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After he retired, my Uncle would go and stay for about three months every year. He became a “local” at a pub (he was very extraverted and could make a dog laugh). He told me that in Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is seen more as a religious holiday of sorts. The pubs even closed early. Made me laugh since a lot of people here celebrate very differently. None of my Irish relatives EVER ate corned beef and cabbage (cabbage yes but not corned beef). They always had lamb. I still make my grandmother’s lamb stew recipe( although I use beef) and her soda bread. I also adore hot tea like my relatives. I read somewhere that the Irish drink more tea per person than anywhere else. Not sure if it is true but my grandmother always had tea on.

St. Patrick's is certainly different in Ireland - Here in America, like everything else, it has become a sort of generalized folk holiday - and of course, commercialized. It is sad how low our society has sunk. Most of my immigrant ancestors were refugees from the Great Famine. On St. Patrick's Day, I think of them and the sacrifices that they made for the benefit of their descendants. And I think of the Romanized Briton who was carried away by pirates and became the Patriarch of Ireland. And I have a drink for the Irish Men and Women who fell in the cause of Irish Freedom. They accomplished far more than they ever dreamed of. Godspeed the cause of Liberty - Slán libh!

Lamh Foistenach Abu!