Words of Wisdom from SharLeigh

THE WEARING OF THE GREEN

The country of Ireland has produced many distinguished individuals such as James Joyce (a novelist and poet, best known for his novel Ulysses); Jonathan Swift (one of the great masters of English prose); Oscar Wilde (a poet, playwright and novelist); Elizabeth Bowen (a novelist and writer of short stories); and Noble Prize winners George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett, William Butler Yeats and Seamus Heaney, to name a few. Along with these astute individuals, Ireland has also brought to our shores some very hard working and industrious people. According to the United States Bureau of Census, there are 34 million U.S. residents that claim they are from Irish descent. Since Ireland only has a population of 3.9 million, this number is almost nine times the total population of the Irish nation. Irish ancestry is the second most frequently reported to the Census Bureau – German ancestry is first. The states of Delaware, Massachusetts and New Hampshire have the most Irish ancestry in the country and they are in the top five of every state, with the exceptions of Hawaii and New Mexico. The highest population of Irish descendents can be found in Middlesex County in Massachusetts, with a total of 348,978. Norfolk County in Massachusetts comes in second with 203,285. There are even nine places named after Ireland’s capital of Dublin. The city of Dublin, California is the most populated (35,581) and has recently surpassed Dublin, Ohio (33,606). The United States Immigrations Records show that 4.8 million Irish immigrants were admitted for permanent residence to the United States since 1820 (no records were kept before that). During a 10-month period (January through October 2004), the United States imported 23 billion dollars of goods and exported 6.6 billion dollars of goods to Ireland. Not only is Ireland important to our economy, but it has brought to our country many people that were (and are) essential in the shaping of this nation. March 17th is a day of celebration for the Irish, and for those that are a wee bit Irish on that day. So wear your green and be sure to raise a glass of green beer (or other liquid) and say a toast for Ireland and the Irish. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all!