And never the two shall meet. Bloody AOH.
Jesus, I mean the queers get to march in Dublin, Cork, Galway etc, but not in NY? Tosspots, don’t get me started…
In the U.S., I think the answer is simply, “everyone is drunk on St. Patrick’s Day.” If you went around that day asking people what they know about the holiday, many people would probably say, “There really was a guy named St. Patrick?”
I know a little bit of Gaelic… but what I do know I’m pretty durn sure is right. Except I missed the little thingy over the o’s. Properly it looks like this: Póg mo thóin
Though that’s kinda mean at us for laughing at the drunks toasting us back with this. So I should just stick with Sláinte.
At present I am working on my accent when saying Pionta Guinness le do thoil. Though I doubt the bartenders will know exactly what I’m saying I bet I could get my point across.
I used to have a button I wore on March 17 that said “Do I LOOK Irish to you?”…Black hair, brown eyed Hispanic living in small ag town in Central California, I doubt if I look Irish and anyone who pinches me without my leave will draw back a bloody stump.
Unless I like you…
This is what I get for doing a vanity search.
LOL Poor Sláinte. It’s you’re fault for picking a name that is a cheer in Gaelic though.
But I really do like the name.
Around here, there are plenty of people who fit that description but are still at least part-Irish. I think it has something to do with the Santa Fe Railway and all those Irish railroadmen. I used to know a family named O’Rourke that had nine children, all of them with Irish-flavored first names. About half the kids had red hair and freckles, and half of them had dark hair and perma-tans.
I plan to be gay on St. Patrick’s Day and then Irish on National Coming Out Day. Just to be different.
I am.
Most years on St. Patrick’s Day at least one stranger will look at my freckles and natural red highlights and comment that I must be Irish. I’ve always wanted to respond by saying, “Kitty O’Malley, please to meet you.”
The rest of the year I’m just freckled, not-quite-redheaded, Russian/German and Jewish.
I would like to know who came up with the whole idea of pinching whoever doesn’t where green on St. Patrick’s Day, and personally pinch them until their bodies are black and blue. Green is not a good color for me. Besides, I wear the four-leaf clover earrings on that one day a year. Shouldn’t that count for something?
Alright, now that I have that out of my system, as to the OP: I think I’m part Irish. Personally, I don’t really care. Why does it matter who’s Irish? We celebrate it more here in the U.S. than in in Ireland!
I guess it’s like the way we celebrate Black Pride days more in the US than in Africa, monica.
Then Hallmark got its damn hands on it and turned it into the commercialized secular crapfest it is. You just know they have their greedy eyes set on Kwanzaa next.
Is it true “Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day” ?
[Kent Brockman] Except for the gays and the Italians. [/KB]
I’m somewhat Irish pretty much every day.
It’s just that on St. Paddies day, I celebrate with a potato and a 6-pack of beer
I bow to you’re greater Gaelic wisdom. But know what I need to know (as I think this is a useful phrase to have at one’s command) is should I continue to consider “pogue mahone” at least an accurate phonetic translation?
Because Mike is right about Gaelic spelling and while I’ve figured out how to pronounce “Siobhan” I don’t know how to approach “pog mo thoin” (sorry, I’m not going to do the little thingys).
betenoir: Talking to my roomie (who is Irish) I have learned that pogue mahone is considered a proper spelling in certain areas of Ireland. Also Póg mo thóin is pronounced exactly the same. Pogue mahoin is merely the phonetic version of how you say it.
So if anyone wants to spell it like that I’m cool with it. But I like how the non-phonetic version looks when written. 
Your roomie’s off their cake Butterfly, ‘Pogue mahone’ is a transliteration of the Irish phrase ‘Pog mo thoin’ (insert fadas where required), and nowhere is it the proper spelling of any Irish words.
It sounds the same because thats its job, to allow English speakers to approximate the Irish pronunciation.
Jeepers, second Irish language post in a week, I’ve got issues: Damn you Synge Street CBS and every lame-o Irish teacher I was ever taught by there! From hell’s heart I stab at thee!
They take St Patrick’s Day well on board here in New Zealand, where we still have both a strong irish heritage from our settlers, and a lot of folks who like to be “Irish” on that day.
On another note, a Scots-descended friend of mine wished me happy St David’s Day for March 1st. T’is odd how we put so much more emphasis on the day of th’ green than that of the white saltire on blue.
feck it lads and lassies, go out and enjoy yourself regardless of your nationality. March 17th is a day to get toasted world wide, Us Irish just gave you are reason 
Irishgirl:
You say that like its a bad thing
I’m not! I really don’t approve of the glorification of drunkeness that this holiday has come to represent. Call me a prude, but it disgusts me. I make sure NOT to wear green on that day. I am not a big fan of bag pipes either.
Caricci, I take it you’ve never been to a Paddy’s day festival in Ireland then
Ice Wolf, isn’t St David Welsh? what with the leeks and daffodils and stuff?
and St Andrew Scottish?
or am i completely wrong?
also Uileann (and i KNOW i havn’t spelt that right) pipes are IRISH.
Bag Pipes are SCOTTISH.
the former sound much nicer than the latter, and completely different… the way a church organ sounds different to a piano.