| Spotlight of the Month Celebrate Irish-American Heritage Month and St. Patrick’s Day with your Broward County Library. Thirty six million United States residents claim Irish Ancestry, which is nine times the current population of Ireland itself (slightly more than four million). St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated worldwide by Irish people and increasingly by many of non-Irish descent, hence the phrase, “Everyone wants to be Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.” The world’s first St. Patrick’s Day parade occurred on March 17, 1762, in New York City, featuring Irish soldiers serving in the English military. President Truman attended the parade in 1948, a proud moment for the many Irish whose ancestors had to fight stereotypes and prejudice to find acceptance in America. Congress proclaimed March as Irish-American Heritage Month in 1995 and the president issues a proclamation each year. 1 Many activities including parties and parades occur on this date in March because of wide populous acceptance and “celebrations are generally themed around all things green” with people wearing green or orange, enjoying Irish food and drink, and attending parades. 2 Ireland has exported not only its people and culture over the centuries but also it has contributed to the world a wealth of writers, scholars and historians. Broward County Library recognizes these important contributions that the Irish have brought to the world and the large Irish-American population within the County. Florida has the fourth largest population of Irish at 1.6 million from the 2000 census with in its borders, behind the states of New York and Pennsylvania. --------------------------------------------------------- 1. Irish Facts, retrieved February 6, 2008 |
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach are three of the largest county’s by population in the State of Florida and a majority of Irish and Irish-American people live in those counties.
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