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<\/a>Are you sober yet?\u00a0 If you’re like millions of Americans you celebrated St. Patrick’s Day<\/strong> last Friday by consuming some spirits in honor of the occasion.\u00a0 Some of us are genuinely of Irish extraction but\u00a0on St. Patrick’s Day everyone is Irish.\u00a0<\/strong> Simply donning a green hat or sporting\u00a0shamrock underwear gives the wearer some implicit permission to get toilet-hugging drunk.\u00a0 There actually are<\/em> a\u00a0lot of Americans with Irish bloodlines – 37 million to be exact.\u00a0 That’s 12% of the population, ranking just behind Germany<\/strong> in most frequently reported ancestry.\u00a0 Heck, we have\u00a0eight times the number of Irish than\u00a0Ireland itself!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Which is probably as good an explanation as any as to why the holiday is so much more popular here than in Ireland.\u00a0 Twenty years ago my husband’s cousin from Scotland came to San Francisco on business and we met him for dinner near our workplaces.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the only night he had available was St. Patrick’s Day and to further the problem, we worked right around the corner from Harrington’s Bar and Grill<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u00a0We met at a nearby restaurant\u00a0that required\u00a0our cousin to walk\u00a0from his hotel right by Harrington’s front door.\u00a0 Or as close to the front door as he could get.\u00a0 There are a lot of Irish in San Francisco and they seemingly all gather at Harrington’s each year to celebrate the patron saint.\u00a0 When he finally navigated his way to the restaurant he was wild-eyed and I think just the tiniest bit shell-shocked<\/strong>.\u00a0 He stammered, “What is with you Americans and St. Patrick’s Day?”\u00a0 Well, it turns out, we practically invented the holiday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Suzanne Sparrow Watson Are you sober yet?\u00a0 If you’re like millions of Americans you celebrated St. Patrick’s Day last Friday by consuming some spirits in honor of the occasion.\u00a0 Some of us are genuinely of Irish extraction but\u00a0on St. … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/st-patricks-day-300x168.jpg\")
<\/a>Since around the ninth or 10th century, people in Ireland have been observing the Roman Catholic feast of St. Patrick<\/strong> on March 17.\u00a0 But the first parade held in honor of St. Patrick’s Day took place in the United States.\u00a0 On March 17, 1762, Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City.\u00a0 The parade, along with their native music, helped the soldiers reconnect with their Irish roots<\/strong> and fellow countrymen.\u00a0 Over the next three decades numerous groups formed to celebrate Irish heritage, each sponsoring a parade on St. Patrick’s Day.\u00a0 By the mid-1800s the groups combined forces into what is now known as the New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade<\/strong>, the largest in the country and the oldest civilian-sponsored parade in the world.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Pubs-3-300x285.jpg\")
<\/a>Of course, all that marching is exhausting so finding a good pub to quench one’s thirst became part of the day’s tradition.\u00a0 Some people take pride in finding good Irish pubs<\/strong> wherever they go, regardless of the time of year.\u00a0 In fact, although I won’t mention names, someone I’m related to that also writes for this blog fashions himself a connoisseur of Irish drinking establishments.\u00a0 He is the only person I know who could trek all the way to Machu<\/strong> Picchu<\/strong> and find an authentic Irish pub in which to have a Guinness.\u00a0 But he is far from alone.\u00a0 What is this obsession so many have with the Irish?\u00a0 I’ve read more than one article claiming the Irish are the most beloved<\/strong> ethnic group<\/strong> in the world.\u00a0 Of course, part of that affection is tied to the “happy drunk” reputation, but in fact it goes further than that.\u00a0 The Irish are deemed to be some of the most sentimental souls on Earth.\u00a0 One need only read the famous Irish poets to understand the truth of that.\u00a0 The Irish are also known world-wide for their sense of humor and dry wit.\u00a0<\/strong> Oscar Wilde, the noted Irish writer, filled our world with his bon mots.\u00a0 One of my favorites is:\u00a0 “It is absurd to divide people into good and bad.\u00a0 People are either charming or tedious”. George Carlin was perhaps one of the funniest comedians ever with his wry observations of everyday life and Melissa McCarthy is a talented\u00a0entertainer (come on, that bathroom scene in Bridesmaids<\/em> is a classic!).\u00a0 The Irish also have the ability to write lyrically and capture an audience, despite sometimes playing fast and loose with the facts.\u00a0 One of my favorite sayings, told to me by an Irish friend who was wound-up in the middle of a fantastical yarn, is “never let the truth get in the way of a good story”.<\/strong>\u00a0 My brother and I have at times adopted that as our motto.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/1-luck-o-the-irish-1-300x291.jpg\")
<\/a>There’s also the famous saying “Luck of the Irish”,<\/strong> although I have discovered that the phrase started as a derisive jab at the Irish immigrants who came to America in the late 1800’s.\u00a0 It originated in the gold and silver mines to describe the Irish\u00a0who found their “pot of gold”<\/strong> and became rich and successful.\u00a0\u00a0The Irish\u00a0were never given full credit for their accomplishments.\u00a0 Instead it was widely believed that the “Irish fools” had\u00a0gained fortune\u00a0only by sheer luck<\/strong>, as opposed to brains and hard work.\u00a0 Our only full-blooded Irish ancestor, Julia Stack Billiou, came to America during this period but as you might recall from my last post, she was not lucky in any sense of the word, having been shot by her Chinese cook.\u00a0 Nevertheless, her immigration gives our family claim to Irish<\/strong> heritage<\/strong> and provides cover for our love of good writing, a stout beer, and a strong Irish Coffee.\u00a0 I call that lucky indeed!<\/p>\n