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03/16/2007: "Eire's To You!"
Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day, the traditional Irish holiday. I can't see the future, but as a good Irishman, I can predict that songs will be sung, beer will be drunk and corned beef and cabbage will be eaten.
The real irony is that corned beef isn't an Irish tradition - it's an Irish-American tradition. When immigrants from Ireland fleeing the potato famine arrived in New York, they had little experience with beef - that was the rich man's meat. But the local Jewish merchants sold an inexpensive beef brisket that had been cured, and soon corned beef was a newfound favorite.
People of all ethnic groups will share in the celebration tomorrow, donning the green calling themselves Irish for the day. Frankly, I enjoy the welcoming attitude we Irish show towards all our temporary kin. Somehow, I can't imagine it would be the same story were I to wear blackface on MLK day or dress as a bandito on Cinco de Mayo. But we just smile, make a friendly joke about the "black irish" ... and ask that you pay for our next Black and Tan ... 
