Well yeah, Irish folks over ther did kick the St.Patty-thingy off.
But American Irish ---and Irish-for-a-day ---ran with it.
But then, if you are Irish...soil, family, wish.....well, what about the Glorious 12th?
July 12th. Orangemen's Day.
That ain't no small potatoes (no pun, honest) in the Old Sod.
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ps......I had a neighbor in Chicago (God bless his Mick soul, I miss him. May he rest in peace. )....anyway, he was from Belfast originally. Came over to the States when he was about 15. Following his Dad & Mum who immigrated because Dad was coming over to join his brother's plumbing business.
He called America's Catholic Irish......"Leprechaun Irish". They believe in fairies and magic mushrooms and such.
He always had a fun BBQ for the whole neighborhood on Orangemen's Day. Never fail. The whole neighborhood...even the Leprechaun ones.....looked forward to it.
Truth be told, (tho I never said it to him) the only difference I could see between Chicago's Irish drunks on March 17th and those on July 12th......was that the Orangemen mostly wore Bermuda shorts and Hawaiian shirts. They all wore Sox hats. Southsiders, you know.