March 17th, or as it is known in many countries around the world, Saint Patrick’s Day, is the most important national holiday in Ireland. It is a day when the whole country celebrates simply being Irish, and the rich culture and heritage of Ireland.

Dublin Paddy’s Day 2009

The day is named after Saint Patrick, who brought Christianity to the island in the 5th century – over 1,500 years ago! For hundreds of years he has been celebrated ever since, and he is the “patron saint” of Ireland. (A “patron saint” is the national saint chosen by each Christian country; for example, Saint George in England, or Saint Andrew in Scotland.)

Today, people wear green – the national colour – and old Irish costumes along with modern versions of saints and leprechauns. Large folk dances are held in some areas, called “céili” (in the Irish language, “Gaelic”) and traditional music can be heard on the streets and in the pubs and parks around the country.

Guinness Storehouse St. Patrick’s Day Sign

The most important event is usually the St. Patrick’s Day parade, where you can see and hear all of these things and more, with music, dance, acrobats and costumes from Ireland and other countries where the Irish live in large numbers. The largest parade in Ireland is held in my home city of Dublin, and attracts hundreds of thousands of people every year and is broadcast live on TV for hours. (The smallest parade is in a small town in Cork, and is only 23 metres long!) Nowadays, the St. Patrick’s Day “Festival” takes almost a week and there are many events around the city.

Parades can be found in cities around the world – the biggest is not in Ireland, but in New York. In fact, the St. Patrick’s Day parade there is the oldest parade in the world! In London, Sydney, Chicago, Paris, Moscow, Beijing, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires you can find parades too, along with many smaller cities worldwide.

Sydney Opera House St. Patrick’s Day 2010

Chicago River Dyed Green St. Patrick’s Day

New York City St. Patrick’s Day

Yes, even in Japan you can find them – there has been a parade every year in Tokyo since 1992, and there are smaller events in Kumamoto and Osaka too.

Traditionally, the head of the Irish government is invited to the White House in Washington to be presented with a bowl of “shamrock” by the President of the US. St. Patrick’s Day is a time to share with your friends and family, both near and far.

As many of you may know, I’m from the Republic of Ireland (or just “Ireland” is okay too.) Ireland is a little bit like Japan in some ways – it too is an island, next to a great ocean and with large neighbours nearby.

Ireland, however, is very different in many ways. The Republic – my home – is about the same size as Hokkaido. Like Hokkaido, Ireland is famous for food, especially fish, beef, milk and cheese. Maybe some of you have tried Guinness beer or even Irish whiskeys too!

Green is considered to be the national colour of Ireland, as most of the country is countryside. There are many beautiful, lush places to see in the centre and on the east coast, while the west coast has a stark, rocky beauty.

Everybody speaks English as their first language in Ireland. (Ireland used to be part of the United Kingdom, until about 100 years ago.) However, people in the West often speak Gaelic (Irish) too. It’s a really difficult language – but I would be delighted to teach anyone a few words if they would like!

There are only about four and a half million people in the Republic of Ireland (and about 6 million on the whole island) making it a small country in European terms. However, Irish writers such as James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde and WB Yeats are famous around the world. In Ireland, Koizumi Yakumo (小泉 八雲) is better known as Lafcadio Hearn: he is not very well-known in Ireland but he is considered to be from there!

Irish music and dance is very famous too. Over the last 20 years the show “Riverdance” has sold out countless venues around the world (if you would like to borrow a copy, I have a DVD available) and different artists such as U2, Enya, Clannad, Westlife, Aslan and The Frames are popular.

Ireland’s national day is on March 17th every year. It is called Saint Patrick’s Day and it celebrates the man who brought Christianity to Ireland and who supposedly got rid of all the snakes. (There are no snakes in Ireland, thankfully!)

People dress in green and attend big parades where music is played and shows are performed. As there are many people with Irish ancestors around the world, there are Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations in cities around the world such as New York, London and Sydney. There have even been parades in Tokyo in recent years!

Ireland also has some sports that are not played in any other countries. Gaelic football and hurling are amateur sports played all across the island. Hurling is the fastest field sport in the world and very dangerous – the ball is even harder than a baseball! The finals of the All-Ireland tournaments in both sports are played at Croke Park in Dublin, one of the biggest stadiums in Europe. You can see some hurling at this link: Hurling – The Fastest Game on Grass (short version)

If there’s anything else you would like to know about Ireland, please feel free to ask me at any time! My father is from England and I spent some time living there, so if there’s anything you would like to know about my second home too, I’m always available. If you ever want to see some more photographs or read some more about Ireland, there are a few books on the food, language and photographs available at imagine* for you to borrow or check whenever you would like.

Ireland image gallery – Lonely Planet

Hello! My name is Jack, and I’m very pleased to meet all of you.

I’m from Dublin, Ireland – a long, long way from Japan. I’ve been here for a little over a year and a half. Before moving to Kobe, I taught English at a school in Himeji. Although I spend a lot of time in Sannomiya and Osaka, I don’t know Ashiya very well – so I’ll probably be asking you all about good places to eat and drink here!

I studied Meiji-era history and East Asian politics in university, so I’ve always been interested in Japan. I’ve read a lot of books and seen a lot of movies made in Japan too, so I wanted to come and see what it was like – and it has been a great experience. I especially love the food and culture in Kansai, so I’m very happy to be here. Back in Ireland, I worked as a teacher and as a journalist – but doing these jobs in Japan is much more interesting!

I love to read and watch movies about other places too of course and I like to watch and play a lot of football (soccer) and a little bit of baseball and American football. I have become a Tigers fan and I love going to Koshien for games! My favourite football team is Leeds United in England, and I enjoy watching Ireland in international games. I cook often and am always on the lookout*(1) for interesting recipes or dishes. Living in Kobe is great – there are so many bars, restaurants and venues to enjoy and I particularly love playing and listening to jazz and soul music… although my singing leaves something to be desired*(2).

So, that’s a brief introduction to myself. I hope to see you all around imagine* and can’t wait to hear about you too. Let’s practice some English together and thanks for reading!

Jack

*1 – “I’m always on the lookout for ______” = “I’m always searching for _____”
*2 – “______ leaves something to be desired.” = “______ is not very good.”