March_RunnerIronic phrase, isn’t it? After all, when you think of how truly unlucky the Irish have been down through the ages, it seems the epitome of irony: pillaged by the Vikings, persecuted by the English monarchy, starved by the potato blight, then despised and ridiculed when they arrived in America. But some of them did quite well during the Gold Rush in California and the American West; apparently some of the most successful gold and silver miners were Irish. Of course, people thought the Irish mining successes couldn’t have been achieved through their ingenuity or brains, so it must have been just sheer luck. And that’s the origin of our phrase, “luck of the Irish.” Doesn’t sound like such a harmless or nice little phrase, does it?

And yes, I’m Irish – and English and Scottish and… Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

May those that love us, love us.
And those that don’t love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if he doesn’t turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we’ll know them by their limping.