St. Patrick's Day | Irish American Mom

In The Words Of Saint Patrick

March 17, 2017 by Irish American Mom 16 Comments

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Today’s the day when the whole world is a little bit Irish.

But this year, rather than getting carried away with the wearing of the green, or drowning of the shamrock with green beer, or indulging in fluorescent green “Irish” food, I thought I would simply take a look at some of the words of the man himself to celebrate his feast day.

St. Patrick – A Simple and Humble Man:

Here is how St. Patrick introduces himself in his Confessio, which was handed down orally in Ireland for centuries, until it was finally committed to manuscript in 807 AD in the Book of Armagh.

“My name is Patrick.

I am a sinner,

a simple country person

and the least of all believers.”

~from St. Patrick’s Confessio

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Today we think of a confession as a profession of sin, but in St. Patrick’s Confessio he tells the story of his capture and return to Ireland, praises the greatness of God, and professes the depth of his faith.

“Those who wish may laugh and insult.

But I will not be silent,

nor will I hide the signs and wonders

which the Lord has shown me…”

~ from St. Patrick’s Confessio

When speaking of Ireland St. Patrick said …

“It is there that I wish

to spend my life until I die,

if the Lord should grant it to me.”

~ The Words of St. Patrick about Ireland

from his Confessio.

To this very day, many feel the same affinity as St. Patrick for the land and people of Ireland.

The Breastplate of St. Patrick:

St. Patrick’s Breastplate is a prayer said to have been written by St. Patrick around 433 AD to strengthen his faith and courage as he worked to convert the pagan Irish to Christianity.

This prayer beautifully expresses the depth of our national saint’s spirituality and faith.

Here are my favorite excerpts…..

“I arise today, through

The strength of heaven,

The light of the sun,

The radiance of the moon,

The splendor of fire,

The speed of lightning,

The swiftness of wind,

The depth of the sea,

The stability of the earth,

The firmness of rock.”

~ from St. Patrick’s Breastplate

http://www.flickr.com/photos/starbeard/87295773/in/faves-66087561@N08/ — St. Patrick Blesses A Rainbow

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“I arise today, through

God’s strength to pilot me,

God’s might to uphold me,

God’s wisdom to guide me,

God’s eye to look before me,

God’s ear to hear me,

God’s word to speak for me,

God’s hand to guard me,

God’s shield to protect me,

God’s host to save me.”

~ from St. Patrick’s Breastplate

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“I arise today

Through a mighty strength,

the invocation of the Trinity,

Through belief in the Threeness,

Through confession of the Oneness

of the Creator of creation.”

~ from St. Patrick’s Breastplate

Wishing you all a very happy St. Patrick’s Day. May you feel the courage and faith of St. Patrick in all you do today.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

Irish Flag Cape Giveaway

March 11, 2017 by Irish American Mom 12 Comments

An Irish flag inspired cape is the perfect way to show off your Irish pride to the world.

With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, it’s the time when the whole world is a little bit Irish, and today I have the perfect giveaway for those who love to be Irish in every way.

As of July 2017, this business has closed,

and the links to the business were removed.

Perfect for many, many occasions, this Irish flag cape can be worn to matches and sporting events, concerts, festivals, parades, and fairs.

Can’t you just picture walking in a St. Patrick’s Day Parade adorned in an Irish flag cape.

Before I share the details of how to enter let me tell you a little bit about the creators of these flag capes.

Kris and William:

Kris and William, both immigrants to the USA, are the proud founders of FlagCapes.com. I love this description from their website …

“Kris has hot Puerto Rican blood running through her veins, while William has icey Canadian blood surging through his polar bear body.”

Both of them have a passion for life, love, and dance. They love concerts and events, and love to dress up with pride.

The Prize:

This wonderful flag cape looks great, and can be worn over everything from a T-shirt in warmer climes to a coat for colder days.

It’s perfect for our national Irish holiday St Patrick’s Day!

This flag cape has a lovely soft cotton neck tie, so the cape won’t slide off – no scratchy velcro to irritate your neck.

It can be worn by securing the neck tie for a full sized cape, or you can put your arms through the sleeves to really show off the flag.

It is very lightweight and won’t overheat you in the summer, but the sleeves are big enough to go over a coat in the winter. They air dry quickly, and you get a great microfiber storage bag too!

All the details are available here on the flag capes website.

This flag can help you find pride in your Irish ancestral home, and share your Irish love with the world.

The Giveaway:

One lucky winner will win their very own Irish flag cape.

To enter just leave a comment on this blog post by noon on Tuesday, March 14th, 2017.

Any comment will do. What you write does not affect your chance of winning, but if you need inspiration why not tell us if you have every marched in a St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

A winning comment will be chosen randomly. Remember to leave your e-mail so that I can contact you should you win. Your e-mail won’t be published, just used to contact our lucky contestant for mailing of the prize.

The winner will be announced on Tuesday, March 14th 2017, at the bottom of this blog post.

You may check out Irish American Mom’s complete terms and conditions for sweepstakes’ entries by clicking here.

A big thank you to Kris and William for sponsoring this prize, and wishing them every success with this wonderful, innovative business.

And a big shout out to all who take the time to leave a comment to enter this little giveaway. As always, your support is greatly appreciated.

Update 14/3/17 – Winner Chosen:

Good news. Our winner has been chosen using the randomized “Pick Giveaway Winner” WordPress plug-in.

Congratulations to …..

Sheila

I’ll send our winner a quick e-mail to let her know about her lucky win.

Thanks to everyone who joined in and entered this little giveaway. And a big thank you to Kris and William for sponsoring this prize. Wishing everyone a very happy St. Patrick’s Day.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day Around The World

March 15, 2016 by Irish American Mom 9 Comments

This week we will commemorate Ireland’s patron saint, but rest assured we are not alone in our celebrations. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated all around the world, in over 190 countries, the obvious places being Ireland, the US, Canada and Australia!

With New York being the first additional place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in 1762 and Ireland being its origins, the folks over at Irishshop.com were interested to see how the rest of the world celebrated St Patrick’s Day.

Navy_Recruiting_Command_commander_takes_part_in_Savannah's_191st_St._Patrick's_Day_Parade — A Navy Recruiting Commander takes part in Savannah’s 191st St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

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Did you know Savannah, Georgia hosts the second biggest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the United States?

The following countries are worth considering to celebrate St Patrick’s Day, if freezing your behind off on O’Connell Street or 5th Avenue while waiting for the parade, isn’t your idea of fun.

Singapore, Asia

Singapore is definitely a place that anyone would love for St. Patrick’s Day. Each year the St. Patrick’s society of Singapore organizes an event in the Shangri-La hotel offering free-flowing wine, beer, and live music.

If the Shangri-La is a little out of your budget, no sweat. Singaporeans love to celebrate on the 17th. You will find the Singapore river dyed green and a parade that is led by a Harley Davidson convoy.

A lost trooper at the Singapore St. Patrick's Day Parade 2009 — A lost tropper at the Singapore St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2009

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Cabo Roig, Spain

The picturesque town of Cabo Roig Spain hosts the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in Spain. The bars and restaurants don their best green decor, and host Irish entertainment with a Spanish twist.

Fancy a bit of Irish Dancing or perhaps flamenco on Paddy’s Day? Well in Cabo Roig, you can have both! Celebrations spill over well into the night with a fireworks display to finish off the festivities.

Accra, Ghana:

In 2010 Ghana began to celebrate St. Patricks Day making it the newest official celebration of the 17th. Forget the rain, Accra in Ghana celebrate St Patrick’s Day in the relaxing ocean retreat sipping cocktails and enjoying the nice sea breeze!

Irish aid workers will use the funds raised to help bring water to rural villages. The main culinary delicacy paying homage to St. Patrick in Ghana is the “grilled beef steak marinated in whiskey”!

Coat of Arms for the Carribbean island of Montserrat — Coat of Arms for the Carribbean Island of Montserrat

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Montserrat, Caribbean:

The beautiful Emerald Isle of Caribbean Island is home to just 5,000 people. Montserrat is the only country in the world aside from Ireland where St. Patrick’s Day is declared a public holiday. The 17th of March is so widely celebrated in Montserrat to pay homage to its Afro-Irish culture.

In the 1600s many Irish were shipped to Montserrat against their will and there they stayed. The tiny Caribbean island is drenched in history and folklore just like its Irish counterpart. On the 17th you can sing, dance, drink green beer as well as traditional rum punch. Many of the locals will be wearing traditional dress with green being the dominant color.

Tokyo, Japan:

The INJ (Irish Network Japan) set up the first St. Patricks Day parade in 1992. Since then the parade has shown that the people of Tokyo love a bit of Irish.

Last year the parade in Omotesando had over 15,000 participants with over 50,000 spectators. Everyone comes out in their best green clothing they can find. The parade is filled with Irish dancers, bagpipes and “Voucher Girls”. Not surprisingly these are a main highlight as these pretty Japanese girls carry vouchers for free booze.

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Florence, Italy

Ever felt that one day of drinking and eating wasn’t enough for St Patricks Day? Well in Florence you can celebrate from the 17th right up until the 22nd at the Irish Festival or “Festa Irelandes” as it is called in Florence, Italy.

In honour of good ol’ St. Patrick himself, you can celebrate days of live music, food and drink. If you are looking for a truly Irish-Italian experience get yourself to Finnegan’s bar.

Chicago River turned green for St. Patrick's Day — The Chicago River runs green on St. Patrick’s Day

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But are they better than Ireland?

There might be places around the world that could possibly sound better than Ireland to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but can they beat the authenticity and experience of celebrating it in Ireland?

It cannot be denied that on St. Patrick’s Day everyone feels a little bit Irish, but think about it is there anywhere in the world you rather be than on the beautiful Emerald Isle?

The GPO, O'Connell Street, Dublin illuminated in green for St. Patrick's Day 2015 — The GPO, O’Connell Street, Dublin illuminated in green for St. Patrick’s Day 2015

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So What Does Ireland Feel Like On St. Patrick’s Day?

The craic being absolute 90 (so they say), everyone is dressed in their best greens with shamrocks pinned to their coats. Find yourself sitting in a small cozy pub drinking the finest pint of Guinness you have ever tasted, music and song flowing through the air, bodhráns, Irish dancers and the Wolfe Tones being sung by crowds of proud Irish as if their songs were the National Anthem.

It’s no wonder everyone wants to be a little bit Irish on the 17th!

It will resonate with you that yes other countries may be sunny and warm, they may have lots of their own traditions but there really is nowhere like Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day.

How Irish Are You?

A big thank you to the good folks at the Irish Shop for putting together this little round up of Irish celebrations around the world.

They have a fun quiz on their site asking “How Irish Are You?”, and I am happy to report I am officially 100% Irish. I passed with flying colors, or should I say with flying green colors.

To uncover how Irish you actually are, take their “How Irish Are You?” quiz and be in with a chance of winning a voucher for $100 to spend online.

Slán agus beannacht!

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

Leprechaun Tricks And Pranks For St. Patrick’s Day

March 12, 2015 by Irish American Mom 4 Comments

Leprechauns are up to all their old tricks now that St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner. They love to pop in for an unexpected visit, leaving their mark wherever they go.

I love how American teachers and parents embrace our favorite Irish holiday, welcoming these little Irish pranksters into their classrooms and homes for some Paddy’s Day fun.

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When my little girl was in kindergarten she arrived home just before St. Patrick’s Day exuding pure leprechaun glee. She couldn’t wait to tell me about the shenanigans of their very own classroom leprechaun.

“He hid all the green markers,” she exclaimed.

“Then he left a shamrock on our tables after lunch.”

“Our leprechaun left footprints all over our desks,” added her equally enthusiastic brother, in a tone saying “our leprechaun is better than yours”.

Then all four of my kids looked at me questioningly:

“Do you think leprechauns will visit our house this year?”

Let me confess – my heart sank. My ever practical Irish side thought of all the “work” involved in teaming up with leprechauns.

I grew up in Ireland at a time when St. Patrick’s Day meant going to Mass, wearing a rosette on my coat, saying a few prayers, singing Hail Glorious Saint Patrick, and gorging on sweets.

© Copyright Richard Hoare and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons License

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I just wanted to tell my kids, there wasn’t a chance of leprechauns setting foot in our house.

But I saw the longing looks in my kids’ fun-loving eyes, and I knew I needed to welcome the leprechauns into our home, even if this meant facing a little inevitable havoc.

After a quick internet search to find out more about these St. Patrick’s Day leprechaun high jinks I soon discovered my fellow Americans really embrace magical capers and tomfoolery. I decided I’m game to join in some leprechaun malarkey, spoofs and escapades.

And so this year, I thought I might share the leprechaun antics witnessed in our house over the years in the run-up to St. Patrick’s Day.

1.Footprints, Footprints Everywhere

Leprechauns leave footprints or shamrocks all over our house.

Try as I might to hide those green markers every year, he finds them and leaves his mark in the craziest of places.

Green footprints in classroom — A bit big for a leprechaun’s footprint, but maybe an Irish giant ????

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Flour has been spilled on my counter top with little footprints running through the white field of “snow”.

Chalk footprints are sometimes seen on the side walk outside our front door.

And sometimes, our little mischievous fellow leaves a trail of gold foil rolos on our stairs, or around our coffee table.

2.Leprechaun Toilet Fun

Leprechauns have turned our toilet water green. He must start messing with green food coloring, adding a few drops to the toilet water.

And the toilet paper is a whole other story. You can find shamrocks drawn on it, or it can be sealed closed with a leprechaun sticker.

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Green soap and hand washes have appeared overnight. He even put up a fresh set of green towels one year, with a note – “Only green towels on St. Patrick’s Day.”

3. Leprechaun Kitchen Tricks

One St. Patrick’s Day we woke up to find our kitchen cabinets wide open with little notes pinned on the doors.

I have heard tell of leprechauns spilling silverware out of drawers. Some of these crazy guys turn cups and saucepans upside down, and leave half-empty glasses of green milk on counter tops.

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And be careful if you are partial to Lucky Charms. They’re not past stealing all the charms out of your favorite cereal box.

They only like green Apple Jacks, and have even been known to thread them into a lucky green bracelet.

I think I’d like a jelly bean bracelet in green, white and orange this year.

4. Furniture Shenanigans

The little pranksters who show up at our house often turn our chairs and other furniture upside down.

Luckily our little rascal has only wreaked his havoc with small chairs and things that are easy to turn right way round.

I have him warned not to touch a big piece of furniture. My kids laugh when I start shouting out to unseen leprechauns. But who knows what that little trickster could get up to this year, if I don’t give him a good warning.

5. Fun With Shoes On St. Patrick’s Day

Leprechauns love to leave chocolate coins in shoes around our house.

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We have found the laces in our sneakers have been changed to none other than green shoe laces.

6. A Little Doggy Fun For St. Pat’s:

Leprechauns have been known to put green bandanas on family dogs, or any pet that stands still long enough to be adorned in green.

The loony leprechaun who visits our house has even tied a shamrock scarf around our sheepdog.

7. Leprechaun Blockades

Leprechauns use crepe paper to block the way out of bedroom doors.

What a surprise my little one’s got when they woke up one Paddy’s Day morning to find there was a paper ribbon barricading their path.

8. Balloon Tricks for St. Patrick’s Day

Our little Irish man leaves green balloons on our living room floor.

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Sometimes he gets very careless and puts dimes inside the balloons. He needs to be more careful with his treasure.

9. Notes and Jokes From Little Irish Leprechauns

Our little fellow loves to leave little pieces of paper lying around the house with leprechaun jokes or taunting notes printed on them.

Here are three of my favorite kid-friendly leprechaun jokes. Some jokes are way over my kids heats, but I’m happy to say my kids got these jokes even when they were pretty young.

Q: Why do people wear shamrocks on St. Patrick’s Day?
A: Regular rocks are too heavy.

Q: What type of bow cannot be tied?
A: A rain-bow!

Q: Where can you always find gold?
A: In the dictionary!

Leprechaun by the cliffs — Achill Island, County Mayo © Copyright Suzanne Mischyshyn and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons License

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Leprechauns leave “You Can’t Catch Me Notes” all over our house.

Our leprechaun has some favorite places for leaving his calling card.

He has scribbled his message on the inside of the shower curtain.

The dry erase board on the side of the fridge is another spot he likes – that’s my favorite one. Sometimes he uses a WASHABLE marker and writes on shower curtains and other plastic surfaces. Other times he just leaves his “You Can’t Catch Me” message on little shamrock shaped notes.

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10. Leprechaun Dress-Up

And finally, leprechauns love to dress anything and everything up in Irish green. Dolls and teddy bears are fair game.

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And how about these garden statues – I love these Irish geese I found on Flickr. They give a whole knew meaning to the term ‘The Wild Geese.’

Silly McGilly

And finally if anyone is interested in exploring more leprechaun prank ideas, why not check out the Silly McGilly website.

Silly is a plush leprechaun toy you can place in your window to let the leprechauns know you are game for some Irish fun. Here’s a review of Silly McGilly and all of his shenanigans.

They have a wonderful list of tricks for the home, and pranks for the classroom.

And so, there you have it, a little round up of leprechaun fun.

I hope you all have a little leprechaun craic this weekend. But be warned! The leprechauns are in the mood for pinching.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

A Cute New Irish Kids’ Clothing Line Plus A Giveaway For St. Patrick’s Day

February 23, 2015 by Irish American Mom 29 Comments

Funny Monkey is a cute new line of Irish themed clothes for little ones. Today I’m delighted to introduce you to this fabulous fashion line for young kids.

When the creator of these fun products tried to buy a gift for her newborn cousin she thought some of the Irish themed choices were not very unique.

So guess what she did! She set up her own company and designed some of the cutest little sweat shirts for today’s Irish kids.

And today she is sponsoring a giveaway for one of Irish American Mom’s readers.

But first let me hand you over to her for a quick review of her products and company philosophy.

Introducing Funny Monkey

Funny Monkey is a new Irish brand of clothing for babies, toddlers and kids all over the world.

Our garments are all made with 100% organic cotton and they are designed and printed in Ireland.

We are based in Galway but we ship our fun products worldwide to spread Irish pride everywhere.

Funny Monkey is all about Irish culture, Irish people and having fun.

We are extremely focused on creating the best quality products, at an affordable price.

Our first collection has 7 designs and each design has 3 different bright colors: Mint, yellow and red.

Cliché Irish clothes are not enough for us.

We are original and organic!

Let’s do it “Irish”… just for the craic!

The Prize:

The good folks at Funny Monkey have graciously sponsored a prize for one lucky reader. To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day they have created two limited edition T-Shirts.

The St. Patrick’s Day line is made with 100% organic cotton. The sizes of the green tees are 3/4 years and 5/6 years.

The white T-shirts come in sizes 3-6 MONTHS, 6-12 MONTHS and 12-18 MONTHS.

One lucky winner will receive one St. Patrick’s Day T-Shirt in a child’s size requested from the choices above.

The Giveaway

To enter our giveaway just leave a comment on this blog post by noon on Wednesday, March 4th, 2015. You can leave any comment you wish. What you write does not affect your chances of winning.

If you need some inspiration, why not tell us what you like to wear on St. Patrick’s Day …

A winning comment will be chosen randomly. Remember to leave your e-mail so we can arrange to have your prize delivered for St. Patrick’s Day. Your e-mail won’t be published or shared, just used to make contact.

The winner will be announced on the evening of Wednesday, March 4th, 2015 and the name shared at the end of this post.

You may check out Irish American Mom’s complete terms and conditions for sweepstake entries by clicking here.

Best of luck to all our entrants and a big thank you to Funny Monkey for sponsoring a fantastic prize for Irish American Mom’s readers. I really appreciate their generosity.

And a big thanks to all of you who enter and help spread the word to family and friends about this little giveaway.

March 6th, 2015 – We Have A Winner

Congratulations to Patricia, who is our lucky winner.

Thanks to everyone who joined in and enter this little giveaway.

And a big thank you to Funny Monkey for sponsoring this wonderful prize. Wishing them every success with this wonderful business.

A St. Patrick’s Day Offer For You:

Irish American Mom’s readers can get 15% off any product

on Funny Monkey’s website using the discount code: PADDY’S DAY

at the checkout until next Wednesday, March 11th, 2015.

Slán agus beannacht,

Goodbye and blessings,

Irish American Mom

Disclosure: Irish American Mom does not have a business relationship with Funny Monkey. I receive a sample product as part of the review process. No cash payment was received for publishing this giveaway post. I love to help spread the word about small home businesses, artists and crafts people. Thank you to all who support these wonderful Irish and Irish American business enterprises.

Images published with permission of Funny Monkey.