Did You Know…?! 17 Facts About St. Patrick’s Day and The Irish
By Krista Roman
Test your knowledge of the Emerald Isle and her festive traditions with this golden round of trivial pursuit.
Erin go Bragh!
1. St. Patrick was actually British and hailed from Roman Britain. March 17th was not the luminary’s birthday but rather the date he died in Ireland during 461 AD.
2. Sláinte! (pronounced slahn-cha) is a Gaelic toast made in Ireland which translates to “Good health!” or “Cheers!”
Additionally, Céad Mile Fáilte (kade me-la fall-cha) is an Irish phrase that means “a hundred thousand welcomes.”
3. Each year, millions of Americans celebrate their Irish ancestry at St. Patrick’s Day parades. Some of the oldest and largest parades are held in cities such as New York (since 1762), Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Savannah, Georgia.
4. Croagh Patrick in County Mayo, Ireland, is a holy mountain named in honor of Ireland’s patron saint. It was on this towering rock that St. Patrick spent 40 days fasting during Lent. The climb is an important site of pilgrimage for the Irish.
5. The Chicago River in the Windy City has been dyed green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day since the early 1960s. The vibrant tradition was started by the Chicago Plumbers’ Union as a symbol of the city’s Irish pride.
6. The book entitled “A History of Irish Fairies” dictates that there is no evidence of female leprechauns— ever. Legend states that the enchanted beings are exclusively male. No explanation is given about their power to procreate, but some believe the mischievous creatures are the unwanted offspring of fairies.
7. Blue was the original color associated with St. Patrick’s Day; it was later changed to honor the verdant green hue associated with Ireland’s nickname, “The Emerald Isle.”
8. Nearly half of the dignitaries who have served as president of the United States can trace their ancestry back to Ireland. In 1829, Andrew Jackson became the first Irish American president in the White House, while John F. Kennedy is arguably the most well-known son of Ireland. President Ronald Reagan reportedly loved celebrating St. Patrick’s Day particularly during his tenure in office.
9. St. Patrick used the three-leaved shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) to Pagans in Ireland. As the popularity of the Irish holiday grew and it became more celebrated in the 1700s, people began to wear the shamrock as a symbol of Ireland.
10. Despite its relatively small size (about the same as the state of Utah), Ireland is synonymous with the arts, having produced countless creative writers and talented musicians. Some of the most successful bands to come out of the country are U2, The Cranberries, The Corrs, The Pogues, Snow Patrol and Thin Lizzy. Notable Irish authors include Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, C.S. Lewis, James Joyce, Edna O’Brien, and George Bernard Shaw.
11. Gaelic Football is a popular sport in Ireland which is a cross between rugby, soccer, and hurling. The high-intensity game involves 15 players on each team with the objective being to score by driving the ball through or over the goals.
12. Up until the 1970s, pubs in Ireland were closed on St. Patrick’s Day, making it a dry holiday. Before this time, it was strictly a religious observation met with solemn prayer and quiet reflection. Today, Ireland welcomes green-clad tourists from all over the world with celebratory parades and fun events to mark the festive occasion.
13. The Great Famine, or the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of mass starvation and disease that lasted in Ireland from 1845 to 1852. The crop failure which was caused by blight, resulted in one million casualties. This crisis caused a population collapse of some 25% due to death and emigration (with some towns losing as much as 67% of their populace), and a permanent shift in the country’s political and cultural landscape.
14. Many people today will avoid calling the Irish slaves what they truly were: Slaves. They’ll come up with terms like “Indentured Servants” to describe the atrocities of what occurred to the Irish. However, in most cases from the 17th and 18th centuries, Irish slaves were treated as human cattle for English merchants. You can read more about it in this syndicated article, “England’s Irish Slaves” by Robert E. West.
15. Corned Beef and Cabbage, which is a St. Patrick’s Day staple for many Irish Americans, doesn’t have anything to do with the grain corn. Instead, it’s a nod to the large grains of salt that were historically used to cure meats, which were also known as “corns.”
16. Green beer is an American custom that began in the Bronx. In 1914, Dr. Thomas Curtin, an eye surgeon and coroner’s physician, was the first to color beer green for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration at a New York social club noted for its Democratic Party members. Today, the exact amount of green beer consumed on the holiday is unknown but beer sales increase 174% on St. Patrick’s Day compared to the rest of the year.
17. Four-leaf clovers, a symbol of good luck, are extremely rare, with an estimated one in 10,000 clover plants containing four leaves. Children in the Middle Ages believed that four-leaf clovers would help them see fairies, while the Druids, or Celtic priests, had faith that four-leaf clovers protected them from misfortune.