In the spirit of celebrating St Patrick’s Day, here are five little known facts about the holiday that might make your day a little more meaningful.
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Five
Why do they call it the luck of the Irish?
Origins of the phrase are muddy, ultimately, but it does seem pretty clear that it was not exactly meant as a compliment. Maybe more like a little dark humor by the long-suffering history of Irish people, from the potato famine to religious persecution to extreme prejudice from Americans towards immigrants from the Emerald Isle.
From an Irish scholar posting on Answers.com:
“It is an ironic phrase. The Irish have been, and are a spectacularly unlucky race. The “luck of the Irish” is BAD luck, as any reading of Irish history will document. When I did my Master’s thesis on Irish references in the American language, I found the original and proper use of this irony goes clear back to the Old Country and migrated to America early on. Nowadays many speakers and writers — even the supposedly erudite ones — misuse the phrase to imply GOOD luck. Let these misinformed (and misinforming) folks eat only potatoes for a few decades — if any potatoes can grow in their fields.”
Some sources trace the origin back to the American gold rush. Supposedly, a large number of Irishmen struck gold out West, thus “luck of the Irish.” This has the feel of myth made to explain the phrase, though, more than of historical fact.
What about Fighting Irish?
Fighting Irish traces back to the Civil War. It was what the members of a Union infantry brigade made up of all Irish immigrants called themselves. The brigade official title “The Irish Brigade” and consisted of 69th NY, 63rd NY, 88th NY, 116th Pennsylvania, and 28th Mass. Infantry Regiments, but was dubbed “The Fighting Irish” by regiment members shortly after it’s formation
Bonus:
The snake thing. Seriously, what is up with that?
Ireland, because it is an island, has never had snakes. Britain, which has only three snake species, is just far enough away from Ireland that they never made it across the Irish Sea. The legend goes that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of the island, but scholars surmise it is a metaphor. St. Patrick, the Christian missionary, drove evil- as the pagan religion was thought to be- from the land. Of course, in the bible snakes are associated with the devil, and evil and temptation.
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