The luck of the Irish really does shine on the month of March, with Irish American Heritage Month and St Patrick’s Day to celebrate! Of course, St Patrick’s Day, on March 17th each year, is the most well-known celebration of all things ‘Emerald Isle’. (Boston and New York City reportedly both claim the first St Patrick’s Day Parade!) But did you know that there is also a special celebration of all things Irish, with Irish-American Heritage Month?

What is Irish American Heritage Month?

Since before the American Revolution, Irish Americans have played a prominent role in the USA. The President issues a proclamation commemorating the occasion each year. This special month of Irish-American celebrations aims to give everyone a chance to discover more about Irish culture. Plus, it shines a light on the myriad ways in which Irish immigrants have contributed to the United States. Irish-American Heritage Month is a special proclamation issued every year by the United States President or Congress. It was first celebrated back in 1991. The aim is to honour the achievements and contributions of Irish immigrants and their descendants living in the United States.

Why does it Matter?

When you look at the statistics, it’s amazing to discover that there are more than 34 million Americans that are of Irish descent. Incredibly, that number is four times larger than the population of Ireland itself! During the years of the potato famine, more than a million Irish nationals arrived on US soil.  For example, many Irish immigrants worked to build roads, railroads, streets, and sewers. In fact, they lay the foundations of the country we know today. The contribution to American life of those with Irish roots is massive, and well-worth celebrating!

What Happens at the White House?

Every year in March, the Irish Taoiseach visits the United States for Saint Patrick’s Day. On the morning itself, a Shamrock Ceremony takes place at the White House.  A crystal bowl containing shamrock, a traditional symbol of Ireland, is presented to the President in the Oval Office. Here are some ideas for celebrating Irish-American Month…

Delve into your own Irish history

Don’t put it off any longer! For tips on tracing your Irish heritage, click here. Who knows what you could discover about your Irish ancestry? If you would like to proudly display your Irish Heritage, you could consider a surname history or Irish Name scroll. All you need to do is search for your Irish name on our database of last names, and you will find out straight away if we have it. Plus, what’s more, you will see if there was ever a coat of arms associated with your Irish name.

Wear Green and Celebrate!

If you are planning a party or celebration, then you’ll surely want to wear the colour green! Hats, sashes, sunglasses – anything goes! Look out for special Irish celebrations near you. The fun is likely to include food, music, dancing and much more

Head to the Pub!

The Irish are known internationally as a fun-loving nation. What better way to celebrate all things Irish then to head to the pub? Enjoy a glass of authentic Guinness – a pint of the ‘black stuff’! Or why not consider some green beer? It’s made with blue food colouring to balance the natural hue of the pale yellowish colour of the beer.

What’s your Irish descent, and how will you be celebrating St Patrick’s Day, or Irish-American Heritage Month? We’d love to know, so please post your ideas and stories below! And don’t forget to check out your own Irish history!

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Ten things you might not know about Ireland.

1. It is the only country to have a musical instrument – a harp- as its national symbol
2. It is the third largest island in Europe
3. The Irish used the guillotine 500 years before the French adopted it
4. According to some historians, over 40% of all American presidents have had some Irish ancestry
5. Before 1973, women in public service had to retire upon marrying
6. The longest place name in Ireland is Muckanaghederdauhaulia, in County Galway. Try saying that after a few pints of the black stuff!
7. The writer Bram Stoker was working as a civil servant in Dublin when he wrote ‘Dracula’ in 1887. Scary!
8. Bailey’s Irish Cream was launched in Ireland in the early seventies. Furthermore, it is now the most popular liqueur in the world. Mmmm!
9. The Irish tricolour flag was designed to reflect the country’s political realities. In this way, the orange colour symbolises Irish protestants, green for Irish Catholics and the white stripe for the hope that peace might be reached between them.
10. James Joyce once called Guinness stout ‘the wine of Ireland’.

We hope you have enjoyed these ten things you might not know about Ireland! Plus, You could discover all sorts of things about your Irish name, like actor Neil Morrisey recently did!. Find more about your own Irish surname. We have a wide variety of products featuring Irish surnames. Be sure to visit our shop for some fantastic gift ideas that are sure to impress for all occasions.

Perhaps you can add a few facts to our list? Feel free to comment below! Also visit our post about St. Patrick’s Day!

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Who was St Patrick?

St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. It’s believed that St Patrick was born in the late 4th century, and he is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. He is noted for having driven the serpents from Ireland, and it is likely that these ‘serpents’ were in fact symbols of the pagans, who commonly worshipped serpents. He is said to have converted warrior princes and chiefs to Christianity at Tara, abolishing the pagan rights of the druids. An account of St Patrick’s death, supposedly on March 17th, says that he ended his days in Glastonbury, Somerset. Certainly, it is true that a chapel in his honour exists at Glastonbury Abbey.

What is the symbolism of the shamrock?

It is said that St Patrick used the shamrock as a symbol to explain the holy trinity to the pagans. Hence its adoption as the national symbol of Ireland. On St Patrick’s Day, it is now common to see the shamrock symbol on everything from bunting to confetti and even fancy dress costumes.

How do people celebrate?

Celebrations generally involve public festivals, cèilidhs and parades. It is usual for people to dress in green attire. Irish food is often part of the celebrations, as is the popular Irish tipple, the point of Guinness! Of course it wouldn’t be the same without a good drink! You could take yours in a pint glass with the earliest heraldry for your Irish name.

If whisky is more to your taste, then you’ll want a glass to make your friends envious – check out these whisky tumbler ideas. You never have to look far on St Patrick’s Day to find some sort of celebration taking place. Irish pubs are always at their busiest on this special day in the Irish calendar.

If you are raising a glass to St Patrick, then be sure to end your toast off with a hearty ‘Sláinte!’ (pronounced ‘slawn-CHA’). It means ‘Health!‘ and is the Irish equivalent to ‘Cheers!’

To the many Irish settlers across the world with a pride in their Irish surname history, St Patrick’s Day has come to symbolise huge celebrations. These include parades, music and songs, Irish food and drink and of course Irish jokes. It can be said that without a doubt the Irish know how to party. Interested in your own Irish surname origins? Click here.

Find out ten facts you might not know about Ireland. Let us know how you will be celebrating St Patrick’s Day, and where. We’d love to hear!

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Six famous one-liners:

“My Father had a profound influence on me. He was a lunatic”.

I thought I’d begin by reading a poem by Shakespeare, but then I thought, why should I? He never reads any of mine”.

“All I ask is the chance to prove that money can’t make me happy”.

“And God said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light, but the Electricity Board said He would have to wait until Thursday to be connected”.

“It was a perfect marriage. She didn’t want to and he couldn’t”.

“Money can’t buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery”.

…And six more.

“I can speak Esperanto like a native”.

“Are you going to come quietly, or do I have to use earplugs?”

“Contraceptives should be used on every conceivable occasion”.

“Money couldn’t buy friends, but you got a better class of enemy”.

“I have the body of an eighteen year old. I keep it in the fridge.”

“The Cordon Bleu gourmet dinner turned out Cordon Brown. Six out of ten to the chef for trying and ten out of ten to us for eating it.”

What are your memories of Spike Milligan – do you have a favourite sketch? Tell us in the comments below. Do you have Irish ancesty too? You might be interested to read our blog posts about Celtic Roots including an article with useful links for people wishing to trace their Irish roots. Also, we have a wide variety of gifts relating to your Irish surname.  Be sure to visit our shop for fabulous gift ideas. Find more facts about St Patrick’s Day by clicking here. Spike Milligan was famous for his words of wisdom.  We asked our customers to share their favourite ones too. 

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Our database has over a million surname histories, including many thousands of Irish surnames and ‘sept histories‘. In particular, many of our visitors are descended from Irish citizens that migrated to the New World in search of a better life. There are many resources available and here are a few ideas to get you started on your journey of discovery.

The Irish ‘Septs’

Traditional family groups within Irish communities are often referred to as ‘septs’. However, this term was not in use historically until the nineteenth century. Irish people, when speaking of themselves, employed their term ‘clan’ which means ‘family’ in Irish.

The Irish migration to the new world is well documented online and further online resources include sites such as the Irish Genealogy Toolkit  This site covers a wide variety of topics.  This includes the reasons why many Irish people sought cheap passage on board boats destined for a new life abroad.

It can be hard to know where to start when tracing your Irish roots. There are many resources available online to help you in your search for your Celtic heritage.

For example, millions of historic Irish birth, death and marriage records are available to the public online and accessed for free from irishgeneaolgy.ie. There are more than 2.5 million images of old documents from the General Register Office to view.

The Titanic

Of the many hundreds who perished on board the Titanic, many were of Irish descent. you may wish to continue your research in this area. We have a useful blog with links relating to the topic in our Titantic Passenger List post. Plus, there are many other online resources for Irish descendants of Titanic passenger, for example Irish America which has useful information for the Irish family historian.

Websites To Visit

There are also websites available which allow you to subscribe and search for your Irish roots such as www.rootsireland.ie. If you are not sure whether or not to subscribe to a specific site, the BBC has a great online guide here to assist you in making the right choices with genealogical research. You may also like to read our blog with top ten tips for family research.

Our Surname Histories

Each of our Irish history prints includes information such as the early origins of the surname. It also includes spelling variations, migration to the new world, and any associated motto. (Click here to order). While this is not a specific family history, it gives interesting details and fascinating facts about bearers of the name over the generations.

We would love to hear your stories and see your pictures. For example, have you had a transatlantic reunion of branches of your Irish family? Why not post a pic on our Facebook page? It’s good to share! For gift ideas that are sure to impress, do have a look at our shop for some inspiration.

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What are the origins of St Patrick’s Day? As the patron saint of Ireland, it is of the belief that St Patrick was born in the late 4th century. He is of course credited with bringing Christianity to the country. It is said that he used the shamrock as a symbol to explain the holy trinity to the pagans. Hence its adoption as the national symbol of Ireland.

He is noted for having driven the serpents from Ireland, and it is likely that these ‘serpents’ were in fact symbols of the pagans, who commonly worshipped serpents. He is said to have converted warrior princes and chiefs to Christianity at Tara, abolishing the pagan rights of the druids. An account of St Patrick’s death, supposedly on March 17th, says that he ended his days in Glastonbury, Somerset. Certainly, it is true that a chapel in his honour exists at Glastonbury Abbey.

St Patrick’s day is a celebration of spiritual renewal. Its symbols include everything from the shamrock to the Irish colours of green and gold. To the many Irish settlers across the world with a pride in their Irish surname history, St Patrick’s Day has come to symbolise huge celebrations. These include parades, music and songs, Irish food and drink and of course Irish jokes.

Interested in your own Irish surname origins?

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