Though not an official national holiday in America celebrated by the government or businesses with a day off with pay, Saint Patrick’s Day is an observance of the heritage and culture of the Irish. It is, however, officially celebrated and observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland segment), the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Lutheran Church, signifying the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.

Though of true Irish lineage, as I’ve shared here before, it was never really celebrated by my family for we are Protestants. But as a kid, it was always a big deal at school. Everyone was always supposed to wear the green on Saint Patrick’s Day or risk getting pinched by fellow classmates. That’s the only thing I remember about the day; it was years later that I discovered my Irish heritage. And since discovering that legacy, being the history lover that I am, I’ve read and studied much about the Irish, their history and my links to it.

But of great interest in my research over the years, one of the most upmost and fascinating facts is that the Irish have had great influence on the history of the United States. At least three of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were born in Ireland. Andrew Jackson was the first American president of Irish lineage, being born in South Carolina only two years after his parents left Boneybefore in the county of Antrim. He’s just one of our presidents with Irish roots, which also notably includes Theodore Roosevelt, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan.

Politics seems to have been one of the greatest Irish contributions to American history. Thomas “Tip” O’Neil was 47th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the only congressman to hold that position for five consecutive terms, being the third longest-serving Speaker in American history. Other famous politicos are Robert Kennedy and Joseph Biden. The books I’ve read about these three Irish politicians were from my wifey Lynndee, this blog’s founder.

The most informative book I’ve read in regard to the Irish and America is Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America, by former United States Senator Jim Webb. Webb was born in the Appalachian Mountain city of Gate City, Virginia, just roughly 90-miles from my mountain city of Asheville, NC. And in his book he shares the experience of having Scot-Irish roots and growing up in America while exploring the past and our common ancestor’s journey that brought us here to these mountains, just a part of all Irish folks coming to America.

But of all things Irish, the most touching thing to me is the song “Danny Boy,” a ballad set to an ancient Irish melody. It was a song my Mom sang a lot after her second grandson, Daniel, was born. And she was all the time calling him Danny boy, just one of those special memories I’ll always have about Mama “June Bug.”