Lá Fhéile Pádraig ☘️🌎

So, What’s the Craic?

The Craic is back in this Pre-Paddy’s edition of our weekly dose of Irish news and views. The Craic is the gobby younger sibling of Shift, the app for the global Irish and culturally Irish. We’ve got some more news below on the Shift team’s adventures this weekend, so check that out, and don’t forget, share the Shift with everyone you know. They’re going to need it this week. Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona dhaoibh!

News from Home

Lá Fhéile Pádraig. Ah well, here we all are now. The big day is approaching, so our country and yours are gearing up for parades, pageantry and pints-a-plenty. If you’ve a couple of sprogs 👶 in tow, your main concern will be keeping them entertained and the consumption of sweets to a minimum. If you're young and trendy, you’ll be thinking of what pubs and clubs to go to and how to get a shift at the end of the night. Anyway, wherever you are in the world, and regardless of whether you’re full-fat Irish or just a wee bit Irish, we’d just like to say, have a great one on Tuesday.

Big Spenders. Ahead of Micheál Martin’s traditional visit to the White House next week, you can expect the Taoiseach to wallop Donald Trump over the head (figuratively speaking) with the following information: Ireland is now the 5th-largest investor in the US. Irish companies now invest a total of $389 billion in the US, and we will be throwing in around $6 billion this year. So there you go, you owe us a pint, America.

The Best. We’ve been glued to the results of a Today FM poll that is asking listeners to vote on their top 100 Irish songs of all time. Numbers 100-11 have already been announced, and the top 10 is coming this evening around the time this newsletter goes out. But we’d love to hear from you – what is the greatest Irish song ever? Let us know on Shift socials.

The Craic Recommends. Oh wow, we are absolutely thrilled with this: A collection of global artists has got together to release a tribute album to the one and only Shane McGowan. The album, titled 20th Century Paddy (we’re considering that title as affectionate and not pejorative) and released in November, has contributions from Hozier and Jessie Buckley, among others, but the top-billing goes to Bruce Springsteen. The Boss has given us an early taste of the album with his gorgeous cover of A Rainy Night in Soho. Springsteen also penned a wonderful, tear-jerking essay on McGowan.

The Irish Influence

Across the world, St Patrick’s Day parades will be headed by their grand marshals. The choices are not always universally supported, of course, and here as well as in the States, we are sometimes left scratching our heads as to why some undeserving celebrity is fronting the celebrations. Yet, we can have no qualms with the choice for Clara, Co. Offaly, which has selected Paddy Claffey – Ireland’s oldest man – to lead the parade. "It's a great honour, a great honour, there will be an awful crowd there I suppose," said Paddy. "I hope I'm able for it all, only for my knees and my hips, I could be dancing now".  105 years young next month and still going strong – good luck, Paddy. 

Cúpla Focal

Seamróg {Sham-rouge} – Shamrock. It’s the most visible symbol of St Patrick’s Day – and perhaps Ireland in general – but the word Seamróg has an interesting etymological history. First, the English word shamrock comes from the Irish and not the other way around. Second, Seamróg is derived from the word seamair óg, which means little clover. 

Blast from the Past

We could have brought you back to St Patrick’s Days of the past this week, but, given that there might be a bit of Paddy’s overload, we thought instead we’d look back at March 10, 2015, the day that drugs were legal in Ireland. Yes, you read that correctly: a technical legislative error meant that for 24 hours, drugs like ecstasy, crystal meth and ketamine became legal. Did it lead to the biggest rave the world has ever seen? Nah, but it was quite funny, and it did leave the government scrambling to put through emergency legislation. Some scamps and scallywags still mark the date, though, “Happy Yokes (slang for ecstasy) Day,” messages still swirl around Irish social media on the anniversary.

And One Last Thing….

Yes, it’s that week of March, and yes, that means that there will be all sorts of PPEs (Pre-Paddy’s Events) around the US. Made-up acronyms aside, Team Shift will be popping up like gophers across various events before the big day. Darren’s going to be at the Chicago River dyeing next week, whereas Paul and Patrick will be attending an Irish business owners’ event in Tulsa on Friday, followed by an Irish festival in the city on Saturday. As for Vivienne, she’ll be in NYC spreading the good word of Shift before the main event. We will have a big Paddy’s Day special for The Craic next week, but if you see any of us floating about Chicago, Tulsa, or NYC, be sure to say hello! And don’t forget to update your app. There’s a brand-spanking new home screen, aptly named “Craic”. Head on over and make sure to check in to your St Patrick’s Day pub on Tuesday! Till then, please enjoy this Voices of Ireland Around the World. Don’t know about you, but it gave us the chills. ☘️❤️