St Patrick’s Day

If You're Irish Come Into the Parlour

In sweet Lim'rick Town, they say,
Lived a chap named Patrick John Molloy.
Once he sailed to U.S.A.
His luck in foreign parts he thought he'd try.
Now he's made his name, and is a wealthy man,
He put a bit away for a rainy day;
So if you gaze uponThe house of Patrick John,
You'll find a notice that goes on to say:

Chorus:

If you're Irish come into the parlour,

There's a welcome there for you;

If your name is Timothy or Pat,

So long as you come from Ireland,

There's a welcome on the mat,

If You come from the Mountains of Mourne,

Or Killarney's lakes so blue,

We'll sing you a song and we'll make a fuss,

Whoever you are you are one of us,

If you're Irish, this is the place for you!

Patrick loved the girl he wed,

But he could not stand his Ma-n-aw,

Once with joy he turned quite red,

When she got into trouble thro' her jaw.

Six police they had to take her to the Court,

She was informed a month she would have to do,

So Patrick quickly wrote

Up to the Judge a note

Explaining, "Sir, I'm much obliged to you!" 

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

March 17^th is St Patrick's Day. He is the patron saint of Ireland and all patriotic Irish citizens will be wearing green and sporting the shamrock. Across the world those of Irish lineage and descent also celebrate the day. In fact, one could be forgiven for thinking that the day is more energetically marked in countries other than Ireland.

When Padraig was about 16, around AD 403, he was captured in Britain and enslaved by Irish raiders. He remained in Ireland for six years working as a herdsman before he was able to escape and rejoin his family. He then entered the church and later returned to Ireland as a bishop, carrying out his Christian ministry in the north and west.Legend has it that Padraig banned snakes from Ireland, though there were probably never any to be found there, and that he taught the unity of the Trinity through showing the three-leaved clover known as the shamrock.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

March 17^th is believed to be the date of St Patrick's death in AD 460 and his place of burial is said to be in Downpatrick.The Chicago River has been dyed green each year since 1962 for the annual celebration. (More prosaically the sewer workers used green dye to check for effluent discharges and from this came the idea of turning the river green.) In 2008 the waters in the Trafalgar Square fountains were dyed green.