Ireland / Éire

• The name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland.

• The island of Ireland extends over 84,421 km2, of which 83% (approx. five-sixths) belong to the Irish state (70,280 km2/27), while the remainder constitute Northern Ireland.

• The total population of Ireland on Census Day, 23 April 2006, was 4,234,925

• The official languages are Irish and English.

http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/videos#ireland-deconstructed

Saint Patrick was a gentleman (Trad.)

Saint Patrick was a gentleman, he came from decent people,In Dublin town he built a church and on it put a steeple

His father was a Callahan, his mother was a Grady,His aunt was O'Shaughnessy and uncle he was Brady

Chorus :Success to bold Saint Patrick's fist,

He was a Saint so clever,He gave the snakes an awful twist

And banished them forever

There's not a smile in Ireland's isle where the dirty vermin mustersWhere’er he put his dear forefoot he murder’d them in clusters

The toads went hop, the frogs went plop, slap dash into the waterAnd the beasts committed suicide to save themselves from slaughter

Nine hundred thousand vipers blue he charm’d with sweet discoursesAnd dined on them at Killaloo an’ in the second courses

When blind worms crawling on the grass disgusted all the nationHe gave them a rise and open’d their eyes to a sense of their situation

The Wicklow hills are very high and so’s the hill of Howth, sirBut there's a hill much higher still, Ay, higher then them both, sir

And it was on the top of his hill, Saint Patrick preach’d the "Sarmint"That drove the frogs into the bogs and bothered all the "varmint"

• St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's most widely known figures.

• But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery.

• Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.

• It is known that St. Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the fourth century.

• He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460 A.D.

Saint Patrick’s Day• St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his

religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century.

• The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years.

• On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon.

• Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast -on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

Saint Patrick’s Day

• The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place not in Ireland but in the United States.

• Irish soldiers serving in the English military

marched through New York City on March 17, 1762.

• Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as fellow Irishmen serving in the English army.

• http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/videos#history-of-st-patricks-day

Sign on a beam in the Guinness Storehouse.

The Shamrock

• The shamrock, which was also called the "seamroy" by the Celts, was a sacred plant in ancient Ireland because it symbolized the rebirth of spring.

• By the seventeenth century, the shamrock had

become a symbol of emerging Irish nationalism.

• As the English began to seize Irish land and make laws against the use of the Irish language and the practice of Catholicism, many Irish began to wear the shamrock as a symbol of their pride in their heritage and their displeasure with English rule.

Irish Music

• Music is often associated with St. Patrick's Day and Irish culture in general.

• From ancient days of the Celts, music has always been an important part of Irish life.

• The Celts had an oral culture, where religion, legend and history were passed from one generation to the next by way of stories and songs.

• After being conquered by the English, and forbidden to speak their own language, the Irish, like other oppressed peoples, turned to music to help them remember important events and hold on to their heritage and history.

Young Ned of the Hill - The Pogues

Have you ever walked the lonesome hillsAnd heard the curlews cry

Or seen the raven black as nightUpon a windswept sky

To walk the purple heatherAnd hear the westwind cry

To know that's where the rapparee must die

Since Cromwell pushed us westwardTo live our lowly lives

There's some of us have deemed to fightFrom Tipperary mountains high

Noble men with wills of ironWho are not afraid to die

Who'll fight with gaelic honour held on high

A curse upon you Oliver CromwellYou who raped our Motherland

I hope you're rotting down in hellFor the horrors that you sent

To our misfortunate forefathersWhom you robbed of their birthright

"To hell or Connaught" may you burn in hell tonight

Of one such man I'd like to speakA rapparee by name and deed

His family dispossessed and slaughteredThey put a price upon his head

His name is known in song and storyHis deeds are legends still

And murdered for blood moneyWas young Ned of the hill

You have robbed our homes and fortunesEven drove us from our landYou tried to break our spiritBut you'll never understandThe love of dear old IrelandThat will forge an iron will

As long as there are gallant menLike young Ned of the hill

A curse upon you Oliver CromwellYou who raped our Motherland

I hope you're rotting down in hellFor the horrors that you sent

To our misfortunate forefathersWhom you robbed of their birthright

"To hell or Connaught" may you burn in hell tonight

• Today, traditional Irish bands are gaining worldwide popularity.

• Their music is produced with instruments that have been used for centuries, including the fiddle, the uilleann pipes (a sort of elaborate bagpipe), the tin whistle (a sort of flute that is actually made of nickel-silver, brass or aluminum) and the bodhran (an ancient type of framedrum that was traditionally used in warfare rather than music).

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXEl1pEOoec&feature=related• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py2TiFsq9T0&feature=related

Off To Dublin In The Green - The Dubliners (Trad)

Oh, I am a merry ploughboy and I plough the fields all dayTill a sudden thought came to my head, that I should roam away

For I'm sick and tired of slavery since the day that I was bornAnd I'm off to join the IRA and I'm off tomorrow morn

And we're all off to Dublin in the green, in the greenWhere the helmets glisten in the sun

Where the bayonets flash and the rifles crashTo the rattle of a Thompson gun

I'll leave aside me pick and spade, I'll leave aside me ploughI'll leave aside me horse and yoke, I no longer need them now

I'll leave aside me Mary, she's the girl that I adoreAnd I wonder if she'll think of me when she'll hear the rifles roar

And we're all off to Dublin in the green, in the greenWhere the helmets glisten in the sun

Where the bayonets flash and the rifles crashTo the rattle of a Thompson gun

And when the war is over and dear old Ireland is freeI'll take her to the church to wed and a rebel's wife she'll be Well, some men fight for silver and some men fight for gold

But the IRA are fighting for the land that the Freestaters stole

And we're all off to Dublin in the green, in the greenWhere the helmets glisten in the sun

Where the bayonets flash and the rifles crashTo the rattle of a Thompson gun

• The Irish diaspora consists of Irish emigrants and their descendants in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil and states of the Caribbean and continental Europe.

• Today, an estimated 80 million people worldwide claim some Irish descent; among them are 45 million Americans who claim "Irish" as their primary ethnicity.

Irish rover (Trad.) On the Fourth of July, 1806

We set sail from the sweet cove of CorkWe were sailing away with a cargo of bricksFor the Grand City Hall in New York'Twas a wonderful craftShe was rigged fore and aftAnd oh, how the wild wind drove herShe stood several blastsShe had twenty seven mastsAnd they called her The Irish Rover

We had one million bags of the best Sligo ragsWe had two million barrels of stoneWe had three million sides of old blind horses hidesWe had four million barrels of bonesWe had five million hogsAnd six million dogsSeven million barrels of porterWe had eight million bails of old nanny-goats' tailsIn the hold of the Irish Rover

There was awl Mickey CooteWho played hard on his fluteWhen the ladies lined up for a setHe was tootin' with skillFor each sparkling quadrilleThough the dancers were fluther'd and betWith his smart witty talkHe was cock of the walkAnd he rolled the dames under and overThey all knew at a glanceWhen he took up his stanceThat he sailed in The Irish Rover

There was Barney McGeeFrom the banks of the LeeThere was Hogan from County TyroneThere was Johnny McGurkWho was scared stiff of workAnd a man from Westmeath called MaloneThere was Slugger O'TooleWho was drunk as a ruleAnd Fighting Bill Treacy from DoverAnd your man, Mick MacCannFrom the banks of the BannWas the skipper of the Irish Rover

We had sailed seven yearsWhen the measles broke outAnd the ship lost its way in the fogAnd that whale of a crewWas reduced down to twoJust myself and the Captain's old dogThen the ship struck a rockOh Lord! what a shockThe bulkhead was turned right overTurned nine times aroundAnd the poor old dog was drownedI'm the last of The Irish Rover

• More than 100 St. Patrick's Day parades are held across the United States.

• New York City and Boston are home to the largest celebrations.

• More than 150,000 people take part in the event, which does not allow automobiles or floats.

St. Patrick’s Day, London 2006

Montreal,

St. Patrick’s Day 2008

The Chicago River is dyed green each year for the St. Patrick's Day celebration, shown here in 2008.