Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!

Have I mentioned that I am Irish? My great-great-grandfather, Richard Franklin Corrigan came to the United States from Donegal when he was a young man. Needless to say, because of this all things Irish have always held a special place in my heart and therefore, so does St. Patrick’s Day.

Richard Franklin and his son, my great-grandfather, William Richard Corrigan were Orangemen (Protestants and supporters of King William III of Orange). Needless to say, there was no wearing of green on St. Patrick’s Day because, according to them, that was for Catholics. This earned me a lot of pinches over the years and of course, a lot of explaining. We weren’t the only household that had this but unfortunately I was the only kid who in my school with this problem and of course, you can’t tell a 4th grade boy who is intent on pinching you that you are Irish but you can’t wear green because of a family tradition and some King who died hundreds of years ago.

To solve this problem with Princess Ivi, I have always had her wear green and orange. I am sure that Grandpa Corrigan is still turning over in his grave but it saves her from needless pinches and allows her to tell the reasons we don’t wear more green (because it is usually just a tiny bit).

So to all my Irish brethren, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!

To all you non-Irish folks, don’t feel bad. Not everyone has great bloodlines.