St. Patrick’s Day Primer and Irish Words to Know

St. Patrick's Day is coming up on the 17th, and before you turn Irish for a day, I thought I'd give you a bit of background on St. Patrick's Day PLUS, as an added bonus, teach you a few Irish as well.

Let's get started with a few facts about himself (an Irish phrase)

1. St. Patrick Was Not Irish

As it turns out, St. Patrick was born in Great Britain. His real name was Maewyn Succat which doesn't sound a thing like 'Patrick', but I guess he thought he needed a stage name.

He was sold into slavery, but someone must have slipped him a hacksaw in some bread pudding because he took it on the lam, became a priest and the rest, dear reader, is history.

2. St. Patrick’s Day Was Not Always a Big Party

The whole party thing is pretty much an American thing. They do have parties and parades and such in Ireland, but, until fairly recently, it was a day spent in prayer.

3. There Were No Snakes in Ireland

When people say that St.Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland, they don't mean the crawling reptiles. Basically they mean the human snakes.

4. America Has More Irish Than Ireland

According to a US Census, there are more Irish people in America than there are in Ireland. As of 2003, more than 34 million Americans had Irish ancestry. The population of Ireland is just more than four million people. Blame the potato famine.

5. Green Beer: American Invention

Yeah, Don't know who came up with 'green beer', but it's not Irish. The 'official' beer of Ireland is either Harp or Guinness. They would be impossible to dye green since they are very, very dark.

Having said that, It's amazing that, in Ireland, a lot of pubs serve a lot of Budweiser. Why? Well, because it's American. Sort of.

Irish Words:

'Join us for St. Patrick's Day, we'll have a gansey load of craic : It means we'll have a lot of fun.

Banjaxed- It means broken or severely damaged: I had a bit too much at the pub last night and woke up this morning completely BANJAXED

Gimmie a pint of the black stuff: You just ordered a Guinness

Bogtrotter: A hick, a person of rural extraction: 'And THAT my bogtrotter friend, is what we call electricity.'

Culchie: Same as a bogtrotter" What do you call a culchie in a stretch limo? The deceased

Ganky: An ugly person: What's the difference between a ganky person and a real prize? Ten Pints

Happy St. Patrick's Day!