Happy St Patrick's Day.

St.Patrick’s Day is when all those of goodwill and fun-loving disposition are invited to be Irish for a day or perhaps find connection with the fact that Patrick is also the Patron Saint of Boston;  Engineers;  Ophidiophobes (those who fear snakes) and Nigeria. I’m not sure what St Patrick’s connection to Nigeria is, but I think it has to do with the fact that one of Guinness’s largest breweries is in Nigeria.

St. Patrick was not actually Irish.  He was a fifth century, French born, son of a Roman official. At age 16 he was captured in Britain by an Irish raiding party and sold into slavery to mind sheep on a lonely Irish mountainside.  He escaped after a few years, but the adolescent years spent with nothing but sheep for companionship had already taken its toll and he eventually became a clergyman.  He returned to Ireland years later to put manners on the wild Irish pagans and convert them to Christianity.  However, even after 1500 years, the suppressed fun-loving pagan spirit rises to the surface each year around March 17 to celebrate, or perhaps to defy, the holy man.

For those with a taste for ‘useless information’ here are a few snippets of  Irish – American connectivity.

Over 20 million Americans claim to be of Irish descent.  They outnumber those in Ireland by 5:1.  The zip codes with the highest percentage of Irish descent are South Boston, MA; Charlestown, MA; Milton, MA; Woodside NY and … of all places …. Butte, Montana. (Figures may be out of date)

Yes, Ireland is as green as they say. No, they don’t drink green beer on Paddy's Day.  Guinness, like Model -T Fords, only comes in black.  In the 50’s and 60’s, Guinness marketed their stout with the slogan ‘Guinness is Good for you’.  In the days before we had ‘organic’ or ‘lite’ they reinforced the health message by donating free Guinness to hospitals to administer to blood donors and women after childbirth to ‘build up the blood’.  It was a very successful strategy.

Dublin is nearly 800 miles North of Boston – about the same latitude as Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.  It rarely snows more than an inch and temperatures rarely drop more than a few degrees below freezing.  Palm trees grow along the seafront in Dublin and other places around the island. 

The Gaelic word for ‘fun’ is ‘craic’ – pronounced ‘crack’.  A common greeting is ‘How’s the craic?’ (Response: ‘Mighty’) More than a few innocent young Irish lads have been jumped on by U.S. immigration officials when they gave the purpose of their visit as ‘to have a bit of craic.’   It really has nothing to do with illicit drugs.

As I sit at home in voluntary isolation I thought we might all get a bit of a lift out of some of my pics from Ireland. They give me a lift anyway.

Slainte (Good Health!!)

Happy St Patrick's Day.

St.Patrick’s Day is when all those of goodwill and fun-loving disposition are invited to be Irish for a day or perhaps find connection with the fact that Patrick is also the Patron Saint of Boston;  Engineers;  Ophidiophobes (those who fear snakes) and Nigeria. I’m not sure what St Patrick’s connection to Nigeria is, but I think it has to do with the fact that one of Guinness’s largest breweries is in Nigeria.

St. Patrick was not actually Irish.  He was a fifth century, French born, son of a Roman official. At age 16 he was captured in Britain by an Irish raiding party and sold into slavery to mind sheep on a lonely Irish mountainside.  He escaped after a few years, but the adolescent years spent with nothing but sheep for companionship had already taken its toll and he eventually became a clergyman.  He returned to Ireland years later to put manners on the wild Irish pagans and convert them to Christianity.  However, even after 1500 years, the suppressed fun-loving pagan spirit rises to the surface each year around March 17 to celebrate, or perhaps to defy, the holy man.

For those with a taste for ‘useless information’ here are a few snippets of  Irish – American connectivity.

Over 20 million Americans claim to be of Irish descent.  They outnumber those in Ireland by 5:1.  The zip codes with the highest percentage of Irish descent are South Boston, MA; Charlestown, MA; Milton, MA; Woodside NY and … of all places …. Butte, Montana. (Figures may be out of date)

Yes, Ireland is as green as they say. No, they don’t drink green beer on Paddy's Day.  Guinness, like Model -T Fords, only comes in black.  In the 50’s and 60’s, Guinness marketed their stout with the slogan ‘Guinness is Good for you’.  In the days before we had ‘organic’ or ‘lite’ they reinforced the health message by donating free Guinness to hospitals to administer to blood donors and women after childbirth to ‘build up the blood’.  It was a very successful strategy.

Dublin is nearly 800 miles North of Boston – about the same latitude as Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.  It rarely snows more than an inch and temperatures rarely drop more than a few degrees below freezing.  Palm trees grow along the seafront in Dublin and other places around the island. 

The Gaelic word for ‘fun’ is ‘craic’ – pronounced ‘crack’.  A common greeting is ‘How’s the craic?’ (Response: ‘Mighty’) More than a few innocent young Irish lads have been jumped on by U.S. immigration officials when they gave the purpose of their visit as ‘to have a bit of craic.’   It really has nothing to do with illicit drugs.

As I sit at home in voluntary isolation I thought we might all get a bit of a lift out of some of my pics from Ireland. They give me a lift anyway.

Slainte (Good Health!!)