pastoral reasons, ultimately; but our bishop always sends a letter in advance of a Confirmation visit instructing that there be no Gloria "for this votive Mass."

My guess: he wants to save those extra 150 seconds for his homily.

Yes, the Gloria is sung on solemnities that fall on weekdays, even during Advent and Lent.

St. Joseph and St. Patrick are both titular saints of my parish. As their feasts fall during Holy Week this year, St. Joseph is transferred by the Holy See to March 15. St. Patrick has been transferred by the bishop for our parish to March 14. Why these feasts are being moved back into Lent rather than forward into Easter season I do not know. Be that as it may, we will be observing both days as solemnities, including the singing of the Gloria.

Our bishop in Providence has moved St. Patrick to Friday 3/14 as well, and (IIRC) is offering dispensation from the no-meat requirement for those who celebrate St. Patrick on that day.
BMP

My questioning of the feasts being moved backward into Lent is due to the fact that when a feast is transferred it is, as a rule, moved forward in the calendar, not back. As Ss Joseph and Patrick can't be placed during the octave of Easter, if moved forward they would have to be in the following week. Perhaps the reasoning was to keep them in March even if that means departing from the usual norms.

The Feast of St. Patrick does not have a Gloria apart from eponymous parishes. The Solemnity of St. Joseph does.

Just a small point: S Patrick appears on the General Roman Calendar as a commemoration, not an obligatory memorial, let alone a feast, with the exception of titular churches or cathedrals. With respect to them, I can certainly understand the importance of moving the day of observance, and in those cases the singing of the Gloria would be proper and consistent with the concept of making the celebration more "solemn" (in a non-progressive solemnity way. I always become skeptical when people want to add something like the Gloria to make the celebration more "special." It seems like a liturgical abuse if it's done outside the norms set forth in the documents). But to my knowledge, the Gloria isn't sung for commemorations or memorials (optional or obligatory), only for certain feasts and all solemnities.

But those instances aside, what is the difference between S Patrick and, say, S Cyril of Jerusalem whose commemoration is the very next day, March 18? Why don't we get excited about poor Cyril? Why none of these questions about moving his day or singing the Gloria at Mass?

I'm asking a rhetorical question, obviously. The nexus between cultural/societal influence and realities regarding disciplines and observances of the Faith is what we're dealing with here. The question I'm asking is, are the bishops moving the observance of S Patrick's Day out of necessity for the good of the spiritual life of the Faithful or as a concession to the secular markets?

David makes a good point about the Gloria not being something that is just tossed in on the "wouldn't it be nice if..." principle. It belongs in the Mass of a parish's titular feast, regardless of rank, not because it makes the day more special but because of an objective norm: for that parish that day is a solemnity, and the Gloria is proper to a solemnity. It would not be proper in the next parish over.

I think there are a lot of factors, spiritual and secular, in the prominence of St. Patrick's Day in the public consciousness. Here in the US its popularity is due in large part to the huge numbers of Irish immigrants in the 19th century, whose descendants today cling to this aspect of their heritage, even those who have dropped the practice of their great-grandparents' Faith. As a general cultural phenomenon it seems much like St. Valentine's Day in that its secular observance is entirely divorced from its religious origin. My theory is that our bishops are simply being prudent in seeing that so vastly popular a feast, likely to be celebrated with or without the Church, at least remain visible on the Church's calendar.

Prof Mahrt, good to see you here again. As a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, I wholeheartedly agree. We always sponsored a votive Mass on the 17th (no green vestments). That did not preclude us from raising a glass in the saint's honor later that evening, but not too many.

Even though only a commemoration in the universal Roman calendar, St Patrick's day is a solemnity (and holy day of obligation) in Ireland. Presumably they have both Gloria and Creed there. I wonder if the desire to have the Gloria stems from making it like the old country?

On the larger question of Gloria on ferial days, what do people here generally do about weddings, typically on Saturdays? Do couples request the Gloria? Do you give it to them? What about the Creed?

I think the Gloria is generally omitted for the OF nuptial Mass. It's a votive Mass, correct? The couple shouldn't be asking for it. Even for votive Masses for saints, it's generally left out. The Gloria is a special hymn reserved for Sundays and important feasts, even in the OF.

Slainte,
Mike