I took this picture in Dublin and I think it sums up Irish people perfectly.
Anyone feel like when St. Patrick’s Day rolls up, it’s an excuse for them to tell everyone and anyone that they have Irish ancestors? Well, St. Patrick’s Day is the only acceptable day to do that! I mean you are supposed to be celebrating Irish culture, so why not get totally into it!? If you are someone like me who has Irish ancestors, then you probably consider yourself to be “Sorta Irish?” especially when you are with other people who also have Irish ancestors.
Also, you’re usually a little tipsy, because let’s be honest, YOU’RE IRISH.
Anyway, in my case, my ancestors came from County Cork, Ireland, which is the southernmost county.I was lucky enough to travel to Ireland with my family two summers ago. It was an incredible experience, being able to see this magnificent country with its incredible music, pubs, landscapes, and people. Everyone in Ireland is always either singing or telling jokes – they are the happiest people I have ever met. It is a place that I will never forget and will always want to go back to. I am a “sorta Irish” Canadian who is in love with everything Irish.
P.S. I even have a pin that says “Sorta Irish”…
Fun fact: when I was in Ireland, the people there informed me that my name was actually spelt with an O’ in front of Mahoney, which means son of Mahoney; O’Mahoney. I also found out that my family and I having been mispronouncing our last name all this time.
So what do you do on St. Patrick’s Day to make yourself feel more Irish?
Below are my steps to having the best St. Patrick’s Day that will bring out the Irish in you!
1. Start your morning off with having a bowl of Lucky Charms ;) or a full Irish breakfast which can include: bacon, sausage, eggs, Irish beans, tomatoes, black pudding, potatoes and toast.
2. Put on literally anything and everything green you own… Does anyone else have literally no green apparel?
3. Meet up with your friends at Molly’s (also known as Molly Bloom’s Irish Pub) in Waterloo to have your first Guinness of the day, before you hit the town :P
4. Start singing Irish songs (the few that you actually know) as if you were in a pub in Ireland…
If you need some songs for your back pocket to impress your friends, who are literally just celebrating so they can drink during the day, here are a couple really Irish ones:
-The Irish Rover: The Dubliners & the Pogues
-Drunken Sailor: Irish Rovers
5. If you are someone who doesn’t like to drink, then I would highly recommend any of the following movies to watch this St. Patrick’s Day (they are also my favourite movies, so Ireland is obviously where all the best movies are made):
-Comedy: Waking Ned Devine
-Comedy/Musical: Sing Street
-Musical: Once
-Romance: Brooklyn
-Romantic Comedy: Leap Year
If you want to hear more about my family and their journey from Ireland to Canada here it is:
The Mahoney’s left County Cork, Ireland and immigrated to Canada in 1855. My great-grandfather and great-grandmother were both born in Ireland and during the potato famine they decided they had to leave Ireland and move to Canada. They went to an Irish settlement in Quebec. My great-grandmother worked as a school teacher in a one-room school and my great-grandfather worked as a cattle farmer. He was good mechanically, so they decided to move to the east end of Toronto so he could work for the Toronto Transit Commission with their four children. It is interesting to see that it actually wasn’t that long ago since the Mahoney’s lived in Ireland. If someone else has an interesting story of how their family immigrated to Canada from Ireland (or anywhere), please post below. I would love to read your family’s’ story!!