Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Shona Duit! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here's how to pronounce the Irish: /LAW AY-luh PAWD-rick HUN-uh DIT/ which, word-for word, means "Day of-feast of-Patrick happy to-you," that is, "Happy St. Patrick's Day!"

Cleveland's St. Patrick's Day parade was observed by some 400,000 people on the most beautiful March 17th in Cleveland history, with uncharacteristic blue skies and temperature around 70 degrees. Alas, I was teaching during the parade. The evening of March 17th was spent at the East Side Irish-American Club in Euclid, Ohio, where we heard the band "Fergie and the Bog Dogs," with Johnie Ferguson, his son, and my friend John Connell (aka John Mac Connell), from County Cavan, Ireland. Johnny Mac has a very beautiful voice, and plays a fine button-box accordian as well as guitar. John teaches math and staffs the math lab where I also teach. John is married to Marlene, the most-Irish Slovenian on the face of the earth--"more Irish than the Irish! John has told me that my Fitzpatrick ancestors are probably from County Cavan. We haven't pinpointed that for sure. My Mother thought the Fitzpatrick's were from somewhere near Dublin. Of course, parts of County Cavan are not that far from Dublin!