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Celebrating Irish Heritage

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It's Your Lucky Day!
​Learn All About St. Patrick's Day:
​History, Facts, Trivia, and Banning Beer?! 





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When St. Patrick’s Day approaches each year, one might start thinking about which nearby bars are serving green beer, which parades are happening close by to take the family to, and/or what you have in your closet that will help ensure you don’t get pinched by any oh-so-funny friends of yours throughout the day. But many of us are less likely to consider the origin of the holiday and why we celebrate it to begin with. Many of us, in fact, might not have a clue about St. Patrick’s Day history, and may feel surprised by some of its backstory (like how for many years, Irish bars were actually banned from being open on this day!). Fortunately, we have all the St. Patrick’s Day history, facts and trivia that you need to know!

So, if you’re left scratching your head, wondering who was St. Patrick anyway, or if you’re feeling curious about when exactly this holiday started being observed, you’re not alone. We’ll even share how St. Patrick’s Day went from being strictly a serious, religious observance, to the infamous drinking event that it is today. We’ve got all the answers to fill you in!

When is St. Patrick’s Day?
This year, St. Patrick’s Day falls on Wednesday, March 17, 2021.

St. Patrick’s Day History

St. Patrick’s Day celebrates the life of Saint Patrick—the patron saint of Ireland. This influential missionary has been credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day takes place on March 17 each year because St. Patrick’s death is believed to have been on March 17, 461.

​ The Church began observing a special feast to honor him on this day starting in 1631.

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15 St. Patrick’s Day Facts

1. St. Patrick’s Day always falls on the 17th of March.

2. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place in America—not in Ireland.

3. The New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade is the world’s oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States.

4. Chicago began its annual tradition of turning the Chicago River green on St. Patrick’s Day in 1962.

5. In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day had been viewed mostly as a religious observance, and up until the 1960s, they even had laws that forbid bars from being open that day.

6. It wasn’t until 1798 (the year of the Irish Rebellion) that the color green became officially
associated
 with St. Patrick’s Day. Before then, another color was originally associated with St. Patrick (see the trivia below!).


7. St. Patrick’s Day switched over from a strictly holy day for Catholics to an official Irish public holiday in 1903.

8. Although St. Patrick’s Day falls within the period of Lent—a time when the Catholic Church prohibits eating meat, the ban is lifted on this specific day of celebration.

9. The annual shamrock ceremony in the White House started in 1952.

10. Each year, 5.5 million people visit New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

11. Before St. Patrick became a missionary, he had been kidnapped at the age of 16 and taken to Ireland as a slave.

Related: History Facts

12. St. Patrick is said to have been buried in the town of Downpatrick, County Down, in Northern Ireland.

13. There are two autobiographical writings from St. Patrick himself, including Confessio and Letter to Coroticus.

14. Traditionally, Catholic families go to church in the morning on St. Patrick’s Day, and partake in a meal that includes cabbage and Irish bacon.
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15. Dublin’s first official celebration of St. Patrick’s Day did not occur until 1931.

15 St. Patrick’s Day Trivia

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 Questions1. Question: What’s another name for St. Patrick’s Day?
Answer: The Feast of Saint Patrick.

2. Question: Where was Saint Patrick actually born?
Answer: Roman Britain (What is now either England, Scotland, or Wales).

3. Question: How many hours does the NYC St. Patrick’s Day parade take?
Answer: Over five hours.
​

4. Question: How many pounds of green vegetable dye are now used to turn the Chicago River green?
Answer: 40 pounds.


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​5. Question: What do some historians believe was St. Patrick’s real name?
Answer: Maewyn Succat.

6. Question: According to legend, what happened during one of St. Patrick’s sermons on the Irish hillside?
Answer: Legend has it that while he was speaking, all of the snakes were driven out into the sea.

7. Question: What color was originally associated with St. Patrick?
Answer: Blue.
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Related: 10 St. Patrick’s Day Party Cocktails and Apps
8. Question: According to legend, what did St. Patrick use to describe the Holy Trinity?
Answer: The shamrock.
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​9. Question: What is another term used for Ireland?
Answer: “The Emerald Isle.”
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10. Question: What does St. Patrick’s name mean?
Answer: “Patricius,” or “Patrick,” comes from the Latin term for “father figure.”
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11. Question: Why did it take until 1998 for the city of Belfast (in Northern Ireland) to have a St. Patrick’s Day parade?
Answer: Because of Protestant hostility toward the display of Irish national symbols.
​

12. Question: According to Hallmark, how many Americans exchange St. Patrick’s Day cards each year?
Answer: 12 million Americans.
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The 10 best and most famous Irish artists April 15, 2020 
​by Paris Donnatella Callan

13. Question: Why was St. Patrick’s Day once celebrated in May instead of March?
Answer: In 2001, a foot-and-mouth outbreak ran rampant in Ireland, so Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Day parade was moved to May (with a great turnout of 1.2 million!).
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14. Question: From 1927 to 1961, where was the one place in Ireland that legally allowed drinking on St. Patrick’s Day?
Answer: The RDS Dog Show.
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15. Question: Is St. Patrick’s Day the most popular drinking day in America?
Answer: No, it’s actually the fourth most popular (behind New Year’s Eve, Christmas Day, and the Fourth of July).
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Whether it’s down to political struggles, social injustice, or even sporting, Ireland has firmly established itself as the underdog. 
Given this, it should come as no surprise that Ireland – albeit small – is home to a healthy dose of some of the world’s most renowned artists. 
From the fields of literature and film to music and indeed art, the household names are many. Let’s take a look at the ten best and most famous Irish artists.

​10.  Anna Doran – the muralist

​
Anna Doran is a native Dubliner who has sprinkled some magic dust over the capital city and some of its most iconic building since she first made tracks on the Irish art scene.
Doran is most-known for ‘Love Lane’ and was the commissioned artist who transformed Facebook’s Dublin HQ into the majestic mural maze it is today.


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9. Conor O’Leary – the contemporary portrait photographer
Credit: conoroleary.com
​Conor O’Leary is an Irish photographer and artist who splits his time between London and his home city of Dublin.

Having been featured across the globe in Wallpaper*, The National Gallery of Ireland, Financial Times, The Telegraph Magazine, and The New York Times, it is safe to say O’Leary is a hot topic on the Irish art and photography scene.
​

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8. Paul Henry – for lush landscapes
Credit: whytes.ie
​Paul Henry is one of the most famous Irish artists in history to date. 


Most famous for his scenes of lush emerald landscapes, the 20th-century Belfast painter is now a measure by which all contemporary Irish landscape artists are compared. ​

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6. Maser – the top Irish street artist
Credit: @maserart / Instagram
​Maser is the leading Irish street artist, most known for his colourful and adventurous murals which span cities across the Emerald Isle and around the globe. 

Based now in the USA, Maser – whose real name is, in fact, Al Hester – first began the art of graffiti in 1995 and has grown to become the most famous name on the Irish street art scene.

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4. Duncan Campbell, video artist – 2014 Turner Prize-winner
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This Dublin-born, Glasgow-based visual artist is one of the best in his field and is known on the artists’ world stage for his contributions to his chosen medium: video
Having won the 2014 Turner Prize with his video piece It for Others, Campbell is now firmly established as Ireland’s preeminent video artist. 
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7. Norah McGuinness – the illustrator
Credit: imma.ie
​Norah McGuinness is one of the most famous Irish artists and illustrators. Born in 
Derry, she led an exciting life, living in London, Paris, and New York, before retiring to Dublin, where she died. 

Her work will be forever remembered for its graphic illustrations reflective of her unique personal style. ​

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5. Louis le Brocquy – for Cubist figures
Credit: anne-madden.com
​As one of the most famous Irish artists, Louis le Brocquy’s career spanned some 70 years, earning him many awards and much global recognition. 


Now passed, the Dublin-born artist is most remembered for his “Portrait Heads” series of iconic literary figures.

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3. Charles Jervas – the top Irish portraitist 18th-century icon, Charles Jervas, is another one of the most famous Irish artists. 

Often remembered for his distinctive portraits, it is essential to note that the painter was also a translator and an art collector of the early 18th-century.


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2. Jack Butler Yeats – one of the most famous Irish artists
Credit: tate.org.uk

​Although Jack Butler Yeats is commonly given kudos for his famous family relation – brother, William Butler Yeats – Jack himself was a tremendous artist. 
​
As one of the most famous Irish artists of the 20th-century, Jack Butler Yeats worked mainly as an illustrator, before transitioning to oil in 1906. 
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1. Sir John Lavery
– for wartime depictions
​
Credit: tate.org.uk

Sir John Lavery is one of the most famous Irish artists the island has ever borne. 
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