St Patricks Day 2021

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MAKE ST PATRICK’S DAY 2021 AN EXTRA SPECIAL ONE St Patrick’s Day is nearly upon us and while we cannot come together and celebrate in the usual manner there is still plenty to enjoy while marking Ireland’s national day from wherever you are in the world.

For a second consecutive year, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has seen St Patrick’s parades and festivals cancelled across the globe.

From Dublin to New York and Birmingham to Boston, these long-standing fixtures, everimportant events on the calendars of Irish communities everywhere, sadly cannot go ahead.

As disappointing as that it, it does not stop us celebrating.

If anything, the restrictions around coming together, placed upon us due to the far greater need to overcome this devastating virus, have fuelled the determination among our creative communities to mark our day as best we can in 2021.

And, luckily for us all, the organisers of the events we love to frequent have worked hard to bring the best of their offerings to the masses virtually.

In the capital, the usual festival organised by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan’s office will move online.

A full day of free-to-view virtual celebrations will be hosted by the London Irish Centre, bringing culture, community, craic and some Irish celebrity favourites to the masses on March 17.

The event will support the Mayor of London’s #LondonTogether campaign by celebrating the contribution the Irish in London have made to the city – which is particularly pertinent in a year which has seen many members of our community battling Covid-19 on the frontline.

In Dublin there are six days and nights of festivities to be delved into this month, taking you from March 12 right up until St Patrick’s Day. Ireland’s national St Patrick’s Festival carries the theme Dúisigh Éire! Awaken Ireland! which calls on Irish people at home and abroad to get ready to welcome the brighter days ahead after getting through a particularly dark winter.

For the first time ever, the festival will be broadcast from Dublin to the world via the newly established St Patrick’s Festival TV channel.

And there are plenty of other online gigs, concerts and celebrations taking place across the globe which will be available to view online in the coming days - all you need to do is take your pick, tune in and enjoy.

It’s been a tough year, there is no doubt about that.

But the arrival of St Patrick’s Day, along with the first sights of Spring and continuing rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in this country and around the world, gives us plenty to be thankful for.

We might be apart, but being Irish is still something we can celebrate in many ways.

And St Patrick’s Day 2021 offers up an opportunity for us all to do something special that we may not have done before.

You might choose to wear an all-green outfit on your daily walk, or bake shamrock-themed treats with your children. You might even choose to re-read your favourite Irish book or poems.

Maybe you will host a St Patrick’s Zoom party with family and friends across the globe, brush

up on your Gaelic or write a letter to loved ones back home.

Wherever you are and however you celebrate, ultimately, we will all be in it together.

We can stay connected and celebrate our shared heritage despite the virus.

And, of course, we would love to see what you get up to.

Don’t forget to share your St Patrick’s 2021 fun with us on twitter @theirishpost and Facebook The Irish Post.

And from everyone at The Irish Post a very happy St Patrick’s Day to you all.

Fiona Audley Managing Editor

WHAT’S INSIDE Message from the Irish Ambassador to the Uk, Adrian O’Neill Page 4

Spotlight – the Irish in Saudi Arabia Page 14-15.

St Patrick’s celebrations – Dublin Page 19

Superstar saint – the ever-popular St Patrick Page 6-7

Message from the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan Page 18

The luck, and pluck, of the Irish Page 24-25

Festival traditions near and far Page 10-11

St Patrick’s celebrations – London Page 18

Cook your own traditional Irish Stew Page 28

St Patrick’s Day magazine is designed and produced by The Irish Post, 88 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 4BY www.irishpost.com

@theirishpost theirishpost Editor: Fiona Audley Production: Joe Lindley Advertising: Dara Ashby Reporting: Mal Rogers Pictures: Getty Images

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A MESSAGE FROM THE IRISH AMBASSADOR TO THE UK, ADRIAN O’NEILL On the occasion of St. Patrick’s Day, my wife Aisling and I would like to extend our very best wishes to the readers of The Irish Post and the wider Irish community and friends of Ireland across Britain.

As we near the anniversary of the current public health crisis, St Patrick’s Day presents an opportunity to reflect on the enormous changes the past year has brought to bear on all of our lives, and to look forward with hope to the future.

We can take heart that we are moving through the winter of this crisis, and that spring and summer lie just ahead.

On my fourth St Patrick’s Day in London I feel proud to be representing Ireland, and to reflect on the experience of the Irish community in Britain this past year.

Although we may have been physically apart for much of this past year, I take great pride in the fact that the resilient spirit of the Irish community has not just endured but thrived during this time.

We cannot understate the difficulties faced by our communities in the last year, nor the illnesses endured and the sad fatalities sustained.

However, neither can we fail to notice the ingenuity, adaptability and generosity of spirit of Irish community organisations across Great Britain in responding to this terrible pandemic.

I have been deeply impressed with the dedication of those who, over the past 12 months, have shown such togetherness, creativity, and goodwill in adapting to the new normal.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, community organisations have risen to the challenge and evolved their services to meet the needs of the most vulnerable members of our community.

I am glad to have this opportunity to pay tribute to you all.

In their tireless efforts, these organisations have once again emphasised the positive contributions that the Irish community makes to the UK. In a year where our wellbeing and lives have depended on the wonderful care provided by the National Health Service, I am especially proud of the nearly 14,000 Irish women and men who work in the NHS. Thank you for all that you do.

Being Irish on St Patrick’s Day is an expression of fellow feeling or cultural affinity, as much as of citizenship or heritage, and is open for all to join if they feel so inclined.

For the Irish abroad, so many of whom live here in Britain, it is an opportunity to express our deep pride in being Irish and to renew 4

bonds with Ireland and with the extended Irish family worldwide. Although this year we will not have the normal parades and other festive gatherings, there are still other great ways to celebrate our heritage.

While the Embassy would usually be preparing to open our doors to hundreds of guests and members of the community throughout St Patrick’s week, this year we are planning a very different kind of celebration.

I hope you can all don your green and join us virtually at lunchtime on 17th March to mark the day. We have an exciting St. Patrick’s Day celebration planned, so stay tuned to our social media for further details of our fantastic line-up.

In what has been a very challenging year, it is heartening to see the tradition of celebrating

St Patrick’s Day across Great Britain continuing, albeit in a slightly different format.

Organisations are continuing to show their resilience and imagination in arranging a programme of virtual community and cultural events, and I want to thank all those involved in making St Patrick’s Day such an inclusive, vibrant and joyful celebration.

I look forward, along with my colleagues, to joining many virtual community events over the St Patrick’s period.

So, once again on behalf of myself, my wife Aisling and all the Embassy team, I’m delighted to wish all the readers of The Irish Post a very happy St Patrick’s Day. I hope you all thoroughly enjoy the (virtual) celebrations.

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SUPERSTAR SAINT Mal Rogers looks at the circumstances that brought about the popularity of St Patrick worldwide ABOUT 80million people worldwide claim some Irish ancestry – with almost half of them living in the USA. This large Irish presence in America largely dates back to the 1800s — although there were scattered Irish communities in the New World long before that.

Although Irish citizens wandered to every corner of the world — with substantial numbers coming to Britain or going to Australia — the main destination for many centuries was the USA. To begin with, and for many decades after their arrival, Irish Catholic immigrants were viewed with mistrust and accused of stealing the jobs of those already settled there.

Discrimination in parts of the US became common but in the face of this animosity, Irish Catholics in America decided to celebrate their heritage and show pride in their identity by marking March 17 in some style.

They wanted to announce their presence

and were prepared to face down any hostility.

But here a crucial difference to Britain kicked in.

Aside from Native Americans, the US was made up entirely of immigrants.

So it was much easier for St Patrick’s Day festivities to get a hold and burgeon into the nationwide celebrations they are today.

Discrimination against the Irish steadily decreased, and Irish people reached the upper echelons of US society, including as far as the White House.

In Britain, it was a different story. Irish immigration had become a way of life from the 19th century onwards.

Few Irish people lived in Britain before then, although there were scattered communities in various parts of the country - and they largely remained at lower levels of the social pile.

In the late 1940s and 1950s immigration really spiralled. The Irish immigrants brought with them their culture, their music and their

The Chicago River turns an incredible shade of Irish green every year for St Patrick’s Day

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heritage.

At home in Ireland, St Patrick’s Day was a modest day of religious observance.

But in the big Irish centres of London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham, St Patrick’s Day now took on a special significance.

Celebrations, however, were almost entirely restricted to the Irish community.

But from the 1990s onwards St Patrick’s Day took on a more general appeal with the population at large.

Opinion is divided as to how and why this happened. It is undoubtedly a fusion of many elements — societal changes invariably are.

Even twenty years ago the average English person knew little about Ireland — thirty years ago and your chances of finding an English person who had ever visited Ireland were close to zero.

Irish people knew so much about their nearest neighbours across the Irish Sea. But your average English person knew little The New York St Patrick’s Day Parade is the world’s largest

about Ireland and was as likely to visit Ireland, north or south, as book a passage to Outer Mongolia.

All that is changed now – until the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, Dublin was one of the top destinations for British people on a weekend break; break and rare indeed is the record collection in England which doesn’t include U2, Snow Patrol, The Cranberries, Van Morrison or Enya..

And of course Mrs Brown and her Boys, somewhat extraordinarily, is one of the sitcom hits of British television.

So, when did this sea change in British attitudes occur - and what brought about this transformation? And transformation it is — St Patrick’s Day totally eclipses St George’s Day in England.

Of course, it is difficult to know how profound the shift in British opinion towards Ireland is in systemic terms — there are still pockets of anti-Irishness about, as some of our readers will testify. But the general interest in Irish culture, craic and heritage — from writing to music, and from drama to light entertainment — began some time at the beginning of the nineties.

As with all social phenomena, the change sprang from a happy mixture of unrelated occurrences.

The IRA ceasefire of course helped enormously. Then there was Seamus Heaney’s elevation to Nobel laureate, former Irish president Mary Robinson’s high profile internationally, and don’t laugh - Ireland’s success in both the Eurovision and the soccer World Cup. Father Ted did his bit as well, as did Terry Wogan, who became that British institution, ‘a national treasure’.

Riverdance’s rise in the public’s consciousness brought traditional music to coachloads of day-trippers from all over Britain, in London for the day.

People who had never heard the hypnotic sound of the uilleann pipes or seen a slip jig executed sat transfixed.

And Ballykissangel. Its mixture of paddywhackery, and stories of gentle intrigue in rural communities gripped the country. A sort of Last Of The Summer Guinness.

But whatever the reasons, St Patrick has established himself as one of the best-known saints in the world, up there with St Nicholas and St Valentine in the popularity stakes.

We know little about him in hard historical facts — but we know that he had a profound effect on Ireland, Irish people and the Irish diaspora.

Revellers enjoy the annual St Patrick’s Day Parade in Montreal, Canada

ST PATRICK - A TIMELINE Mid 400 AD Patrick arrives in Ireland, probably from Scotland. Soon turns the place into a land of saints and scholars and receives the top award back then – sainthood.

493 The date usually given for St. Patrick’s death is March 17, 493. He dies in Saul, in what is now Co. Down. His grave in Downpatrick also contains the remains of Ireland’s other two patron saints St. Colmcille and St. Brigid.

800 The Vikings fetch up in their longboats. Even by the standards of the Dark Ages, these are an uncultured horde.

Much of St Patrick’s work is undone by the Norse men, as monasteries are sacked, and churches burnt to the ground.

900 Matters settle down. The Vikings are tamed and establish cities like Dublin and Waterford. In general Ireland slumbers on, unsuspectingly.

St Patrick’s monasteries have been rebuilt, and still do good business.

1000 The last ‘peaceful’ St Patrick’s Day before the AngloNormans arrive. His feast day is celebrated in humble fashion by the faithful. Not many parties about, and craic only around 20 to 25, with occasional gusts up to 40.

1169 The Anglo Normans, arrive.

Christian adherents, but they come with some very un-Christian attitudes — they tend towards being greedy, powerful, vindictive and overbearing.

1500s Emerging from the middle ages, some of the AngloNormans have become “more Irish than the Irish themselves” and now revere St Patrick.

1601 The world’s first ever St Patrick’s Day Parade is held — in St Augustine, Florida.

It’s organised by a local Irish priest who had arrived with the Spanish.

1630 Waterford-born Luke Wadding does sterling work for the Irish cause in Rome and manages to get St Patrick's Feast Day

put on the Church's universal calendar.

1691 The Irish get used to withstanding oppression, emigration and a lot of drizzle.

Rebellion becomes endemic.

In 1691 Patrick Sarsfield is killed at the Battle of Aughrim.

But his exploits on behalf of Ireland make the name Patrick popular throughout the country. Heretofore it wasn’t a big mover.

1737 The St Patrick’s Day parade gets going in Boston, Massachusetts. This is a bigger affair than the Florida effort, and puts the day firmly on the American calendar. Soon the Americans are fully indulging St Patrick’s celebrations, dyeing the beer green, dyeing the rivers green and holding parades.

1903 St Patrick’s Day becomes a public holiday in Ireland for the first time. Dublin’s chances of becoming party-time central greatly improved, with the craic edging up towards 90. But there are a few more hurdles to clear.

1916 Easter, not St Patrick’s is the big one this year. One of the leaders of the Rising, Padraig Pearse, continues the work of Patrick Sarsfield in popularising the patron saint’s name.

1931 Ireland’s first ever St Patrick’s Day parade takes place in Dublin. But it’s more of a military affair, reviewed by the then Minister of Defence.

1972 Ireland joins the EU. There are fears that Brussels may insist on Ireland taking back all the snakes driven out by St Patrick, but it proves to be just a rumour, like the straight bananas.

1996 London’s first St Patrick’s Day parade.

2020 & 2021 All St Patrick’s Day parades and festivals, from Dubai to Dublin, and from Moscow to Mullingar, are given their marching orders because of Covid-19. Or, technically speaking, not given their marching orders.

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St Patrick’s Day festivities in Montserrat

FESTIVAL TRADITIONS NEAR AND FAR While the usual St Patrick’s festivities are put on hold or move online for 2021 – Mal Rogers takes a look at the tradition in Ireland and among the diaspora throughout the world ALMOST all main events and St Patrick’s Day festivals worldwide have been cancelled or have moved online for 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sadly, that means Irish communities across the globe may not be able to come together to celebrate their national day until at least 2022.

And there are many communities that like to do just that.

Here are some of most exciting, exotic or well-established St Patrick’s Day festivities that are usually out there…

In the US

In the US there is a very strong tradition of celebrating St Patrick’s Day, and not just amongst the diaspora.

Boston has a long record of holding St Patrick’s Day parades, starting back in 1737. But for the first time in over 250 years there was none in 2020, and none will take place this year either.

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In addition to honouring the Apostle of Ireland, the Boston St Patrick’s Day parade also celebrates Evacuation Day, an official Boston holiday.

This commemorates the banishing of British troops from the city on March 17, 1776.

Accordingly, the parade also pays tribute to US military services and veterans.

Boston is often cited as the oldest St Patrick’s Day Parade in the world. But it seems there was an earlier celebration in America.

The first recorded St Patrick’s Day celebration in America appears to have taken place in St. Augustine, Florida, in the year 1600.

The following year, in 1601, the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade was held.

Both events were organised by the Spanish Colony’s Irish priest, Father Richard Arthur.

As parish priest, he started the first public school in America in the early 1600s in St Augustine. The proof of this was found fairly

recently, in 2017, by Professor of History Dr J Michael Francis of the University of South Florida.

Dr Francis was browsing through a gunpowder expenditures log — for some light reading presumably — in Spain’s Archivo General de Indias, housed in Seville, Andalucia.

The archival documents record the history of the Spanish Empire in the Americas and the Philippines.

Florida was settled by the Spanish beginning in 1513, with the Irish arriving at roughly the same time.

They came first as missionary priests and mercenary soldiers in the employ of the King of Spain, and then as planters, traders, shopkeepers, doctors and administrators.

In the section about Florida in the Archivo General de Indias, there is a reference to spring festivities in St Augustine in Florida which included a “feast day of San Patricio” in 1600.

So not only was St Patrick’s Day celebrated, if

Rome’s Colosseum bathed in green light to mark St Patrick’s Day

Dr Francis’s research is correct there were fireworks in Florida too.

Dr Francis’s further research established that St Patrick had “a privileged place in the Spanish garrison town” and was even identified as the official “protector” of the city’s maize fields.

Records thereafter are sketchy and it’s not clear how long the tradition survived. However, it has been revived in modern times, but again, the parade is not going ahead this year.

In Chicago the annual St Patrick’s Day parade has been cancelled for the second year in a row, but the river will still be dyed green as it has been for almost 60 years.

Today the green colour is provided by powdered vegetable dye, more or less harmless to the environment.

In 2009 First Lady Michelle Obama, a Chicago native, requested that the White House fountains be dyed green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Across the Diaspora

In scattered Irish communities throughout the world, festivities will be very low key this year.

St Patrick is the patron saint of the Christian part of Nigeria — the country is about 46 per cent Christian and 53 per cent Muslim.

Celebrations have been held in the capital Abuja over the last two

decades.

They evidently do it in style — Nigeria is the second biggest consumer of Guinness in the world, just behind the UK in the number three slot, and just ahead of Ireland at number three.

A part of south-west England also claims a deep connection with St Patrick.

The saint, according to local legend, ended his days at Glastonbury - the Chapel of St. Patrick remains part of Glastonbury Abbey.

An Irish pilgrimage to his tomb around AD 688 may have led to the whole King Arthur legend, often believed to be a myth thought up and perpetuated by Irish monks living in the vicinity of Glastonbury.

Pure paddywhackeray, as it were, and indeed St Patrick’s Day is still celebrated there with some fervour in normal times.

Montserrat, known to many as the Emerald Isle of the Carribean, is the only country outside of Ireland to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day as a national holiday.

Festival highlights include outdoor soca and reggae concerts, street parades, pub crawls and food fairs have in the past marked out the day. The tourist board says these will return “when the conditions are right”.

More staid tributes to the Apostle of Ireland will be paid in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Pune (formerly Poona) in India. The

St Patrick’s Cathedral, Pune, India

Diocese of Poona was created in 1886, with Jesuit missionary Bernard Beider Linden appointed the first bishop. Thus, St. Patrick’s Church became St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 1887.

During the pandemic the cathedral closed for six months. It reopened last year with services resuming in August. A St Patrick’s Day mass will be held this year, with full Covid precautions in operation. But there will be no parade through the streets of Pune to mark the day.

Illuminating the subject Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated

in more countries than any other national festival and a limited number of activities will take place globally this year.

Significant landmark buildings will be bathed in green light, adding poignancy to the day and the extraordinary, unprecedented circumstances that surround it.

From Rome’s Colosseum to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and from the London Eye to the Empire State Building in New York, Irish people — and many others who enjoy this most Irish of days — will raise a glass or two to this recognition of the primary patron saint of Ireland.

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SPOTLIGHT: Irish in Saudi Arabia THERE are roughly 3,000 Irish people currently living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - Westmeath native Hilary McCormack is among them.

The Mullingar woman, who lives in the capital Riyadh, has been in the Kingdom for three and a half years, having moved there for work.

She is one of eight Irish people working at an energy research centre, the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC), and is an active member of the city’s thriving Irish community.

Irish sports, culture and business networking are well represented in Riyadh - which boasts the Naomh Alee GAA Club, founded in 1994, the Riyadh Irish Society, a social club promoting Irish arts and culture, and the Irish Business Network, of which Ms McCormack is a board member.

There would usually be St Patrick’s celebrations to enjoy too this month, but the ongoing pandemic has pushed the Riyadh festivities online for 2021.

Here, Hilary McCormack reflects on the year that was, for an Irish woman living in Saudi Arabia…

Hilary McCormack pictured outside Lawrence of Arabia’s house in Yanbu

“After a herculean effort in 2020, the Saudi authorities got their Covid-19 infection numbers right down to 50 cases per day for the whole country by early December.

Eight weeks further from that we stared a second wave in the face as numbers slowly, but steady rose again.

The response by the Kingdom was to once again suspend flights and entry to the country in order to check the spread of the coronavirus or any new variant of the disease.

From February 3, 20 countries were put on the no entry list, including Ireland, UK, UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, US, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Japan.

I work in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh the capital.

In total seven Irish people work at my company and there are about 3,000 Irish across the whole country.

Here in Saudi Arabia the weather has turned chilly. You might be surprised by that, but it can get down to the low teens in the evening now.

So the jumpers that I normally keep for my trips home to Ireland are out and I will wear mine most evenings until sometime in March.

I was on the brink of a visit home to Ireland to see my folks back in March 2020, when all international travel to Saudi Arabia came to an abrupt halt, thanks to the dreaded Covid-19.

Downtown Riyadh in Saudi Arabia

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Realistically, I thought at the time, “for the sake of a month or two, hmm how hard can this be?”

Yeah right, more like how naive could I be?

Soon I will have completed a full year of failed attempts to get home!

Little did any of us realise that we were in fact preparing to hunker down for a hot summer staycation here in Riyadh.

Covid restrictions were about to become a recurring Groundhog Day that have run into many months and left us all hoping that someone would step up and press stop on this crazy and surreal science fiction movie that has become our lives.

I have been happily, living and working in Riyadh for over three years.

Ordinarily, I regularly travel back and forth to Ireland throughout the year; let’s just say, whenever the notion might take me, or simply when I needed a family and friends fix.

So, in contrast, 2020 was a draining period of roller coaster emotions where travel plans were repeatedly dashed for all of us.

We did all we could do to remain stoic and positive, since globally we are all in the same boat in one way or another.

Here is Saudi, we had to reimagine how we entertained ourselves.

In an effort to keep the spirit of adventure in our souls, my friends and I took to exploring

Some 3,000 Irish people currently live in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia. In return, Saudi offered up all its hidden and charming local destination secrets.

Places with names like Yellow Lake, naturally wild and romantic places like Al Souda and AlQarah Mountains, remote pleaces like Al Habala Tourist Willage, which sits in a striking natural valley, orange sunsets along the Red Sea Coast to bustling cities like Al Ahsa and Abha, and of course the capital Riyadh. With these names come many other names of places to visit. During 2020, Saudi became our pandora’s box of travel surprises.

To date, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has reported about 371,000 cases and 6,410 Covid deaths. That equates to over one per cent of its 33.4 million population infected with Covid-19 in the past 11 months. While in Ireland, the numbers are much different and perhaps more scary, with more than 210,000 cases and more than 4,000 deaths for a population of less than five million.

The reason for such a major difference in numbers here in Saudi compared to other destinations is that the Kingdom does have some previous experience in this virus space.

In 2003, they had to tackle Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and in 2012 it was the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) another variant of the coronavirus which can be transmitted by camels appeared.

Therefore in 2020, the authorities did not take any chances and were swift to action. Borders closed, masks became mandatory and social gathering stopped. I think everyone here feels that was a very good move indeed and, very quickly, we all started to mimic the action of the authorities.

As the word Covid spread globally, Saudi was already moving to protect its people and from

that point onwards, only repatriation flights were available until about November 2020.

At the time of writing, worldwide there have been more than 2.5million deaths, a number that continues to climb. It is a very sobering realisation given we are still nowhere near beating this virus. The first real inkling for those of us based in Saudi that we were in for a significant event was when the Saudi authorities canceled Hajj.

Hajj is a very holy event for Muslims around the world and many millions make the annual pilgrim to Mecca to pray and give thanks for their good fortune in life. In recent history, the Hajj pilgrimage has not been cancelled since the founding of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which was back in 1932.

As the year rolled on every other major religious event around the globe was reduced, minimised, moved online, held in private or, worst-case scenario, cancelled altogether, like Hajj. In Ireland and Saudi whole communities were advised to keep their distance from family and friends at all costs. Easter, Eid Al Fitr, Yom Kippur, Holi, Thanksgiving, and Hanukkah all suffered.

Perhaps the higher powers we believe in have conspired to teach us all a good lesson in 2020.

Late last year our Tanaiste, Leo Varadhar said ‘don’t come home for Christmas”!! As a perpetual traveller, Christmas at home is sacrosanct.

So, it really hurt the diaspora to hear this, but the truth is, those were wise words indeed and Leo actually made a very good call on our behalves.. Even my sensible father said, “for the love of god, Leo is right, don’t be traveling home, sure no one can”!

So, Christmas 2020 and the New Year moved

Riyadh’s Kingdom Tower

on to Zoom which did rather take the fizz out of it a bit! Personally, I succumbed to Zoom-fatigue back in October 2020.

Right, so what next? Well, here in Saudi, we have already commenced the largest coronavirus vaccination operation ever witnessed by the Kingdom. The first consignment of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived in December and distribution started soon after..

Saudi Arabia is offering the vaccine free to all its citizens and residents in the Kingdom. The uptake has been very positive, and many of my friends and colleagues already have their first shot.

Social media has been brimming with positive comments from all quarters about the service and the way the Saudis have handled the situation.

However, it seems we still have a way to go, and with a temporary travel ban back in place here I think we may as well prepare ourselves for a re-run of 2020. At least we have experience on our side this time so perhaps it won’t be so daunting.

And our plans for St Patrick’s Day here will now move online.

But seriously, overall, in my personal opinion, looking to the future, if we get to travel internationally again this year, then it will be more expensive and problematic for us all.

I think none of us are under any illusion that fares will be much higher, testing and quarantine times may be imposed in some countries and we are probably going to chew up a lot more leave days that normal per visit.

So I feel I need to start planning my next Saudi staycation as that is the only travel fun on the horizon right now.”

A visit to the city of Umluj, along the Red Sea coast, offers the perfect Saudi staycation

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

CHANGE AND CREATE VALUE IN YOUR BUSINESS A conversation with Invennt Director Brendan Morahan

BRENDAN MORAHAN, director of the Invennt construction advisory firm, has his finger on the pulse of an industry that is in flux in both Ireland and the UK. As an industry leading expert with decades of experience in the construction sector on both sides of the Irish Sea, Brendan speaks to challenges each industry must address in 2021.

Firstly, while the eleventh-hour deal struck between Brussels and Westminster last December offered businesses some reassurance, Brendan is conscious that the regulatory ramifications of Brexit will have a “long tail”.

Accessing increasingly elusive finance, championing innovation, and perhaps above all – as Brendan says, a business is the net sum of its people – ensuring that the industry can continue to attract and retain top talent, will have to be at the top of construction executives’ agendas as the sector emerges into a post-pandemic environment.

Lockdowns have been roundly detrimental to the sector in both countries; the Irish sector alone, coming under harsher restrictions, is expected to lose around €3 billion in revenue.

On top of this, despite being an optimist, Brendan, pictured below, is realistic about the costs of the pandemic, and the knock-on effect it will have on corporate taxes.

Now, more than ever, therefore, it is crucial for businesses to stress test for the financial challenges that lie ahead.

First and foremost, Brendan says, “finance is absolutely fundamental”.

He explains: “We are an industry that has traditionally and largely been undercapitalised, and as a consequence it has always been subject to the vagaries of economic cycles and hasn’t always been efficient in investing in new technologies and innovations – and there are very good reasons for that because of the margins they often operate under.”

One vast and under-tapped reservoir of potential funds is the government R&D tax credits on offer in both Ireland and the UK.

Not only do these credits give businesses generous cash injections, they incentivise the kind of change that will make firms more durable in the long-term and offer a useful health warning to those that don’t qualify.

In addition to helping businesses navigate new regulatory environments, Invennt seeks to “analyse organisations to identify where they have, if not unique, certainly particular strengths in comparison to the market generally and most particularly to their competitors”, Brendan says.

Typically, Brendan finds that “a lot of companies have either started off quite small and grown quite quickly almost to their own surprise and have got to a level without a detailed strategy and have suddenly hit a point at which they don’t really know how to take it to another level, making them vulnerable”.

On the other hand, Brendan says, there are “other businesses that have been around for a long time who have a strategy on paper, but it hasn’t really been tested and prodded and probed to check that its fit for purpose”.

“One of the mantras were always pushing with our clients and prospective clients is to really look hard at what your strategy is and how you are going to compete now, and in the future, and we obviously seek to provide help with that, by stimulating that debate and independently critiquing what they come up with.

“I think that’s really important for two reasons, one is it then makes you more attractive if you’re seeking debt or equity because you clearly have a vision and a plan that can be articulated that people can buy into and back.”

Ultimately, Brendan’s main focus is helping firms in “delivering your business effectively”, which, he says, may “sound obvious”, but “quite

often we get involved in businesses and when we start to get under the bonnet, you find that they’re doing work, but not very successfully, and unsurprisingly because they’ve won the sort of work that they should never have really been going for”.

Invennt is committed to providing businesses with more than a one-off health check: it seeks to create systems that will give businesses the tools to course correct at a pace that is commensurate with the fast-changing sector and economy more broadly.

“What we always say is that busines health check isn’t just a point in time”, Brendan says, this is a data-led system to monitor progress, give feedback, and affect change in real time.

“Most of the businesses that we now work with have no shortage of data, but a lot of that data is not really usable, so we are developing a tool to help clients identify what data they need, how they can capture that and turn it into a meaningful dashboard.

“So, if it’s going to plan, they keep going, if it’s not, they know they need to do something about it.”

The challenges of the 21st century loom large, whether it be tackling climate change, building affordable and efficient infrastructure to support fast-growing, and ageing, societies, or simply making places more liveable for the people that live in them – the task ahead of the construction industry is monumental.

But, with the right tools and attitude, Brendan is convinced that the sector can not only rise to meet these challenges, but use them as opportunities to grow, create new practices, and positively thrive in doing so.

On an optimistic note, Brendan adds: “This has been a difficult time and people need better spaces, they need better built environments, to live, work, play in, and I think we’ve got an opportunity now at a macro level for countries to look at how they grow out of this, and you’ll grow out of it on the back of construction”.

If your construction business could benefit from an injection of capital or a fresh perspective on your corporate strategy, contact Brendan on 07816 514505 or Brendan.Morahan@invennt.com.

WORDS: Michael Murphy

17

CELEBRATE ST PATRICK: LONDON WHAT: The London St Patrick’s Special

WHERE: Virtual festivities from 4pm until late on Wednesday, March 17, watch online for free at www.londonirishcentre.org

WHO: The office of the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and London Irish Centre are hosting the online event, in place of the Mayor’s annual St Patrick’s Festival which usually takes place in the capital

For full line up of activities and performances visit www.londonirishcentre.org DON’T MISS: CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CRAIC: The event will support the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan’s (pictured above) #LondonTogether campaign by celebrating the contribution the Irish in London have made to the city. The programme for the afternoon will include a community celebration of creative workshops, music, storytelling and more.

PREPARE TO PARTY: The evening line up for the St Patrick’s Special will be a jampacked schedule of culture, conversation, and community fun, hosted by London Irish Centre Ambassador Angela Scanlon with a little help from some of her celebrity friends. Expect Q&As with some famous faces and a number of special guest performances. The event will be livestreamed across

London Irish Centre Ambassador, Angela Scanlon

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the night and will give viewers the opportunity to experience and connect with the very best of all things Irish in London.

FESTIVAL OF FILM: The annual film festival by Irish Film London returns for 2021 – in an online format.

It will include a selection of short films, feature films, animations and music videos as well as a number of special events with screen talent and filmmakers from the Irish filmmaking community. Films will be made available to audiences through the Irish Film From Home platform, accessed through the Irish Film London website at www. irishfilmfestivallondon.com

BEST FIDDLER: Enjoy the Feith an Cheoil – Fiddler of London competition this St Patrick’s Day. The Fiddler of London 2021 - a tribute to the late Justin Whelehan - is a prestigious title that will be awarded to an outstanding musician.

The Fiddler of London will be officially appointed as “The Fiddler in residence for the Irish Community” for the year. The event drew more than 50 musicians from far and wide who were keen to take part. It also gives fiddle players a competition of their own to celebrate their achievements and showcase their talent to the world.

TRAD GATHERING: Presented by Irish Music and Dance in London – The Trad Gathering returns for 2021 with an online celebration of the best of traditional Irish music. IMDL founded their youth project ‘The Trad Gathering’ in 2008, bringing together large numbers of musicians between the ages of 12 and 25 from across London, to learn, rehearse and perform music from the repertoires of past masters of traditional Irish music on the London scene. On March 17, as part of the St Patrick’s

Special event hosted by the London Irish Centre, The Trad Gathering will be performing a series of tunes reels, jigs, polkas, barn dances in this intergenerational performance all from individuals homes.

SETTING THE SCENE: The Queens Crescent Community Association (QCCA) – Scribes and Thespians Drama Group have recorded a series of

sketches, songs and monologues exploring the idea of St Patrick and St Bridget visiting modmodern day London. The results, which will be streamed during the online festival, are thanks to the combination of work by the QCCA in partnership with the Ageing Better in Camden Programme, in association with the Irish Theatre organisation, founded by John Dunne.

MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR OF LONDON, SADIQ KHAN The sight and sounds of Londoners and visitors of all backgrounds lining the streets for our St Patrick’s Day celebrations are always a highlight of our year, so it’s disappointing that we are not yet able to gather together in person. But I’m delighted that we are able to host a fantastic virtual celebration.

Together with the London Irish Centre, we will be putting on an online programme that pays tribute to the huge contribution of our Irish community and showcases the very best of Irish talent. We will be presenting a fitting celebration of creative workshops, music and storytelling, followed by a programme of live celebrations hosted by Angela Scanlon and friends.

There will be a film festival from Irish Film London, which will include a selection of short films, feature films, animations and music videos, as well as a number of special events with screen talent and filmmakers from the Irish filmmaking community.

Our celebrations are renowned for music, and the Fiddler of London Competition will see more than 50 musicians compete for the prestigious title, while young musicians aged 12 and 25 will perform traditional Irish music. The Queen’s Crescent Community Association, working in partnership with the Ageing Better in Camden Programme and in association with the Irish Theatre, will also be presenting a series of sketches, songs and monologues.

It’s been an incredibly challenging year for us all and I’d like to thank everyone in London’s Irish Community for everything you have done in the fight against the pandemic. The rollout of the vaccine means that we now have light at the end of the tunnel, and this means that the day is coming when we can be together in person again.

I urge everyone to enjoy these online celebrations from the safety of your own home and I look forward to when we can celebrate together on the streets again.

I wish you all a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh!

CELEBRATE ST PATRICK: DUBLIN WHAT: Dublin St Patrick’s Festival 2021

announced including full details of the #RTÉVirtualParade with St Patrick’s Festival, an exciting visual arts project with Damn Fine Print and some very special spectacle moments sure to thrill and delight.

presents Dúisigh Éire! Awaken Ireland!

WHERE: Six great virtual days and nights, boasting more than 100 events, from March 12-17 streamed online for free at www.stpatricksfestival.ie

WHAT THE ORGANISERS SAY

WHO: Ireland’s national St Patrick’s Festival has moved entirely online for 2021. Through their new dedicated St Patrick’s Festival TV channel the Irish across the globe can enjoy all of the events, which are supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Fáilte Ireland and Dublin City Council.

DON’T MISS FAMILY FIRST: SPF Óg offers a boisterous collection of events, performances, workshops and fun experiences for families and young people; Sounds is a packed programme of contemporary and traditional music from Ireland, recorded by our finest artists and musicians; Stories invites the world to explore Ireland through the lens of film, poetry, literature, performance and art; while Living Ireland is a reflection of Ireland now, how we live and love, work and play, make, create, remember and celebrate.

TOP PERFORMERS: Artists and performers set to take part in the diverse 2021 Festival Programme include comedians Foil, Arms & Hog and Michael Fry, legendary poet Pat Ingoldsby, treasured writers and broadcasters such as Marian Richardson, Brendan Balfe and Manchán Magan. If food is your love then check out chef Tadgh Byrne’s series on the history of Irish food, while for the

Galway star Mary Coughlan is on the Festival line-up

young and young at heart the fabulous Fanzini Brothers and Tumble Circus will entertain, as will iconic storyteller Eddie Lenihan. Festival 2021 features some of our best-loved musicians including New Jackson, Pillow Queens, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Mary Coughlan, Myles O’Reilly, Gemma Dunleavy, Sorca McGrath, Gareth Quinn Redmond, Matthew Nolan, Lisa Hannigan, Adrian Crowley, DC Fontaines’ Grian Chatten, Matthew Campbell of The Shamrock Tenors, soprano Mary McCabe, The Breath, Moxie, Kíla and Brían and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn of Ye Vagabonds.

STORY TIME: Also taking part in the festival are traditional performers and storytellers including Donnacha Dwyer, Sin A Deir Sí, Ceiliúradh ó Chorca Dhuibhne, Shandrum Céilí Band, Caoimhe O Flaherty, Ronan O’Flagherty, Naoise Mac Cathmhaoil, Nuala Hayes, Jerry O’Reilly, Dermot Bolger, Annemarie Ní Churreáin and Nell Ní Chrónín.

VIRTUAL PARADE: Many further collaborations are still due to be

“While St. Patrick’s Festival looks forward to a time when Ireland commences the journey towards reopening, and prepares to welcome the world to our beautiful, vibrant, island, this year we invite all our people to celebrate from home, in support of the tireless work of our healthcare warriors and our frontline workers, who battle on every day to protect our people and lead us out of the pandemic.

Through St. Patrick’s Festival TV, the world is invited to take a front row seat at St. Patrick’s Festival 2021, connecting our family of 80 million through music, theatre, art, performance, poetry, storytelling, traditional arts, virtual tours, food, culture and much more.

The full SPF TV schedule with days and times for each event can be found at www. stpatricksfestival.ie and viewers will be able to playback all the events on the SPF TV Player until March 21.

“The Festival will tell the stories of our dynamic, modern, diverse culture, and uplift and celebrate our proud ancient traditions.

“With over 100 events taking place across six great virtual days and nights, there is something for everyone at the Festival this year.”

St Patrick’s Festival Organisers 19

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WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY ST PATRICKS DAY!

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The London Irish Construction Network (TLICN) would like to wish all their members, sponsors, friends and Irish Post readers a very happy St Patrick's Day. We look forward to resuming our networking events as soon as government guidelines permit.

23

THE LUCK, AND PLUCK, OF THE IRISH FOR millennia Irish people have been leaving their homeland to travel the world.

Missionaries, military commanders, ordinary soldiers, explorers, soldiers, sailors, entrepreneurs, nurses, doctors, fishermen and labourers scattered to the corners of the globe for myriad reasons.

Wherever they went, they left their mark.

In Europe, Irish dynasties such as the Hennessys, unable to conduct business in Ireland because of being Catholic, headed for the continent in the 17th and 18th centuries.

These “Wine Geese” revolutionised the spirits and wine trade, from Bordeaux and the Cognac region of France down to Jerez, and west to Madeira. These wine experts also set up shop in New Zealand, Australia, California, Mexico and South Africa.

In America, the Irish became the backbone of society in areas such as Boston, New York and Chicago, and eventually became powerful voices in politics.

In Australia they flourished in every sector from sheep-farming to mining, with all stops in between.

One of the oldest wineproducing regions in Australia is the Clare Valley, South Australia, named after the home county of Irish immigrant Edward Gleeson.

In Britain the Irish ultimately worked their way up from the factory

Pictures: Getty Images Words: Mal Rogers

floor, from the building sites and down tunnels, to reach the boardrooms.

Some Irish became elevated members of British academia — Swift, Sheridan, O’Casey, Stoker and Shaw are only a few of the writers who made Britain their home across the centuries; Oscar Wilde was even made welcome at Her Majesty’s Pleasure in Reading Gaol.

Samuel Beckett went further afield.

Based in Paris, at one time he earned his living by translating Mexican poetry from Spanish into English.

This extraordinarily gifted Dublin man — educated in Fermanagh — then wrote one of the gems of world literature originally in French: Waiting for Godot.

Other Irish people did spectacularly well — Arthur Wellesley from Dublin became British prime minister, after defeating Napoleon at Waterloo.

As the Duke of Wellington, he became one of the most famous Irishmen in Britain.

And there is absolutely no evidence that he uttered the meme “being born in a stable does not make a man a horse”. On the contrary, he appears to have been a proud Irishman.

Today, the influence of Irish people has continued to flourish, and it gives hope for a settled future in the post-pandemic era.

It has been a tough twelve months, and even apart from Covid-19 and its many variants, the world faces some severe challenges.

But Irish people are in the vanguard of trying to unpick these problems.

Former president Mary Robinson is at the forefront of the efforts of championing human rights globally, and in tackling the problems of the climate change emergency and the humanitarian crisis of refugees in the world’s most benighted places.

Samantha Power, from Castleknock, Dublin, served as US Ambassador to the United Nations 2013-2017 and is currently Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.

Under newly elected President Joe Biden the US will be once again helping international organisations to tackle the world’s most severe problems.

In the world of culture and entertainment, Ireland has always punched above its weight.

In London, one of the most prestigious posts in classical music is held by Limerick man John Gilhooly from Castleconnell.

Mr Gilhooly OBE, is the Artistic and Executive Director of Wigmore Hall, a central London chamber music venue.

When he became Artistic Director in 2005, he was “the youngest director of an internationally acclaimed concert hall”.

Airlines have long benefited from the expertise of Irish people at the controls.

Last year, Willie Walsh stood down after a long career as CEO of International Airlines Group — one of the world’s largest airline groups which includes British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus.

The CEO of British Airways today is another Irishman, Sean Doyle from Co. Cork.

In Australia, Qantas — regularly voted the best airline in the world — has had Dublin man Alan Joyce as its CEO since 2003.

Supplying many of them with oil is BP, whose boss today is Bernard Looney from Co. Kerry.

On a different track, Trainline — one of the biggest independent digital rail and coach ticketing platforms in Europe — is run by Dublin woman Clare Gilmartin, the CEO. Hilary McGrady, from Lisburn in Northern Ireland, is the Director General of the National Trust, one of the biggest conservation and environmental agencies in the world.

Samantha Power speaking at Harvard University

Dr Gillian Tully, from Northern Ireland, is Forensic Science Regulator in the UK on behalf of the British government,and is responsible for setting standards in forensic science.

Her work has included provision of expert evidence to courts in the UK and overseas, and extensive collaborative working with forensic practitioners around the world.

In health matters Dr Michael Ryan is executive director of the World Health Organisation in Switzerland, while in Scotland Belfast woman Dr Philippa Whitford is the MP for Central Ayrshire and, as a surgeon, the SNP Health spokesperson in the House of Commons.

In England, Irishwoman Dr Susan Hopkins is Healthcare Epidemiologist Consultant in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at Public Health England, and Dublin woman Yvonne Doyle is Regional Director for London at Public Health England.

Both have been extraordinarily busy since March last year.

Further afield, and we move on to the most powerful person on the planet.

There have been many US presidents with Irish origins, although all were born in the US. Joe Biden is the latest, with roots in both Co. Mayo and Co. Louth.

Australia, like the USA, has had several heads of government of Irish descent, as has Chile (Bernardo O’Higgins) and Mexico (Vincente Fox).

Only New Zealand and the United Kingdom have had Irish-born prime ministers.

New Zealand’s three Irish premiers were Daniel Pollen from Dublin, John Ballance from Glenavy in Co. Antrim and William Massey from Co. Derry.

The UK’s only Irish-born prime minister remains Dublin-born Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, although Prime Minister George Canning described himself as “an Irishman born in London”.

US President Joe Biden has roots in counties Louth and Mayo

Former president of Ireland, Mary McAleese

EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness

TEN IRISH INTERNATIONAL MOVERS AND SHAKERS 1. Samantha Power Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development 2. Mary Robinson Globally respected campaigner on issues from climate change to human rights 3. Mary McAleese Executive fellow of the Notre Dame School of Global Affairs and Chair of the Institute for Global Religions. professor of Professor of Children, Law and Religion at the University of Glasgow Former president Mary Robinson

4. Cardinal Kevin Farrell The Irish-speaking Dublin man is Camerlengo of the

Holy Roman Church. As such he administers the properties and revenues of the Vatican, an immensely powerful position 5. Bernard Looney CEO of BP 6. Alan Joyce CEO of Qantas

President of the European Parliament 10. Dr Michael Ryan Executive director at the World Health Organisation The World Health Organisation’s Dr Michael Ryan

7. Dr Gillian Tully Forensic Science Regulator in the UK 8. Michael O’Leary CEO of Ryanair 9. Mairead McGuinness European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union. She also serves as First Vice25

Irish in Britain – the largest Irish network in Britain

We wish readers a happy and healthy St Patrick’s Day and hope we can all come together in person before too long to celebrate all things Irish.

Thank you to all our member groups, essential workers and volunteers everywhere who have worked so hard over the past year to ensure no one is left behind.

www.irishinbritain.org @irishinbritain

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If you are an Irish community organisation or individual we welcome you to our network.

Please contact communitydevelopment@ irishinbritain.org

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How to make it: Sauté the bacon in a large frying pan. Reserve the fat and the bacon.

Place the lamb, salt, pepper, and flour in a large mixing bowl. Toss to coat the meat evenly.

This authentic Irish lamb stew recipe is the perfect home-cooked family meal for St Patrick’s Day in lockdown…

The traditional stew is an Irish classic you’ll come back to again and again.

This particular example comes from The Spruce Eats and does not disappoint.

Here’s everything you need to know…

What you will need: 1/2 pound diced bacon (thickly sliced) 6 pounds boneless shoulder lamb (chopped) 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 2 finely chopped cloves garlic 1 large onion (finely chopped) 4 cups beef stock 2 teaspoons sugar 4 cups carrots (cut into 1-inch pieces) 2 large white onions (sliced) 3 pounds peeled, quartered potatoes 1 teaspoon thyme 1 bay leaf 1/2 cup dry white wine Chopped parsley

Wishing you all A Happy & Healthy St Patricks Day

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Reheat the frying pan. In batches, brown the lamb in the reserved bacon fat. If you run out of fat, use a little oil.

Transfer the browned meat to a 10-quart stovetop casserole, leaving about 1/4 cup of fat in the frying pan.

Add the garlic and 1 chopped yellow onion to the pan and sauté until the onion begins to colour a bit.

Add the garlic-onion mixture to the casserole, along with the reserved bacon pieces, beef stock, and sugar.

Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until tender.

Add the carrots, the 2 sliced onions, potatoes, thyme, bay leaf, and wine to the pot and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Check for salt and pepper before serving and add if needed.

Top with the parsley garnish before serving.

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Wishing you all a Happy St. Patrick’s Day

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