March 17, 2022. Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Duit! (Happy St. Patrick’s Day in Gaelic). This is the day in 432 that the eventual Saint Patrick, at the age of 16 was captured by Irish pirates from Great Britain and taken as a slave to Ireland for six years before escaping and returning to his family. After becoming a cleric, he returned to Ireland and became a bishop and eventually, the patron saint of Ireland. Besides St. Patrick’s Day, its Submarine Day, Corned Beef and Cabbage Day, Oranges and Lemons Day and Camp Fire Girls Day. Now to history. On this day in 1756 St. Patrick’s Day was first celebrated in NYC at the Crown & Thistle Tavern. On this day in 1845 self-raising flour was patented. On the same day the rubber band received a patent. On this day in 1894 and treaty between the US and China was signed that prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the United States. The reason this is Submarine Day is because in 1898 on this date, John Philip Holland achieved successful test run for the first modern submarine off Staten Island, submerging for 1 hour 40 minutes. Since I happen to around 1 quarter Irish, I’ll end with some quotes about being Irish. Brendan Behan was an Irish poet who passed in 1964. He said, “The most important thigs to do in the world re to get something to eat, something to drink and somebody to love you.” “It’s not that the Irish are cynical. It’s rather that they have a wonderful lack of respect for everything and everybody.” “The only thing I envy in young people is their livers.” “I only take a drink on two occasions: when I’m thirsty and when I’m not.” I’ll close with “God forgive us but most of us grew up to be the sort of men our mothers warned us against.” Abide.
