céad míle fáilte

céad míle fáilte

It was emigrants to the United States who transformed St. Patrick’s Day into a secular holiday of revelry and celebration of all things Irish. Cities with large numbers of Irish immigrants, who often wielded political power, staged the most extensive celebrations, which included elaborate parades. Boston held its first St. Patrick’s Day parade in 1737 and since 1962 Chicago has colored its river green to mark the holiday. Blue was the color traditionally associated with St. Patrick. Corned beef and cabbage are associated with the holiday, and beer is dyed green to celebrate the day. Some of these practices were adopted by the Irish in Ireland, but they did so largely for the benefit of tourists.

‘I had an accident opening a can of alphabet spaghetti this morning,’ said Murphy. ‘Were you injured?’ inquired Seamus. ‘No, but it could have spelled disaster,’ concluded Murphy.

Two Irishmen met and one said to the other, “Have ye been seeing Mulligan lately, Pat?” Pat said, “Well, I have and I haven’t.” His friend asked, “well what d’ye mean by that?” Pat said, “It’s like this, y’see…I saw a chap who I thought was Mulligan, and he saw a chap that he thought was me. And when we got up to one another…it was neither of us.”

The legend of St. Patrick is that he drove all the snakes out of Ireland into law school.

Drink green beer on St. Patrick’s Day! It counts as a vegetable!

Why can’t you borrow money from a leprechaun? Because they’re always a little short.

What happens if you cross poison ivy with a four-leaf clover?
You get a rash of good luck!