Free Republic

This is fascinating: [Irish Prime Minister Brian] Cowen was 20 seconds into his second address when it dawned on him that he was giving word for word the speech that Obama had just read from the same teleprompter. Cowen stopped and looked back at the president to say, "That's your speech." Obama laughed and returned to the podium to offer what might have been Cowen's remarks. In doing so, President Obama thanked President Obama for inviting everyone over. Think about this: Cowen's gaffe made perfectly clear that the teleprompter was on the fritz. Obama nonetheless read through a speech thanking...

WASHINGTON -- Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen was just a few paragraphs into an address at a St. Patrick's Day celebration at the White House when he realized something sounded way too familiar. Turns out, he was repeating the speech President Barack Obama had just given. Cowen was set to speak twice at the White House on Tuesday night because there were two different parties going on at the executive mansion. No matter -- he would give the same speech to the two different audiences. But Cowen was 20 seconds into his second address when it dawned on him that...

WASHINGTON – Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen was just a few paragraphs into an address at a St. Patrick's Day celebration at the White House when he realized something sounded way too familiar. Turns out, he was repeating the speech President Barack Obama had just given.

"I, personally, take great interest on St. Patrick's Day because, as some of you know, my mother's family can be traced back to Ireland," the president said. He even joked to Cowen: "We may be cousins. We haven't sorted that through yet."

The White House fountains are dyed green this morning. No, not for the $165 million in AIG bonuses, silly -- in honor of St. Patrick's day. They were dyed this morning by White House grounds staff, ordered by White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers in honor of the Chicago tradition of dying the Chicago River on St. Patrick's Day every year. Rogers told the Obamas her idea and the Obamas "loved it" according to a White House aide.

Over a chorus of gleeful Irish pub-goers literally singing Barack Obama's praises, NBC's Al Roker, broadcasting live from Ireland on Monday's "Today" show, explored the current president's Irish roots as he observed: "As St. Patrick's Day approaches in Moneygall the townsfolk join in the chorus, determined to keep hope alive." The "Today" show weatherman began the celebratory segment by exclaiming: "In a small pub in Ireland they're still celebrating Obama's victory. Dancing in honor of their adopted son." The following is a complete transcript of the segment as it was aired on the March 16, "Today" show: AL ROKER: You...

The Fighting Race By Joseph I. C. Clarke “READ out the names!” and Burke sat back, And Kelly drooped his head. While Shea—they call him Scholar Jack— Went down the list of the dead. Officers, seamen, gunners, marines, The crews of the gig and yawl, The bearded man and the lad in his teens, Carpenters, coal passers—all. Then, knocking the ashes from out his pipe, Said Burke in an offhand way: “We ’re all in that dead man’s list, by Cripe! Kelly and Burke and Shea.” “Well, here ’s to the Maine, and I ’m sorry for Spain,” Said Kelly...

A White House aide tells POLITICO44 that Obama (O’Bama?) will be hosting a big St. Patrick’s day bash at the White House ... ... Tuesday night. On the guest list: Irish American lawmakers and other Irish Americans. We're also hearing that Obama will be participating in a budget-related event tomorrow. Details to come.

I grew up in the city of Chicago during the reign of Hizzoner da Mare, Daley I. My family came from Sweden, but even so, everybody was Irish on St. Patrick's Day. The city even dyed the river green. So now, as we come to this year's St. Patrick's Day, I feel a need to salute a Chicago Irish politician who made it big. This is a little ditty co-written by a friend of mine, Fritz Baue, and yours truly, Charlie Henrickson, the wag tailoring the doggerel. Click one of the music links and sing along! ANOTHER IRISHMAN (In...

Luck was not on the side of Charleston police last night, as a sobriety checkpoint for The St. Patrick's Day holiday was cut short because of two car chases. two drivers, not willing to comply with officer commands, thinned out the number of officers, making it too difficult to sustain through the evening... The first pursuit began just after 9 p.m. when a car pulled up to the checkpoint and the driver was asked if he had been drinking. The driver, identified as Todd Nelson Miller, 27, of Charleston, submitted a driver's license, but then sped off, nearly hitting several...

THE BALLAD OF MIKE MORAN is now on YouTube. It honors those who gave their lives trying to protect others on 9/11. "Osama bin Laden, you can kiss my royal Irish *ss" LOADS OF ST. PATRICK INFO ON THIS SITE

Apostle of Ireland, born at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, in Scotland, in the year 387; died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, 17 March, 493. [Some sources say 460 or 461. --Ed.] He had for his parents Calphurnius and Conchessa. The former belonged to a Roman family of high rank and held the office of decurio in Gaul or Britain. Conchessa was a near relative of the great patron of Gaul, St. Martin of Tours. Kilpatrick still retains many memorials of Saint Patrick, and frequent pilgrimages continued far into the Middle Ages to perpetuate there the fame of his sanctity and miracles.

Since 1962, Scranton, Pennsylvania has hosted the second largest Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in the country. This year was no exception! Thousands of people lined the streets, watching the 9,000 participants of all ages! The Obama campaign was present in all parts of the parade as surrogate speaker Max Kennedy met parade watchers and encouraged them to vote for Barack Obama. Scranton residents rallied for Obama by wearing special Saint Patrick’s Day Obama stickers, holding signs and carrying around balloons. Jennifer, Marissa and Debbie are excited to vote on April 22 for Barack. Jennifer, a teacher, supports Barack’s education...

  And a Happy Saint Patty's day to ye from the FReeper Canteen! Just a wee bit o' fun for your holiday!    The History of St. Patrick What's Your Irish Name? (Please share!) Billy Bear's St. Patrick's Day Pages  Please remember:  the Canteen is a politics-free zone.  We are here for the enjoyment of our troops and their families!  Thanks for honoring our tradition!

(CNN) – There was no red or blue politics Saturday, only green as Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton marched in this city's annual St. Patrick's Day parade. It was the first of two holiday parades for the New York senator. She travels to Scranton in eastern Pennsylvania to take part in that city's St. Patrick's Day festivities later in the day. Pennsylvania is the next big battleground in the race for the White House. There are 158 delegates at stake when the state holds its primary on April 22.

It's depressing. It's not usually sung in Ireland for St. Patrick's Day. Its lyrics were written by an Englishman who never set foot on Irish soil. Those are only some of the reasons a Manhattan pub is giving for banning the song "Danny Boy" for the entire month of March. "It's overplayed, it's been ranked among the 25 most depressing songs of all time, and it's more appropriate for a funeral than for a St. Patrick's Day celebration," says Shaun Clancy, who owns Foley's Pub and Restaurant, just off Fifth Avenue opposite the Empire State Building. The 38-year-old, who started...

Here’s a shot of Christine Quinn and Bill Thompson--two likely mayoral candidates--at the all-inclusive St. Patrick’s Day parade in Sunnyside yesterday afternoon. Quinn marched behind the parade’s official banner, while Thompson marched behind the flag for the Stonewall Democrats, a major gay Democratic club in the city. The parade is an annual event, held in response to a larger parade in Manhattan that doesn’t allow gays to march under their own banner. (That parade will be held this year on March 17). Christine Quinn was one of the grand marshals of the Sunnyside parade, along with newspaper columnist and author...

As some of you know, this year's (very) early Easter -- earliest since 1913, they say (and, yes, thanks for the corrections) -- has necessitated a chain-reaction reshifting of the liturgical calendar's most popular, and most solemn, March feasts. As a result, two have been moved up, and one delayed. With Easter Sunday falling on 23 March and the "privileged days" of Holy Week and Easter Week prohibited from observing anything other than the the Triduum's pre-game and post-game, a universal decision announced last year will see the solemnity of St Joseph moved from the Wednesday the 19th to...

That famous saint named Patrick will have his green-drenched party this year, but it's unclear when the guests are supposed to arrive. For the first time since 1940, St. Patrick's Day will fall during Holy Week, the sacred seven days preceding Easter. Because of the overlap, liturgical rules dictate that no Mass in honor of the saint can be celebrated on Monday, March 17, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. But a few Roman Catholic leaders are asking for even more moderation in their dioceses: They want parades and other festivities kept out of Holy Week as well....

The echo from the shots which rang out some twenty-six years ago near the intersection of Locust Street and 12th Street in Philadelphia can still be heard today. In fact, on Sunday, March 18th they will be especially loud. Exactly 85.9 miles from the spot where Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner fell, masses will be gathering and preparing to march in the Newark St. Patrick's Day Parade. However, for the first time in many years a deeply entrenched tradition will be broken: there will be no police officers among the participants. To serve as this year's parade honoree, organizers chose...

It's not luck the Irish have.By Chris EdwardsOn Saint Patrick’s Day, we wear green and celebrate the culture of Ireland. I’ll be down at the pub Saturday, but I’ll be toasting Ireland’s success at attracting greenbacks — all that investment flowing into the Emerald Isle and the resulting prosperity.Ireland has boomed in recent years, and it now boasts the fourth-highest gross domestic product per capita in the world. In the mid-1980s, Ireland was a backwater with an average income level 30 percent below that of the European Union. Today, Irish incomes are 40 percent above the EU average.

Hillary on parade from The National Post, March 16th 2000 As my favourite 1970s McDonald’s jingle put it: Hey, come on down The weather’s getting better Have a big thick shamrock shake We’ll welcome in the spring together... Ah, St. Patrick’s Day was so simple back then: In the “Irish Alps” of Massachusetts, they’d be skiing on green snow; in Buffalo, they’d dye the Niagara River green, instead of its usual toxic orange (a tad too Unionist). All you had to do was just colour everything emerald. But Ireland’s multi-hued greens are not enough to embrace the exotic tints of...

Sen. Hillary Clinton may be skipping New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade (see below), but the state’s other presidential contender is not. Rudy Giuliani will march in the parade with Congressman Peter King and Manhattan College’s contingent, his campaign just announced.

Find a partner or grab your favorite beverage & listen to some Irish tunes .A couple of wave files - full-length, lilting, Irish melodies - they are so beautiful! I hope you can open them, or "save target as" to your hard drive and listen to them later. "My Wild Irish Rose" ~ John Gary "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" ~ John Gary MIDIS "Irish Lullabye" "The Last Rose of Summer" "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" "Danny Boy" Why Saint Patrick's Day? Saint Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything...

         We celebrate Saint Patrick's Day each year on March 17th. The festive holiday has everyone wearing green (so they don't get pinched) and chatting of four leaf clovers, shamrocks, lucky leprechauns, drinking green beer and kissing some big rock called a blarney stone.  Want to be lucky this St. Patrick's Day? Follow this advice:    1. Find a four-leaf clover. 2. Wear green (so you don't get pinched). 3. Kiss the blarney stone. 4. Catch a Leprechaun if you can. 5. Drink as much green beer as your heart desires.    6. And don't forget that corned...

Pay to buy jokes to use at the St. Patrick’s Day breakfast in Southie - I don’t think so. Paying not to have to actually go to the breakfast - no price is too high. It’s priceless, to quote the credit card ad. As Dapper O’Neil used to say, “Who wants to go some place where you can’t take a (bleep) for four hours?” Hey, Dap, when you gotta go, you gotta go. And the hacks in Boston today are gone, sliding into a three-day weekend with the traditional “Evacuation Day” holiday. I hope someone from my radio station called...

Marines Feel Slighted From Parade Lineup. Denver's St. Patrick's Day Parade will have one fewer group marching in it this year. The First Marine Division opted not to be in the parade after it was moved back nearly 50 spots in the parade lineup. "We just felt that we kind of got slapped in the face," said Sgt. Max Brown from the First Marine Division. The honorary group that usually leads the parade was cut down this year. The president of the parade committee said politics influenced the committee to put a limit on the group. "The parade committee has...

If you ask people who Saint Patrick was, you’re likely to hear that he was an Irishman who chased the snakes out of Ireland. It may surprise you to learn that the real Saint Patrick was not actually Irish—yet his robust faith changed the Emerald Isle forever. Patrick was born in Roman Britain to a middle-class family in about A.D. 390. When Patrick was a teenager, marauding Irish raiders attacked his home. Patrick was captured, taken to Ireland, and sold to an Irish king, who put him to work as a shepherd. In his excellent book, How the Irish Saved...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- An out-of-town couple visiting a sick child encountered an unruly mob following the St. Patrick's Day parade. KMBC's Chris Nagus reported that two cars with two different couples were on the way to Children's Mercy Hospital when another car cut between them. One of the drivers asked the cutting driver not to block them. Then, things got out of control when a mob came out of nowhere, Nagus reported. "Just a whole bunch of people rushed the car. I was thinking 20 girls; my husband said more like 30," said Michelle Essig, who was driving to...

WASHINGTON — Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern gave President Bush a bowl of shamrocks Friday and then asked the president for more "transparency" about CIA flights over Europe. Ahern said he asked Bush if there was a way to bring more "transparency" to the issue of rendition. The European Union is investigating allegations that CIA agents interrogated al-Qaida suspects at secret prisons in Europe and transported some on secret flights that passed through Europe. Ahern said that while Ireland facilitates U.S. troop movements and is "happy to do it," there is public concern over the CIA flights. The prime minister...

It was St. Patrick's Day, 1988, when an unexpected visitor arrived at Pat Troy's Irish pub: President Ronald Reagan. For more than 20 years, Pat Troy's Old Town, Alexandria, pub has been a favorite watering hole for some Washington insiders seeking a respite from their hectic lives. Some of Mr. Reagan's advance men were regulars. They arranged the president's visit. The pub was half-packed when Mr. Reagan and his entourage arrived just before noon. As news spread that Mr. Reagan was there, the pub quickly filled to capacity. While Mr. Reagan enjoyed a pint of Harp and some corned beef...

The chairman of the nation's biggest St. Patrick's Day Parade marched Friday while sidestepping questions about remarks comparing gay Irish-American activists to neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan and prostitutes. "Today is St. Patrick's Day. We celebrate our faith and heritage. Everything else is secondary," said the chairman, John Dunleavy, who wore a sash of the Irish colors. Dunleavy was blasted by the City Council's first openly gay leader for the remarks, which appeared in The Irish Times on Thursday. He told the newspaper, "If an Israeli group wants to march in New York, do you allow Neo-Nazis into their parade?...

  Canteen Music Dedication  Click for our National Anthem!(remove your caps please!)Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there. O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists...

Find a partner or grab your favorite beverage & listen to some Irish tunes .A couple of wave files - full-length, lilting, Irish melodies - they are so beautiful! I hope you can open them, or "save target as" to your hard drive and listen to them later. "My Wild Irish Rose" ~ John Gary "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" ~ John Gary MIDIS "Irish Lullabye" "The Last Rose of Summer" "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" "Danny Boy" Why Saint Patrick's Day? Saint Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything...

With thanks for prayers offered and prayers answered and with deep respect and gratitude for our troops I offer the following special Saint Patrick's Day Blessing for our troops. (Graphic intense and be sure to click to link provided to play the audio portion of this offering)

Male room A ranking of the finest concocted cocktail bars St. Patrick's Day is our annual chance to celebrate a mythologically snakeless Ireland by stumbling around Fifth Avenue inebriated, vomiting into shrubbery and getting thrown out of FAO Schwarz for passing out on the stuffed pandas. But if a day of public drunkenness sounds less entertaining than staying home and renting a movie, go ahead and raise a glass in one of these fictional saloons. Here's a Post toast to the top joints where I'd like to hoist one - if only they existed in real life. 1. The Dexter...

Yesterday evening the President addressed the National Republican Congressional Committee in Washington. Yesterday evening First Lady Laura Bush delivers remarks at the Ayenda Afghan Children Initiative Benefit Dinner at the Afghanistan embassy in Washington. Today the President met with Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern at the White House later on the President and the First Lady departed for Camp David where they are spending the weekend. The Vice President spoke at a Rally for the Troops at Charleston Air Force Base Click here for the transcript The Vice President also spoke at a luncheon for congressional candidate Ralph Norman in...

Today, some would call Patrick intolerant or bigoted. He was. He would have flunked a class on How to Win Friends and Influence People. Imagine how he would have reacted to diversity training. If he were ministering today, he might refer to Christians as “the Good,” the Druid gods as “the Bad,” and those who believed in the pagan gods as “the Misinformed.” The Druids didn’t like his message. They arrested him several times, but he was always freed to preach another day. During his 30 years as a missionary to the Irish, Patrick spoke out against what he...

During the Great Irish Potato Famine in the mid­1800's, anti­Catholic zealots would occasionally bring large kettles of soup to Irish villages. The soup was free, but there was a catch. Before a starving Irishman could have even a sip of the soup, he would first have to renounce his Catholic faith. So strong was the Catholic faith in Ireland at the time that many starved to death rather than selling their souls. However, a few did drink the soup. They became known as "soupers" — a derisive label that would stick to their families for generations. Today, we are witnessing...

To eat or not to eat corned beef and cabbage is a question worth chewing on. It is a culinary decision facing many area Irish Roman Catholics celebrating St. Patrick's Day today who debated the issue this week, given that the holiday falls on a Lenten Friday. But, as the luck of the Irish would have it, they don't have to feel guilty. Area Catholic bishops have given their parishioners a dispensation, meaning they won't have to avoid meat today.  However, just in case people don't want to eat meat, the owners of Fitzgerald's Harp'n Bard in Clifton say the...

Shh! Shamrock is a sham! DUBLIN, IrelandFor one week a year, nursery owner Cecil Geddis is knee-deep in shamrock, the delicate three-leafed plant that people the world over associate with Ireland and St. Patrick's Day.  "You have to move fast in this business. Nobody wants to buy a shamrock on March 18," said Geddis, whose nursery has produced 80,000 shamrock plants, most shipped out in cartons bearing leprechaun decorations and labeled: "Authentic shamrock -- grown in Ireland."While wearing a freshly cut shamrock is a fading tradition in Ireland, a few savvy growers and seed merchants are wooing foreign buyers and...

NEW YORK - The city's first openly gay City Council leader said Thursday she plans to boycott the St. Patrick's Day parade because organizers barred Irish gays and lesbians from joining the festivities for a 16th straight year. "I can't deny who I am on any given day," said Council Speaker Christine Quinn. She said she will attend several pre-parade breakfasts, along with Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, but will not join the 150,000 marchers Friday on Fifth Avenue. Quinn, who took office in January, said attempts at brokering a deal with the Ancient Order of Hibernians for the 245th...

Mass Equality, a militant gay organization pushing for national gay marriage, has announced that it plans to do a petition drive in South Boston during the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Petitioners will approach individuals and families watching the parade, urging people to sign their petition which demands national gay marriage rights. As you might expect, Catholics and parents who plan to be at the parade with their kids are angry at this latest assault and are calling-in to the show to protest. The Mass Equality rep is countering that her organization has the right to do this and that anyone...

St. Patrick's Day began as a religious observance to commemorate the death in the fifth century of Ireland's patron saint. Because March 17 falls during Lent, the Catholic Church in Ireland has traditionally allowed parishioners a one-day reprieve from their fast. [snip] By 1995, the Irish government realized that it was missing out on a chance to cash in on this holiday bonanza and established a St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin. In the decade since, attendance at the four-day event has more than tripled to some 1.2 million people. These days it's popular in some quarters to warn that globalization...

                Some Irish tunes for your listening pleasure. A couple of wave files - full-length, lilting, Irish melodies - they are so beautiful! I hope you can open them, or "save target as" to your hard drive and listen to them later. "My Wild Irish Rose" ~ John Gary "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" ~ John Gary MIDIS "Irish Lullabye" "The Last Rose of Summer" "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" "Danny Boy" Finest Friends.... May you always have work for your hands to do. May your pockets hold always a coin...

Irish Quotes I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing I ever do with it. It is never of any use to oneself. - Oscar Wilde Take care to get what you like or you will be forced to like what you get. - George Bernard Shaw The intellect of man is forced to choose Perfection of the life, or of the work. - W.B. Yeats He who can does. He who cannot, teaches. - George Bernard Shaw He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career. - George Bernard...