A poem about Saint Patrick, by John Cotter.

Post 443 - Saint Patrick’s Day (March 17th) is a public holiday only in Ireland and on the British Carribean island of Montserrat, where it honors both the Irish settlers who arrived in 1632 and a failed slave uprising in 1768. I remember it best growing up as a candy and chocolate holiday - a one-day reprieve from the forty-days of fasting during the season of Lent! When our kids were away at college, I composed a poem every week for each of them to celebrate significant family events and to share philosophies about life. Since I was born and educated in Ireland, Saint Patrick's day has always been a cause for a celebration in our house and I thought it deserved a poem of its very own. I found this again the other day, so please indulge me if I share it with you.

A poem about Saint Patrick by John Cotter.

Saint Patrick was a normal guy
A bit like me and you,
And he ended up in Ireland
In the year four-thirty-two.

He was hung-up on religion
From the stories I hear tell,
'Cause he didn’t want the Irish,
When they died, to go to hell.

So, he traveled through the countryside
Converting all the kings.
To hear the places that he went,
I’m sure that man had wings.

He loved the birds and animals
But snakes he couldn’t stand,
So he prayed to God to take them,
And they exited the land.

Please remember this, your heritage,
On March the seventeen.
Celebrate the fact you’re Irish,
And dress up in something green.


Lá Fhéile Pádraig Shona dhaoibh (Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all).‎

Strange as it may seem, the first national Saint Patrick's Festival in Ireland wasn't held until 1996. In 1997, it became a three-day event, and by 2000 it was a four-day event. By 2006, the festival was five-days long. Last year's five-day festival saw close to one-million visitors taking part in festivities that included concerts, outdoor theater performances, and fireworks. Over 675,000 people attended the 2009 parade.