Silly Sod

That's right. I am not looking forward to it. Perhaps if I were twenty years old and single it would be more attractive, but at my age (don't ask) and happily married, it just looks like a load of old bullsheeeeeit!!!!

Suddenly all of the stores have Blackpool-esque crap on the shelves pertaining to the 'oirish': Dish towels, T-Shirts, shamrock shaped coasters, Guinness hoodies etc. The missus keeps trying to buy me bits of Irish tat because me old 'grand-da' was a mick and we have a very Irish surname. I was born in England, I tell her, my mum was born in England, my dad was born in England, all my brothers and cousins and nephews were born in bleedin England - so why would I want to walk around wearing a shamrock on my shirt?!?!??

I have nothing against the Irish of course, and I do feel a certain healthy connection to that aspect of my cultural history. Now and again I even get a bit damp eyed (while supping Jamiesons) at the lilting tones of Shane McGowan singing Dirty Old Town while falling down drunk as the rest of the band play Four Green Fields. But the idea of 'paddying it up' leaves me cringing. If I did it back home I would be called a plastic paddy by all of my mates who have the same connection the the Emerald Isle as myself. Here I would be a what? A Pleather Paddy I suppose ha ha.

I have recently been shocked by the way St Valentines day has been hi-jacked by Hallmark (kids sending cards to their grandmothers and and vice versa) so I am far from keen on Paddy's day here.

Am I just being an old miserable B'stard or has anybody else got any tales of past paddys days to share to lend weight to my feelings on this?

Tiocfaidh ar la by the way lol

(Joking Dogbyte, don't be calling interpol)

Maz

Try being married to a natural-born American whose grandfather happened to be born in Ireland...

The family name gets people all excited, too. Everyone assumes our daughter *is* Irish (you know how they are over here - you're not just "of Irish descent", but somehow it gets transmuted into actually *being* Irish), when she's only one-quarter Irish, and 50% pure English, a fact I like to remind my MIL of.

Come to Chicago ... they dye the Chicago River green. I kid you not.

another bloody yank

I like St. Patty's, the "Irish" dancers have great legs!* Although, what's up with their hair?

*The ones that are of age of course!

Duncan Roberts

Green beer leaves me wanting to punch somebody in the face.

Mallory

Yes, I have a St Paddy's day tale. I also had an Irish grandfather (he was killed in WWI so never knew him). I don't have an Irish surname, because it was my mum's dad, but we were all raised Catholic because of his wishes. Several years ago my aunt (mum's sister) was in a nursing home. My mum was visiting, and the priest happened to come by for a visit (he is Irish). I had sent my aunt a St. Paddy's day card to cheer her up. The priest saw the card on her bedside table. He was quite a funny fellow, and was overjoyed to see this card. He couldn't believe that the only St. P's card to be found, had been sent over from America. My aunt really enjoyed all the attention from everyone, after the priest had told the whole nursing home about her St. P's card. A small thing, but it was fun for her, and she thoroughly enjoyed it. Always think about that on St. P's day, as she is dead now from Parkinson's disease.

TouristTrap

[QUOTE=Maz;4440242]Try being married to a natural-born American whose grandfather happened to be born in Ireland...

The family name gets people all excited, too. Everyone assumes our daughter *is* Irish (you know how they are over here - you're not just "of Irish descent", but somehow it gets transmuted into actually *being* Irish), when she's only one-quarter Irish, and 50% pure English, a fact I like to remind my MIL of.

Come to Chicago ... they dye the Chicago River green. I kid you not.[/QUOTE]


Don't you just love that??

Silly Sod - welcome to America - where EVERYTHING is about $$$$$$$$

Bob

you should try it boston or chicago...then you'll see pain...it was pretty bad in maine too though

spuggy

Some in our family gave the rest of the family hell for admitting we had irish heritage when I was growing up LOL!

Had we known it was such a BIG deal in this country we wouldn't have gotten married on St.Paddy's day.

TaffyinOK

I'll drink to that
I also refuse, abso-bloody-lutely refuse, to wear green on St. Paddy's day! I wear RED and when asked why I'm not wearing green I tell them. I don't know about where everyone else lives, but here if you don't wear green you get pinched on the arm

TruBrit

don't be a silly sod, just ignore it ....as with all occasions over here they are completely ott

TimFountain

Well I learn something new everyday, I didn't know Sod was an Irish surname. There's a thing!

- Tim

cpe111

Saint Patrick was Welsh anyway.

Cymru am byth

TaffyinOK

I'll drink to that Hic!

Duncan Roberts

I thought he was Scottish, at least that's what I have always heard.

cpe111

St Patricks birthplace isnt known with any certainly, but the main school of thought seems to agree that he was born in the SE area of Scotland known today as Strathclyde, a former Welsh kingdom and still speaking Celtish at the time of his abduction.

Some still believe that the St. Davids area of Pembrokeshire was his birthplace.