St Patrick's Day!!!

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

And a happy St Paddy’s day to you! It’s the 17th of March, which means (pre-Corona times) there would be a party and celebration, not only in Ireland, but all across the world for St Patrick himself!

So what is the significance of St Patrick? And where does the colour green, Guinness and parties come into this tale? Well, we’re here to let you know as best we can!

Saint Patrick

St Patrick is known as the patron Saint of Ireland. It is said he worked tirelessly as a priest and helped establish churches and monasteries all around Ireland and converted many pagan Irish people to Christianity during the fourth century, which eventually earned him his Sainthood.

In addition to this, a few legends sprung up around him along the way! The most popular and well-known perhaps includes the story of him driving every single snake out of Ireland. According to this legend he drove every snake into the sea from a cliff – from which he had previously rested on whilst fasting for 40 days! (Although apparently snakes were never in Ireland to begin with, so who knows quite how this story came up!)

He also is told to have explained the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit by using a Shamrock (the symbol of Ireland) and spent years travelling the country converting as many folks as possible as he went.

Saint Patrick’s Day

It is for these reasons St Patrick’s Day is celebrated to this day! Each year, on the 17th March, thousands across the globe celebrate with parades, dances, green clothes, festival, alcohol and food. Supposedly, if you don’t wear green on St Paddy’s day you deserve to be pinched as per certain traditions.

And it’s not just in Ireland this holiday is booming!

It is celebrated in England, Scotland, America, Australia and more. Though not always recognised as a national holiday in every country, with a day granted from work or school, this day is celebrated one way or another worldwide.

It has supposedly been celebrated in the US since 1601, with displays of the colour green and numerous parades. Further along in the timeline, Japan’s first parade was in 1992 It is even known that in Chicago they annually dye their river green in celebration! This is the same in Romania where they dye the Vilnia River green as part of the festivities. From Mexico, to Canada, to Switzerland – there are different, yet connected, celebrations all around the world for this day.

Even in space – believe it or not! During his time in the International Space Station in 2011, Astronaut Chris Hadfield took pictures of Ireland from the station and some photos of himself wearing the classic, iconic green colour!

So what do we do here at Kelly’s?

Well, as a primarily English & American store our Irish stock is low but ever present!

Of course, we always have Guinness on hand! From the iconic, timeless Draught Stout to the Original and the West Indies Porter.

Guinness was created in Ireland in the 18th century with its iconic frothy top and dark, full -bodied stout made by Arthur Guinness. Today, it is brewed worldwide and it is available to purchase in over 120 countries – so you never have to go without! For those of you who have had to pour this magnificent drink in bars across the world, you know it’s a slow pour into a 45 degree angled glass and then you need to let it sit and settle – before topping it up to get that iconic head! The perfect pint - guaranteed.

Not for the faint hearted – this dry stout packs a punch with a rich malty flavour, and a hoppy under taste. (It reminds this writer of the smell of roasted coffee beans!) However, despite popular belief, it is in fact quite a light beer! If Guinness is not to your taste though, we also have Murphy’s Stout or Caffrey’s Irish Ale available!

Apart from alcoholic beverages and the occasional Irish biscuit (such as Jacob’s Fig Rolls!), we have recently switched to an Irish Fresh & Frozen supplier, which means that now we have more Irish made sausages, bacon, pudding and cheddar than ever before! With brands such as Clonakilty, Mallons, Waldrons Family, Galtee, Kerrygold and Dubliner coming in every Friday, you’re set for the weekend!

The positive reviews from our new customers and loyal regulars just keep coming! So never mind an English breakfast – make yourself an Irish one! (And we won’t judge if you make the coffee ‘Irish’ too!)

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to you all!

You know a fun fact about St Patrick’s Day? Or Guinness? We missed something out? Let us know in comments below!