I am one Irish person that gets annoyed with the "everyone is Irish on 3/17" crap.

[KitchenWitch]

In fact I really have a difficult time celebrating the man who pretty much co-opted pagan traditions in Ireland to further his evangelical agenda.

[BeachBaby]

1. Oooooohhhhh....

:popcorn:

[geardaddy]

3. Can I have some?

:D

[BeachBaby]

Here.

Have a seat. :popcorn:

[geardaddy]

7. Thanks!

Mmmm...buttery....

[TZ]

2. .

:popcorn:
PSST BB--great minds and all that..Pass me some..

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

4. I get pissed about it, too

It's not as annoying as people posting "O'Bama," though.

The St. Patrick's thing doesn't really bother me much, though. Irish Catholics still usually believe in some pagan stuff anyway.

[KitchenWitch]

5. yeah, that O'bama thing is annoying.

[LostinVA]

68. That drove me crazy

[SoxFan]

86. You really need to find more important things to rile you up

I am a card-carrying member of the Hibernians, with 100% Irish ancestry, and I loved the O'Bama thing. I literally bought the t-shirt the day the NH headquarters opened for business in early 2007.

It was a way to have a little bit of fun and express our pride in our heritage and our candidate at the same time.

Also, you need to remember that the "O'Bama" thing started with the campaign itself, which produced shirts for the 2007 St. Patrick's parade in Chicago.

[KitchenWitch]

88. Good for you.

I reserve the right to have a different opinion about it, however.

[SteppingRazor]

6. I don't know if I'm annoyed so much as mildly bemused.

I can't get too annoyed at all the hoopla, as I love Irish folk and, especially, Irish folk-rock (on that note, I just saw the Pogues last weekend and wooooo! was that awesome.) Come St. Patrick's Day, I'm down at the Irish pub right along with the rest of them. But, hey, being Irish American, with roots still pretty close to the auld sod (my dad was the first generation born in the States), I suppose it's expected of me.

On edit: Sorry, was supposed to be responding to the OP. :blush:

[cherish44]

111. I thought it was because Obama is in fact Irish on his mom's side

Don't know for sure. I'm not offended by O'Bama, I think it's kind of cute.

[foxfeet]

8. I'm with you.

I usually declined to wear green on St. Paddy's day and if somebody called me on it, I'd say, "Why would I want to celebrate a man who destroyed the native culture and left the people in thralldom to the Whore of Rome?" That usually would shut 'em up.

[BeachBaby]

9. Wow!

Can't say I've ever heard an Irishman speak up like that.

I never wear green on 3/17 - at least, not intentionally. I wear what I wear, without giving it a second thought. So, I get a bit aggravated when people randomly walk up to me in disbelief, saying "Where's your green?"

I honestly just don't get it. It would be like me walking up to a Jewish friend and asking them where their Christmas tree is.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

11. As long as you don't wear orange

[BeachBaby]

19. Can you explain the orange thing to me?

[KitchenWitch]

20. The orangemen are the terrorists that persecute Irish Catholics in northern Ireland.

They are really terrible.

[BeachBaby]

23. But orange is in the Irish flag, yes?

[KitchenWitch]

24. yes, there is orange in the Irish flag

Not sure what the history of the flag is...

Suffice to say the orangemen (I refuse to capitalize the o), are bad bad bad. I knew a family who had a Catholic exchange student from northern Ireland one year, the stories that kid would tell about having to duck gunshots on the way to school, just because he was Catholic.

[Lost in CT]

51. The orange is for the orange men the white repersents friendship and

peace between and the green repersents the catholics... so the flag says peace and brotherhood between the orange and the catholic.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

25. Yes, but I think the green, white and orange together are supposed to represent unity

I fly the flag of the four provinces, which includes Ulster (Northern Ireland). I hope that one day it will be a unified Republic.

[Lost in CT]

53. That is correct. nt

[LostinVA]

70. The orange is for that fucking bastard William of Orange

From Henry VIII to Cromwell to Thatcher to NOW.

Peace and a United Ireland!

[mitchtv]

37. they got the orange from William of Orange

the flag is considered Green , White, and Gold

[geardaddy]

47. Who was Dutch.

Hence the Orange, it's the national color of the Netherlands.

[timtom]

101. This one is my favorite

[Lost in CT]

52. The orange live in both the north and the south... they are more populous in the north.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

22. In Northern Ireland, the douchebags keeping down the Catholics were Orangemen

They called themselves that.

Basically, it's the equivalent of wearing klan gear to the Million Man March.

[TZ]

17. My mom keeps it in the family room

But it's really a Hanukkah bush....:hide:

[Sequoia]

62. Or they pinch you.

I'm part Irish but I don't wear green either. This guy at work always dresses like a fool on that day with glittery floppy shamrocks stuck to a plastic hat. Get away from me.

[arcadian]

10. The Irish alcoholic thing really pisses me off.

There are other countries that are known for their drinkers.

[BeachBaby]

27. I can only speak for my region - Philly and Philly metro.....

but every Irish person I know, is a serious drinker.

Granted, I know alot of people who drink frequently, but they're not an ethnic, across-the-board stereotype. Out of all the Italians I know, maybe 10% are heavy drinkers. Germans - maybe 25%. Irish? 100%.

YMMV.

[mitchtv]

36. The Russians could give is some competition

in the booze dept

[tigereye]

38. actually, until recently the rate of alcoholism in Ireland was no higher than

most places, from what I read.

[Rabrrrrrr]

12. It implies that we're all unbathed, ignorant coal-filthy potato-eating red-haired whisky-swilling

dirt-poor constantly-fist-fighting superstitious morons, and I find that offensive, too.

I'm with ya!!

:hide:

[KitchenWitch]

14. And that is why I love you so much!

:hi:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

16. Yeah seriously, I have blackish hair

[Pacifist Patriot]

28. Exactly! I, for one, do not eat potatoes.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

31. I thought you were a Scot

In which case, I could understand why you'd want to be Irish.

:hide:

[Pacifist Patriot]

33. Get thee hence you heathen!

If you want to know the god's honest boring as hell truth. I am....

Scottish
Irish
English
German
French
Cherokee

and who knows what else in absolutely no particular order. i.e. About as "American" as it comes. Both sides of my family tree arrived on these shores so long ago they could lie with impunity about their roots.

I'd actually be very interested in doing the Genographic Project. I'll probably find out that's all bunk and I'm actually Dutch, Romanian, Turkish and Thai.

[tigereye]

42. I just found out recently that my mother's Irish ancestors went to Scotland

in the 12 century, built a castle, and then came back to Donegal. And that we actually have a kilt named after us. I thought that was kind of cool, actually.



I wonder if they fled since they were mercenaries - that's what I always hear.



On edit, as someone who only more recently became a lot more interested in my Irish heritage, a lot of the folks at the Irish Centre I belong to, love to wear pretty much anything that is green, and love the parade. No green beer, though, that's kind of an outrage, when there is so much great Irish stout to drink!

:beer:

[Vanje]

98. Why do you hate......

......Idaho?

[Oeditpus Rex]

45. I thought that was Welshmen

Anyway, you don't know the difference between the Battle of Borodino and a tiger's bum. :P

[geardaddy]

49. Cau dy geg!

twll dy din di, wancar.

Twll din bob Sais!

:D

[Rabrrrrrr]

69. Typical bleeding Rhondda, isn't it. You think you're so bloody clever.

[Oeditpus Rex]

79. Your mind's gone, Jenkins. You're rubbish.

[elshiva]

80. .....

[Dogmudgeon]

93. Eve Myles loves Cystic Fibrosis?

:shrug:

I'm seriously out of the loop here. And I'm Irish-American.

--d!
Magically Delicious ... but *I* like it, too.

[Blue_Tires]

81. But WHO Welshes the Welshmen?

[geardaddy]

87. Watch it boyo.

;)

[Midlodemocrat]

73. We're not? Shit. Have to rethink my entire life.

[XemaSab]

74. Why don't you go beat the crap out of the people you feel are promoting that stereotype?

:popcorn:

[Rabrrrrrr]

77. Because I'm not Irish. I don't fight individuals. I'm German - I take out my issues on nations.

:eyes:

Morans.

[Vanje]

102. Swedes. We dont fight. We take out our issues on our food.

We boil it until it surrenders.

[MorningGlow]

13. The hoopla is puzzling

It's just so...much.
:rofl:

Anyway, it seems it's morphed into more of a celebration of the culture instead of something to honor that Patrick guy (drove the "snakes" out of Ireland--this pagan says HUMPH!)--you know, what with the fake Irish brogues and green beer and all.

I'm 100% Italian, so I don't feel I have a right to pretend I'm Irish even for one day. But when I was in college an Irish-American friend declared me Irish and put a "Mc" in front of my Italian last name for the whole day. I thought that was pretty funny.

[Vanje]

103. We pretend the Irish eat corned beef and cabbage

instead of mutton and kale

[no name no slogan]

15. I'm not a fan of the American holiday of St Patricks Day

In Ireland, it's much more reverential and holy-- at least, it used to be until the marketing people got hold of it. The American version is just vulgar and disgusting (green beer? WTF?)

[geardaddy]

26. I think it's the rise of places created by

The Irish Pub Company http://www.irishpubcompany.com/, or places like O'Neill's http://www.tisoneills.com/

[av8rdave]

18. I wanna be Irish on 3/17...

Not because of the pagan thing....I just like Ireland, the people and the pubs!!!

[KitchenWitch]

21. Someday I would love to visit Ireland

:D

[Pacifist Patriot]

34. It's on my list of places to go. Closest I've been to Ireland is Shropshire...

though I think I saw the coast out of an airplane once.

[Sanity Claws]

29. Are you forgetting that St. Patrick was taken as a slave to Ireland?

Also, he didn't impose Christianity by the sword. The Irish accepted his teachings.
Finally, some Irish myths were incorporated in the Christianity embraced by the Irish. For example, Brigid became St. Brigid.

[KitchenWitch]

32. Does not take away the fact that entire traditions were either co-opted

diluted or completely done away with due to St Patrick's Christian agenda.

[Sanity Claws]

39. You want to deny the right of a people to change

The Irish accepted Christianity; it was not imposed on them. If the Irish chose Christianity, who are you to complain about the change done to prior traditions. The traditions are theirs, not yours.
Also, what do you mean by "Christian agenda?" St. Patrick proselytized a certain set of religious beliefs. Do you think that he did something else?

[KitchenWitch]

56. He twisted their traditions to make his point

Yes I think that is fucked up and arrogant.

[Sanity Claws]

58. Why are you taking this so to heart?

I have genuinely never heard anyone call St. Patrick or what he did "fucked up and arrogant." He was a person with genuine faith and wished to share it. He did not impose it on anyone. The Irish accepted it. How can you find anything wrong with a culture making a choice to change?
In effect, you are claiming that the Irish were fools and allowed their traditions to be twisted to suit another person's point. I don't agree with your take on history. Cultures are not static; they can change. The Irish culture changed when it willingly accepted Christianity.
If religion was imposed on a people through war or punishment, I would feel very differently.

[KitchenWitch]

59. I, too, have a genuine faith, but do not feel the need to impose my beliefs upon others

People's relationship and or lack of relationship with a greater being is really not any of anyone else's business, and yes, it is arrogant to believe otherwise.

[Sanity Claws]

60. I guess we disagree about St. Patrick

One thing to remember that the Irish brought St. Patrick to Ireland as a slave. If that had never happened, he would never have learned Irish and later gone to Ireland to proselytize. Kind of an interesting karmic tie. The Irish enslaved him. He then led the Irish into a figurative enslavement to Catholicism.

[Vanje]

104. Be fucking glad St Patrick wasnt a Mormon. nt

[mitchtv]

41. The nuns taught me that St Brendan the Navigator

discovered America well before Leif Eriksson, in leather boats

[geardaddy]

48. And there's also a story of Prince Madog of Gwynedd (Wales)

arriving in Alabama in 1170.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madoc

They haven't verified it with any real archaelogical evidence though.

[SoxFan]

84. Well, if I landed in Alabama, I wouldn't stick around, either

[LostinVA]

71. Irish monks were probably the first Europeans here

Read Tony Horwitz's newest bookm"A Voyage Long and Strange." He talks about this in the first part of the book.

[geardaddy]

43. But he returned to Britain and became a monk, then

returned to Ireland to proselytize.

[Sanity Claws]

44. St. Partick returned by choice

While a slave in Ireland, he learned the Irish language and learned to love the Irish. When he returned, it was not with weapons to impose anything on the Irish. He proselytized with his faith and teachings.

[geardaddy]

46. I know.

[Pacifist Patriot]

30. I wouldn't mind it so much if it was just called the...

Dress In Green and Act Like an Idiot Day with no association to any country or saint. Somehow I suspect the people who really get into these types of holidays wouldn't be able to tell a difference anyway.

[Wapsie B]

35. I never could get into the green beer thing either.

Even if it was just food coloring, that's just wrong.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

40. You are on

a high horse aren't you?

:rofl:

St. Patrick robbed the pagans. Tis true. Using the clover to explain the trinity. :eyes:

We always go to the St. Patrick's day parade here and my kids love it.

[Mudoria]

50. I enjoy St. Patrick's Day but I'm not Irish

I'm quite proud of my Anglo-Saxon heritage though.

[Withywindle]

54. There are better days to celebrate Irishness, IMO.

Like February 1 (St Brigid's Day/Feast of Brigid/Imbolc) or June 16 (Bloomsday).


But I go to the parade and I wear green. I just make sure to wear all my snake jewelry (and I have a lot of it) as well.

[KitchenWitch]

55. HAH! Love it.

[mwooldri]

57. I'm English. Enough said. nt

[SoxFan]

85. Nice post, Cromwell

[Vanje]

106. !!!!

funniest DU post in months!

[LostinVA]

61. I don't want everyone to be Irish, dammit

It's an exclusive club!

St. Patrick was a Freeper Troll.

[LeftyMom]

63. I'm just pissed at all the drunken rookies crowding the bars on my birthday.

[last_texas_dem]

64. I'm pretty sure the bulk of non-Irish celebrants are just using it

as another excuse to get drunk. They probably have given next to no thought about the implications of what they're actually celebrating. Kind of like where I come from where many non-Catholics celebrate Mardi Gras (but not Lent, of course). I've always wondered if the Catholics were bothered by all of the non-Catholics mooching off of their holiday, but I've never heard any of them get too vocal about it.

[redqueen]

65. What strikes me as odd is that it's bigger here than in Ireland.

Says something, that does.

[XemaSab]

75. Here's what it says:

There are 36 million people in the US claiming Irish heritage.

There are 4 million people in Ireland.

:P

[BeachBaby]

83. 36 million? That's it?

I think that 30 million of them must be right here in the northeast. :P

[trof]

66. Erin go braless. Green beer. Corned beef and cabbage.

It's the American Way!
And EVERYTHING American is GOOD!
You could look it up.
;-)

[nickinSTL]

67. heh. I've always thought it was a little...weird, myself

I'm only very slightly Irish...go back far enough...and I don't really have any interest in the whole St.Patrick's thing...though I really like potatoes and cabbage :D

Not thrilled with celebrating "saints" in general, I have to say.

[Pharlo]

72. You've got to remember,

some of us were born fortunate enough to have been born of Irish descent. Saint Patrick's Day is for those who WISH they were of Irish descent.

[LostinVA]

76. I am sooooooo stealing that from you!!!

[struggle4progress]

78. irish you american isthmus

irish you american isthmus
irish you american isthmus
anna
hippy
nude deer

:toast:

[SoxFan]

82. This sounds like a GD post

[KitchenWitch]

90. No, this is a lounge post

I posted it in the Lounge, therefore it is a lounge post. Sorry it does not live up to your fluffy bunny standards.

[Drunken Irishman]

95. I want a bunny.

[REP]

89. I pull out my "Fuck Off, I'm Welsh" button 3/17

I'm with you about the fictional Padraic, too.

[crimsonblue]

91. I hate St Patty's day.

Why doesn't anybody celebrate St. George's day? Iuck the Frish.

[soleiri]

92. I'm 1/4 Irish

I hope that's enough.

If not I'll just wait until May 5th and get rejected by my Mexican half, too.
~waa waa waaaaaaaa~

:-(

[Drunken Irishman]

94. I'm gonna get drunk.

[coyotespaw]

96. I get to run karaoke this Tuesday...

and when the twits get on my nerves, I'll just revel in the fact that the next morning their "Irish" will run out. They'll wake up in a puddle of what used to be green beer.

[HughBeaumont]

97. I have a hard time celebrating a holiday that's been co-opted . . .

by every fake-tanned, green-popped collared, devil-horned throwing, tongue-wagging, frosty-haired fratboy douchebag and the women that worship them in existence, who use it merely as an excuse to get shitfaced drunk and be as giant of a dick as humanly possible.

See also: Cinco De Mayo.

[Vanje]

99. I will not forgive St. Patrick...

....until returns the snakes.
Every last one of them.

[Vanje]

100. Lets celebrate St Brigids day, instead

She's the real deal

[KitchenWitch]

110. I am up for that!

:hi:

[Rising Phoenix]

105. same here sweetie

I am irish through and through.....all four grandparents coming from county cork......god I hope there is no inbreeding there.....lol

Happy St. Paddys day

we are having our boiled dinner tomorrw, with baileys, beer, and whiskey of course!

[Mari333]

107. boy i hear that

when I was in Ireland I went to Tara a lot, and someone showed me the hill that Patrick was on down the road where he lit the fires to warn the pagans to get out..so I went to Patricks hill and there was a statue on there of him and I told him to fuck off.
(yes I am weird)'
besides that, Patrick was a Brit!

[Iggo]

108. People still celebrate St Patrick''s Day?

I thought it was just the white man's Cinco De Mayo...that is, just another excuse to drink yourself stupid.

(I spel gud)

[Lil Missy]

109. They do here. The bars open at 7:00 am, and all the amateurs are drunk by noon.

I won't leave the house.