– The first St. Patrick’s day parade ever took place on March
17, 1762, in New York. Dublin, Ireland, had its first St. Patrick’s
Day parade in 1995 and Belfast, Northern Ireland had its first St.
Patrick’s Day parade in 1998.
– The first St. Patrick’s day parade ever took place on March 17, 1762, in New York. Dublin, Ireland, had its first St. Patrick’s Day parade in 1995 and Belfast, Northern Ireland had its first St. Patrick’s Day parade in 1998.
– According to the Census Bureau, about 34 million U.S. residents claim Irish ancestry. This number is almost nine times the population of Ireland itself (3.9 million). Irish is the nation’s second most frequently reported ancestry, trailing only German.
– “Erin Go Bragh” means “Ireland forever.”
– Irish tradition says that anyone who kisses the blarney stone, which is located near Cork, will be blessed with the Irish “gift of gab.”
– “The Quiet Man,” shot in Ireland in 1952, was directed by John Ford and starred John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.
– Ireland’s Prime Minister is Bertie Ahern, and the president is Mary McAleese.
– The Irish flag is green, white and orange. The green side should be closest to the flag pole. Green represents Ireland, orange represents Northern Ireland and white represents peace between the two.
– In 1961, Stephen Bailey, a labor leader who was a close friend of Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, witnessed a plumber tracing a leak in the Chicago River with orange dye. The dye turned the river green and led Bailey to pursue a plan to turn the river green for St. Patrick’s Day.
– In 1962, 100 pounds of dye were added to the river, enough to keep it green for a week. The city continues to dye the river each St. Patrick’s Day. To minimize pollution, only 40 pounds of food coloring is now used to keep the river green for only a few hours.
Sources: The Chicago Public Library, the New York State Newspaper Project, www.historychannel.com
