I wondered why you mentioned the relationship between Purim and St Patricks. Allow me to post, from the website:
http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday9.htm for those who are scratching their heads (as was I) over this phenomenon:
"We are also commanded to eat, drink and be merry. According to the Talmud, a person is required to drink until he cannot tell the difference between "cursed be Haman" and "blessed be Mordecai," though opinions differ as to exactly how drunk that is."
Well, since Haman was a pretty bad actor, I would suppose one would have to be a bit tipsy (c;
Gotta go bake the Purim pastries. Can I borrow a cup of Muslim blood?