Originally a religious holiday to honor St. Patrick, who introduced Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century, St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into a celebration for all things Irish. The world’s first St. Patrick’s Day parade occurred on March 17, 1762, in New York City, featuring Irish soldiers serving in the English military. President Truman attended the parade in 1948, a proud moment for the many Irish whose ancestors had to fight stereotypes and prejudice to find acceptance in America. Congress proclaimed March as Irish-American Heritage Month in 1995, and the president issues a proclamation each year.

34.7 million
Number of U.S. residents who claim Irish ancestry. This number is almost nine times the population of Ireland itself (4.2 million). Irish is the nation’s second most frequently reported ancestry, trailing only those of German ancestry. (The ancestry estimates exclude people living in group quarters.) (Source: 2005 American Community Survey and <http://www.cso.ie/releasespublications/documents/population/current/popmig.pdf>)

24%
Percent of Massachusetts residents who are of Irish ancestry. This compares to a corresponding rate of 12 percent for the nation as a whole. (Source: 2005 American Community Survey)

Irish-Americans Today

31%
Percentage of people of Irish ancestry, 25 or older, who had a bachelor’s degree or more education. In addition, 91 percent of Irish-Americans in this age group had at least a high school diploma. For the nation as a whole, the corresponding rates were 27 percent and 84 percent. (Source: 2005 American Community Survey)

$51,937
Median income for households headed by an Irish-American householder, higher than the $46,242 for all households. In addition, 9 percent of people of Irish ancestry were in poverty, lower than the rate of 13 percent for all Americans. (Source: 2005 American Community Survey)

39%
Percentage of employed civilian Irish-Americans 16 or older who work in management, professional and related occupations. Additionally, 28 percent work in sales and office occupations, 15 percent in service occupations, 10 percent in production, transportation and material moving occupations and 9 percent in construction, extraction, maintenance and repair occupations. (Percentages add to more than 100 due to rounding.) (Source: 2005 American Community Survey)

72%
Percentage of householders of Irish ancestry who own the home in which they live, with the remainder renting. For the nation as a whole, the homeownership rate was 67 percent. (Source: 2005 American Community Survey)

Trade With the “Old Sod”

$23.8 billion
The value of U.S. imports from the Irish Republic during a recent 10-month period (January-October 2006). Meanwhile, the United States exported $6.9 billion worth of goods to Ireland.
<http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/>

4
Number of places in the United States named Shamrock, the floral emblem of Ireland. Mount Gay-Shamrock, W.Va., and Shamrock, Texas, were the most populous, with 2,623 and 1,841 residents, respectively. Shamrock Lakes, Ind., had 162 residents and Shamrock, Okla., 125. (Statistic for Mount Gay-Shamrock is from Census 2000; the other statistics in this paragraph are 2005 estimates.)
(Source: American FactFinder and
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/007001.html>)

9
Number of places in the United States that share the name of Ireland’s capital, Dublin. Since Census 2000, Dublin, Calif., has surpassed Dublin, Ohio, as the most populous of these places (39,328 compared with 34,964, respectively, as of July 1, 2005).
(Source: American FactFinder and
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/007001.html>.)

If you’re still not into the spirit of St. Paddy’s Day after stopping by one of the places named “Shamrock” or “Dublin,” then you might consider paying a visit to Emerald Isle, N.C., with 3,686 residents. (Source: <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/007001.html>.)

The Celebration

41.6 billion and 2.4 billion
U.S. beef and cabbage production, respectively, in pounds, in 2005. Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional St. Patrick’s Day dish. The corned beef celebrants dine on may very well have originated in Texas, which produced 7.3 billion pounds worth of beef, while the cabbage most likely came from California, which produced 466 million pounds worth, or New York (456 million pounds). <http://www.nass.usda.gov/index.asp>

21.6
The number of gallons of beer consumed per capita by Americans annually in 2004. On St. Patrick’s Day, you may be able to order green-dyed beer at one of the nation’s 47,984 drinking places, some of which may be Irish pubs. See Table 201, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2007
<http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract.html> and
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/county_business_patterns/006985.html>.

387
Number of breweries in 2004. The nation’s breweries are the source for the domestic beer that is often an integral part of St. Paddy’s Day celebrations.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/county_business_patterns/006985.html>.

$69 million
Value of potted florist chrysanthemum sales at wholesale in 2005 for operations with $100,000 or more sales. Lime green chrysanthemums are often requested for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. <http://www.nass.usda.gov/index.asp>