Why do non-Irish people celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

[Alexander's Horse]

The bigger impact was the civil war where confederate "scots-irish" by descent faced off against irish catholic regiments from places like New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago. The catholics mainly went to the north, although in some areas like Maryland catholic communities were sympathetic to the south. Maryknoll, a major catholic centre for example was considered suspect by the union, and they certainly were, helping Lee's army when it passed through the area, so it wasn't a sectarian conflict.

[Hauldren Collider]

These days I think your culture is more where you grew up in the US rather than where your family was originally descended from.

[Sava]

I've never met a single person in the US who gave a crap about his Irish heritage. If I told someone I was half-Irish (a little less actually), no one would give a ****. I have no cultural connection to the place whatsoever aside from being raised nominally Catholic, like 1.2 billion other people. Is this not also the case in Australia?

stfu you mick bastard

[kentonio]

I've never met a single person in the US who gave a crap about his Irish heritage.

Are you joking? You ****ers never shut up about how you're a 16th Scottish, or a 32nd Irish or whatever tenuous family link you can find.

[loinburger]

I've only ever heard Americans talk about how they're 1/64th Cherokee or 1/128th Navajo.

[Alexander's Horse]

I've never met a single person in the US who gave a crap about his Irish heritage.

Yet a typically Irish attitude I'm busy avoiding a major reunion on the Easter weekend, which my father thinks is very important. They'll get drunk and sing the rebel songs and everyone else will be bored, especially the young ones.

A striking feature of the Irish diaspora is they went to places like America and Australia to get away from the troubles in Ireland and to start a new life. They wanted to forget rather than remember, especially the sad things that made them leave, not just politics, or even mostly that, but grinding poverty, unemployment, dispossession from ancestral land, premature deaths from disease especially of children, even famine.

[kentonio]

I've only ever heard Americans talk about how they're 1/64th Cherokee or 1/128th Navajo.

Probably because all the Scotch/Irish loving ones are over here, boring everyone stupid with their dubious genealogical claims.

[Sava]

I would only want to be like 1/32 or 1/64 of anything... ****ing inbred bastards... all descended from the same king who raped your whore mothers

[Alexander's Horse]

trying too hard there

[Sava]

cmon i thought that was a good one

[Hauldren Collider]

stfu you mick bastard

Are you joking? You ****ers never shut up about how you're a 16th Scottish, or a 32nd Irish or whatever tenuous family link you can find.

Well pretty much everyone I grew up with who wasn't Asian or black probably had some sort of Irish or Scottish ancestry, so I guess nobody thought it was terribly special. I don't run around with shamrocks on my head anyway. I knew this like, 1/10th swedish dude who'd run around practically pretending he was from Sweden and we all had a good laugh about it.

[Alexander's Horse]

I knew this like, 1/10th swedish dude who'd run around practically pretending he was from Sweden and we all had a good laugh about it.

and that is another thing - the Irish don't necessarily accept the diaspora as authentically Irish and the same would be true of other "old countries".

[molly bloom]

and that is another thing - the Irish don't necessarily accept the diaspora as authentically Irish and the same would be true of other "old countries".

Fed up with 'Irish' American politicians traipsing over to have a look at their family tree and rustle up a few votes back in the U.S. courtesy of the photo opportunities.

[MikeH]

It's the same in Scotland.

Whilst there are some very well informed, nice American tourists, there are plenty of the stereotypical loudmouthed ignoramuses to give the whole country a bad name.

[molly bloom]

It's the same in Scotland.

Whilst there are some very well informed, nice American tourists, there are plenty of the stereotypical loudmouthed ignoramuses to give the whole country a bad name.

You just reminded me of the scene in 'Trainspotting' where the tourist is separated from his wallet.... many thanks for that.