Fifteen years of New York St. Paddy’s days made me pretty cynical about this holiday. Lord knows how the City functioned on the 17th and then the day after. Many of the City’s finest could be spotted boisterously enjoying the holiday and bemoaning the after affects. There was an incredible amount of partying going on. It’s been celebrated in the states with parades and drinking since the late 1800s. Wow, who knew I was so bitter! And this was before I realized who Pádraig was throwing out of Ireland. And it seems that the shamrock was popularized as a method of explaining the Holy Trinity. (Ah… google… and check out google’s irish dancers in honor of the holiday)

In the mid 1990s, the Irish took the opportunity to create an international holiday celebrating Irish Culture… It’s now a 5 day celebration of music, dance, theater in Ireland. Éirinn go Brách … Ireland Forever. Enjoy your corned beef… and don’t drink any green beer!