Happy St Patrick's Day!

Happy St Patrick's Day! Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona daoibh! 

Whether you're celebrating at home, or online, we hope you have a great day. Enjoy it and stay safe. 

St Patrick's Day: Did you know...?

• St Patrick is thought to have been born in Roman Britain in the late 4th century
• St Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, the date of his death
• One of the most well known legends of St Patrick was that he drove snakes out of Ireland
• He also used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity: The three leaves represent Father, Son and Holy Spirit, separate yet still One
• Ireland came to celebrate his day with religious services and feasts. It was emigrants, particularly to America, who transformed St. Patrick’s Day into a largely secular holiday of revelry and celebrating all things Irish
• There are 34.7 million Americans with Irish ancestry which is more than seven times the population of Ireland itself
• Boston held its first St. Patrick’s Day parade in 1737, followed by New York City in 1762. Since 1962, Chicago has coloured their river green to mark the holiday
• The world's shortest St. Patrick's Day parade is held in the Irish village of Dripsey, and is only 100 yards, spanning the distance between the village's two pubs
• Although blue was the colour traditionally associated with St. Patrick, green is now commonly connected with the day. Many people join in the “wearing of the green”—sporting an item of green clothing or a shamrock, the Irish national plant.