I'm only about 15% Irish. I totally forgot it was St. Patrick's day, though I do recall some mention of it a few days ago. I did not buy the corned beef brisket that was really cheap at my local Shoprite, only because my Czech husband dislikes it, other than in reubens. Because of that, I've only made corned beef brisket about twice these past 20 plus years. My mother used to make a pretty big deal about it, since she was 25% Irish (her maternal grandfather was 100%). She used to also make Irish soda bread, and Irish potato candy. That was a long time ago.

Even though my mother was pretty much 75% of English background, she always seemed to regard herself as fully Irish. I think because her closest immigrant relative was her great great grandfather who came from Dublin. He was a successful horse jockey from there. Plus, she especially loved her maternal grandfather and his sisters. She always wanted to visit Ireland, so one time when I was in my mid 20s, she and I went there on a vacation together. We had a lovely time.

The other day, Daonnachd and I were chatting about our mutual fondness for the Irish band U2. Actually, I like a lot of Irish bands and singers. The Pogues and The Chieftains are great! I also like Mary Black, Sinaed O'Connor, and The Cranberries. When I was at university, there used to be occasional events focused on Irish music and heritage. I often participated. Though I've never formally studied Irish step dancing, as a dancing enthusiast, I've tried it a bit at Irish music fests.