~ Happy St. Patricks Day ~

I hope you all have a fun St. Patrick’s Day. And to those that are Irish thank you for the music, the humor and the hearts uplifting others in your joy.
God bless our Troops and their families. We are all in our thoughts today as everyday.
~ Wild Thing

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St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years.
In modern-day Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day has traditionally been a religious occasion. In fact, up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. Beginning in 1995, however, the Irish government began a national campaign to use St. Patrick’s Day as an opportunity to drive tourism and showcase Ireland to the rest of the world.
Last year, close to one million people took part in Ireland ‘s St. Patrick’s Festival in Dublin, a multi-day celebration featuring parades, concerts, outdoor theater productions, and fireworks shows.

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US troops hold St Patrick’s Day parade in Baghdad
(AFP)
The Tigris river did not run green and there wasn’t a pint of the black stuff for hundreds of miles as American forces in Iraq staged their first Saint Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday.
But this did not dampen spirits on a dusty day in the appropriately named Green Zone where several hundred men and women, soldiers and civilians turned out to cheer ahead of the day itself on Tuesday.
As incongruous as the event may seem in bombed-out Baghdad, the festivities came with top level authorisation and were staged at a time of better security.

“We are not quite marching up and down the streets of Baghdad yet, but we do continue to see the improvement in security,” said Major General Michael Eyre, commander of the Gulf Region Division.

Security was key in obtaining the green light for the parade that was organised by 1st Sergeant Scott McWilliams, a native of Chicago’s south side.

“They don’t have too many Irish out here,” he joked, “although there are a few.”

The Gulf Region Division is made up of US Army Corps of Engineers as well as civilians, and the 416th engineer command calls Chicago home.
All were adopted by the city’s South Side Irish Parade committee for the big day and received 30 boxes of festive items to liven up events.
Several dozen participants clad in mock-Irish fashion and four vehicles performed two laps of the sprawling compound, handing out green trinkets and other paraphernalia to loud applause.

“I think it’s a great day, a little time-out. It’s about camaraderie, a touch of home here in Iraq, a little bit of America,” Eyre told AFP.

Air force Major Aaron Judge sipped a fizzy green liquid from a plastic glass as a fire and rescue truck rolled past at the head of the parade.

“I’m dreaming of other things. It’s green near-beer,” he grinned. “This takes off the stress — it’s a lot of fun.”

The parade was billed, of military necessity, as “the dry version” of St Patrick’s Day, adding a unique label to the festivities which are traditionally soaked in “the drink” from New York to Dublin.

Eyre said the parade also offered a chance for Iraqis to learn something of US life.
But Iraqi workers on the compound that once housed Iraq’s national museum were more than a little bemused by the antics honouring the patron saint of Ireland.
Laundry supervisor Mazin al-Dawoodi turned out with colleagues to watch although he said they had no idea what was going on.

“It looks great fun,” he added.

“I don’t know what is happening,” admitted 26-year-old Khalid Walid Ali, who works as a storage man.

But he was quick to run after a free grey sweatshirt emblazoned with the words “Our Day.”
The first Saint Patrick’s Day parade in Baghdad may also be the last for a long time, however.

A US soldier wearing giant green glasses for Saint Patrick’s Day

Americans as they wave an Irish flag during Saint Patrick’s celebrations in Baghdad

President Ronald Reagan

Luke Kelly – “Rising Of The Moon”

Flying through Ireland

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