Lá ’le Pádraig (St. Paddy's in Irish)

St. Patrick's Day in South Bend, Indiana, is a BIG DEAL. Partly due to the Notre Dame Fightin' Irish influence, partly to the Irish-immigrant influence, and partly to the Catholic influence. The family I grew up with next door - The Hoffers, whose daughters were named Erin and Kerry (if you can start to see the obsession) - threw a HUGE St. Patrick's Day party every year. Tons of people were there, tons of food was there, and tons of beer was there. While this was very normal at the time, it's funny to look back on...the way I grew up was different from many to say the least. However, this has instilled in me a deep respect for Irish culture and love of celebrating St. Patrick's Day. The past few days I've been doing a little recon, and what seems to me to be a default celebration of St. Patrick's Day is not so innate for my friends here in Tucson...

SO! 

My challenge to you all is to go out this St. Patrick's Day - that's this Tuesday, March 17th - and hang with some people you enjoy and celebrate St. Patrick's Day and Ireland! (But don't drink the green beer because it's cheap and tastes terrible...)

If you need help getting in the spirit, you could... 

1) Watch the above video of The Chieftains, a very popular Irish band, a bunch of times

2) Do what I've been doing and listen to Irish music on iTunes Radio. Click on "Radio" on the left, then click on "Folk" and you'll find several Irish stations. 

3) Head downtown to Armory Park on Tuesday at 11 AM, watch the St. Paddy's Day parade and hit up the Festival...eat some corned beef, cabbage, and green potatoes. 

4) Head to one of the following locations and enjoy my favorite pint - a Guinness 

(The Auld Dubliner, Frog & Firken, Zachary's, or other places mentioned in this article) 

5) Watch "The Quiet Man" with John Wayne or one of Sean Connery's first movies - "Darby O'Gill and the Little People", which I used watch often as a kid

6) Research St. Patrick, Ireland, and the history of St. Patrick's Day! (Notice on the Wikipedia page that the Chicago River is dyed green every year. Seriously, St. Paddy's Day is a BIG DEAL back home)

Erin Go Bragh!