please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image St Patrick's Day 2015: Who was Saint Patrick and how did his day go global? please log in to view this image Today’s Google Doodle celebrates St Patrick’s Day. But aside from drinking a lot of stout, wearing green and having a party what is the feast day of Ireland’s patron saint really about? Who was Saint Patrick? The patron saint of Ireland brought Christianity to Ireland. He is believed to have died on 17 March sometime in the 5 century (some scholars place his death in AD 461) but the modern origin of the festival now celebrated globally stems from the 17 century. It was designated a religious feast day after the Vatican officially recognised the date in 1631. Where is it celebrated? It is an official public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. However, as anyone who likes a drink will know, St Patrick’s Day is celebrated far more widely. Galicia, a small region in Spain, has some interesting links to Ireland. There is a body of historical evidence that indicates Ireland was by the Gaels, from the Iberian Peninsula. There’s also an unusual link with Nigeria, to which St Patrick is also the patron saint of (he shares the title with the Virgin Mary). Home to 20 million Roman Catholics, St Patrick (and celebrations around him) landed along with the Catholic missionaries in the early 20 Century and has stayed ever since. How is it celebrated? Frequently by drinking far too much of the black stuff, often referred to as Guinness. According to Diageo, the global drinks firm that owns and distributes the inky drink, more than 13 million pints are consumed world-wide every St Patrick’s Day. That’s a lot of stout. When did it become the all-singing, all-drinking party? Not until fairly recently. It wasn’t even an Irish public holiday until 1904, although the Irish elites did celebrate in the latter half of the 19 century with an annual ball held in Dublin castle – but for most ordinary folk it remained a quiet day. Until the mid-1960s many pubs remained closed on 17 March. The holiday – as we know it today – stems in great part from the United States, rather than the emerald isle. Is St Patrick’s Day is actually an American holiday? Not exactly, but they can be credited with turning it into the party we know it as today. The Charitable Irish Society of Boston organised the first US celebration of St Patricks in 1737 with a small (elite) dinner to celebrate the Irish saint. The concept of a parade was started in 1766 when Irish Catholic members of the British Army were permitted to march the streets of New York. As increasing numbers of Irish migrants arrived on American shores, and were frequently characterised as dirty, diseased or drunken, the celebration became a chance for the migrant communities to showcase their national pride and praise both the spirit of their homeland and their new home. By the mid-20 century, manufacturers realised the potential of the holiday and turned it into big business. Nowadays anyone with even the vaguest claim to Irish ancestry (approximately 34 million Americans) takes to the streets for parades, parties and pub crawls. St Patrick's Day 2015: From London to Uganda - the 10 best Irish pubs outside Ireland please log in to view this image List stretches from UK to Uganda and includes establishments in Canada and Australia An Irish newspaper has named the top 10 Irish pubs outside Ireland. Part of the Irish Times Generation Emigration project, the national newspaper asked Irish readers from around the world to send in a “love letter” about their favourite Irish pub overseas in February. The paper claims that they had received over 1,500 entries from 41 countries, including traditional Irish emigrants such as the US or UK as well as Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain; and Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Gulf states. The top ten list stretches from Kuala Lumpur to Canada, from Peru to Australia. The list also includes one London entry (in Hackey) and a Uganda pub named Bubbles O’Leary. Top 10 Irish pubs outside Ireland please log in to view this image Many of the establishments featured in the list have unusual or notable histories. The Bubbles was – apparently – dismantled by builders in Drogheda, a town 56km north of Dublin, and transported thousands of miles to Kampala in Uganda where it was painstakingly reassembled by the same builders. The St Orleans pub, Finn McCools (named after an Irish legend) was wrecked by Hurricane Catrina. Rebuilt with the help of local residents and donations, the pub has become a hub for the local community as it continues rebuilding. In the coming weeks the newspaper promises that its researchers will visit each of those shortlisted before the panel, made up of John Byrne, chief executive of the Irish Pubs Global Federation; Ciara Kenny, curator of the Irish Times Generation Emigration website; and Liam Reid, director of corporate affairs at Diageo Ireland, decide on a winner. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...best-irish-pubs-outside-ireland-10110231.html
He was invited back on here whilst in my lone role as moderator amnesty. He didn't take me up on the offer though, but others have. ( It didn't go well. ) Anything to distract us from QPR at the moment. I was going to propose a new Ranger's movie. Nothing along the lines of 'The Four Year Plan' or the 'Story Of QPR' though. More like 'Carry On Up The Ranger's.' Sid James - Harry Redknapp Bernard Bresslaw - Tony Fernandes Charles Hawtrey - Philip Beard Kenneth Williams - Armand Traore Harriet Jacques - Adel Taarabt etc
Well done 999's. You must have put so much time into that. Fair play to you. Here's to a great day for everybody.
Happy St Patrick's day to all Nigerians out there too....for StPaddy is also the patron saint of Nigeria. Yup I wrote a St Patrick's day quiz for last Saturday...it was the reason I didn't go to the Parlce match...Thank you St Paddy!
That's a mad one. I went onto Youtube after reading that only to find black folk with Irish accents It looks poor out there but they have a bit of craic all the same!
This is another one like Halloween, that seems to have exploded over the last few years. Great if people have some fun. Just walked the dog past the St Patrick's Irish Centre (essentially a bar, what else could it be?) in Leamington, and it's rocking. At noon.
Born and bred in County Kilburn so know what it means to our Oirish brothers - the very best St.Patrick's Day.
Here's an interesting factoid for Paddy's Day I found out recently - the word "craic/crack" is a traditional Northern English dialect that only made its way to Ireland in the 50s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craic Maybe the Mackems on here always knew that, but it was news to me.
A collection of folk songs from Cumberland published in 1865 refers to villagers "enjoying their crack" Are you sure that means what we think it means Tooting?
Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone. Celebration of St Patrick's Day in Toronto please log in to view this image Note the lack of snow in Toronto compared to Atlantic Canada where we experienced our traditional St. Patrick's Day storm bringing another 30 cm of snow:- please log in to view this image
5pm here now so I'm ringing the bell and heading to the 'Irish Harp' in downtown West Bay Doha for a Guinness or three and I claim to have zero Irish blood in me
I saw a piece on RTE news last night about a school in Tyrrelstown. Only 8% of the kids were Irish. 92% were of foreign descent from 33 different countries. Shows the country is changing big time. For the better imo.
