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If it weren’t for a certain virus plaguing the world at this moment, more than half the American population — an estimated 57 percent — would be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day on Tuesday. Cabbage consumption would have increased by 70 percent; 13 million pints of Guinness would have been consumed; rivers would have been dyed green; 70 percent of revelers would have worn green; and an estimated $245 million would have been spent worldwide on beer — much of which would have, of course, been green.
As an Irish-born immigrant, living in the U.S. since my early 20s, I’ve always liked to think of the enthusiasm for Ireland’s national holiday as a moving salute from an immigrant nation to an emigrant one. Irish people have, after all, been emigrating en masse for centuries and, with the U.S. being a preferred destination, the bonds between our countries have historically been strong.