Cead mile fáilte! A million welcomes! Happy Saint Patrick's Day! It's that time of year again when people all over the world celebrate Saint Patrick's Day with green beer, corned beef, potatoes, cabbage, and Irish toasts and cheer. So we've put together a bit of magic and a pot full of Internet treasures of the day. Enjoy the history, heritage, fun and merriment of this day! See if you can find the disappearing Leprechauns on this page.
An Irish blessing
Leprechauns
are Irish fairies that look a lot like little old men. They wear
little green elf outfits, a leather apron and a cocked hat.
Leprechauns live a secluded life making shoes and protecting
their pots of gold. It's easy enough to find a Leprechaun. Just listen
for the tinkering of his tiny hammer. But beware! If you spot the little
elf don't look away, not even for a split second. For if you do, the
Leprechaun will disappear right into thin air! And there goes all of
your hopes and dreams of finding the precious pot of gold. Now watch
closely for the Leprechaun. There he goes! Oh my. You must have blinked
again.
People
say that wearing green on Saint Patrick's Day honors the Irish farmers who
burned green leaves and spread ashes over the fields at spring
time to enrich their lands. Others say it is a symbol of the
shamrock used by Saint Patrick to explain the Trinity. Yet
others say the wearing of the green represents the EMERALD
ISLE. I say wear your green or get pinched!
The Blarney Stone is a stone set in the
wall of the Blarney Castle tower which is in the Irish village
of Blarney. The stone is said to bring anyone who kisses it
The gift of persuasion. Blarney castle was built in 1446 by
Cormac Laidhiv McCarthy, Lord of Muskerry. To keep out the
fierce English soldiers, McCarthy had the walls made 18
feet thick!
There is a legend about the Blarney
Stone that I must share. An old woman cast a spell on it
as a reward to the king for saving her from drowning.
Kissing the stone gave the king the ability to speak
sweetly and convincingly. Kissing the stone is a hard matter
to do. To reach the stone, which is between the main castle
wall and a parapet, one must lie on their back and bend
backward and downward, holding onto the bars for support.
The stone is over 500 years old!
These are a few of my favorite Irish Internet links that I hope all of you will enjoy. Be sure to bookmark this site for a quick return and check back often for new additions!
St. Patrick's Day Screen
Saver - Start your celebration off right with your very own St. Patrick's
Day screen saver which you can download directly from this site.
Heather's
Happy St. Patricks Day Page - For Kids Only!!© - St. Patty needs your help! Play the interactive game and find his pot
of gold.
St.
Patrick's Pot O Gold Game - Click on a Pot of Gold and answer the math
question about American money that will come up on the screen. Be sure to
keep a pencil and piece of paper handy to keep track of your score.
Good Luck...and have fun!
About St. Patrick's
Day - Enjoy the word search puzzle, limericks, songs, traditions, and a bit of
Irish history.
The
Island - St. Patrick - Three Myths - Read more about the most popular
Saint Patrick's Day Myths.
Simply Saint
Patrick's 1996 - Take a virtual trip to Ireland to learn more about Irish history and
famous Irish people.
Fun Stuff -
Enjoy educational games as well as links to other Internet sites that
are designed especially for kids.
Saint Patrick -
Read the story of Saint Patrick online.
Saint
Patrick's Day - Follow this link to more St. Paddy's Day Internet
fun.
Some
Irish Ballads - These are Irish folk songs for Saint Patrick's Day.
Irish
Songs - Lyrics to Irish folks songs and ballads.
Facts Page on St.
Patrick - Get the words to many of your favorite Irish songs at this
site.
Saint Patrick
- Visit here for color pictures of Saint Patrick and St. Patrick's Day
cards.
NJWeb St. Patrick's Day -
Learn more about Saint Patrick and Irish songs.
St. Paddy's Day
Puzzle - A tricky Irish word puzzle.
Blarney
Woollen Mills - The Story of St. Patrick - This story about Saint Patrick
is for younger readers.
Catholic Online Saint
Patrick Page - Learn about the shamrock and its importance to Saint
Patrick's Day.
Carlos'
Coloring Book - Color the Leprechaun online.
The Rainy Day
Resource Page - Enjoy children's literature, Carlos' Web Coloring
Book, Berit's Best Sites for Children, Arts & Crafts for kids, easy
recipes and more.
Irish Sayings
and Proverbs - From Virtual Retail direct from Ireland.
St. Patrick's Day Irish word search by Gary
Kirkpatrick, Springfield, Missouri - Word Search Puzzle.
Print Shop
St. Patrick's Day Projects - Make a St. Patrick's Day card with a
pop up rainbow inside and print out Irish Blessing.
St.
Patrick's Day for Kids - Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with
the "Teensy Town" kids!
St. Patrick's Day with Billy Bear
has coloring pages, clip art, and a Pot of Gold Money Counting Game!
Spectrum
Magazine - Search for the four leaf clover.
St.
Patrick's Day E-cards - Send an e-mail St. Patrick's Day Card to
your family and friends.
AN AWESOME ST. PATRICK'S DAY!
Send customized St. Patrick's Day greeting cards with cartoon cat Marlo
Marmalade and dog JJ Jamm! Free service. - Create online St.
Patrick's Day email cards.
Blue Mountain Arts'Electronic Greeting Cards - 'Tis a wonderful time
for puttin' an Irish smile to someone's face! Send 'em a musical,
animated electronic greetin' card from Blue Mountain Arts. Sure 'n they
are free! No shenanigans!
"Forget
everything else and celebrate Saint Patrick's Day" by Karen Morse -
Animated Saint Patrick's Day Greeting card.
Nolan
Irish Cream Pie - Irish Cream Pie recipe.
St.
Patrick's Day Lunch - Recipe from Mr. Food.
Edibilia:
Irish Recipe List - Extensive collection of traditional recipes,
many over 50 years old.
Irish History - The
story of the Irish race.
Irish Family History
Foundation - The Irish Family History Foundation can help you discover
all about your Irish ancestry, roots, genealogy and family history from
all sections of in Ireland.
Irish and Celtic thingies (C)
P. Murphy 1995-1997 - View the Republic of Ireland,
Scottish, Welsh, Breton, Cornish, Galician, Manx, and Northern Irish
flags. Then read about arts, languages, music, politics, history and more.
Ann's Place --
Irish Dance Links - All about Irish dancing in the U.S.
Tir na nOg - The Virtual Irish Cybercafe - This is a virtual cafe, with an Irish
Mythological flavour.
St. Patrick's Day -
Read about customs and traditions of the day.
UMR St. Pat's Celebration Home Page -
Visit the St. Pat's Celebration at the University of Missouri, one of
the biggest celebrations in the state.
CELTICWEB - Visit Irish Pubs
In Boston Home Page and see why Boston is the Irish capital of
the United States.
Saint Patrick's Day Vintage
Art Collection - A colorful collection of antique Saint Patrick's Day art, scanned from our original stone lithograph
postcards. They are about 100 years old!
St.
Pat Story - All about St. Patrick.
Kate's
Home Page - Lots of history and information.
ST. PATRICK'S
DAY INSIDE - St. Patrick's information central.
Saint
Patrick's Day In New York City - Photos and music take you right to
the center of the fun each year.
bgilley@cris.com