One For The Irish

Last week was certainly one for the Irish. Thursday was St. Patrick's Day, an event celebrated worldwide - but either side of the Irish national holiday were a string of very exciting wins at the Cheltenham Festival and a remarkable win in the 6 Nations Rugby. 

Cheltenham is renowned for its Irish participation - both on the racecourse and in the stalls. Talking to The Independent's 'i' on St. Patrick's Day, Irish entrepreneur Michael O'Leary attempted to explain its importance in the Irish calendar,  "It's a religion where I'm from... A true Irishman will grow up to follow Cheltenham first and the Catholic Church second". The Festival proved to be an eventful one, with Ruby Walsh resonating on all news channels. 

Cheltenham was not the only accompaniment to St. Patrick's Day. Ireland ended England's hopes of a grand slam in the Six Nations tournament. The final score was 24-8 to Ireland, and although England ultimately won the tournament, its Ireland's final victory that will be remembered. 

Talking to BBC Sport, Ireland's Man-of-the-Match Jonathan Sexton reflected on the match: "... it was a brilliant day for everyone involved. We desperately wanted to finish on a high. We've set a standard now and we hope to continue that to the World Cup". 

Ireland made quite an impact on the tournament, with Brian O'Driscoll's performance being respectfully recognised as one of the highlights of the Six Nations. 

Everyone is A Little Bit Irish

Wild Geese celebrated St. Patrick's Day throughout the world yesterday. The New York City St. Patrick's Day parade saw 2 million people flock to Fifth Avenue to watch 200,000 marchers. The parade included marching bands and bagpipers, exemplifying the influence that Irish migration has had and celebrating Irish culture and heritage. Michelle Kelly, who was visiting New York from Dublin commented, "It's brilliant... I've never seen anything like this, not even in Dublin. There are so many different cultures together here - just for the Irish".

This was not an Irish-only event. People of all nationalities came together to enjoy a day of celebration. One British visiter explained, "The parade is truly an international celebration. It is so amazing to see that here in New York City everyone is a little bit Irish today". 

The celebrations are sure to continue into the weekend, and although the Irish flags will come down on Monday morning, the lasting influence of Irish culture can be seen everyday throughout the world. 

St. Patrick's Day at Cheltenham

The luck of the Irish has shone through on day three of the Cheltenham Festival. A. P. McCoy has won the Ryanair Chase on Albertas Run and Ruby Walsh remained in the spotlight, winning World Hurdle with Big Buck's. 

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year rode Albertas Run to victory, despite a course invader running onto the track. Albertas Run's trainer Jonjo O'Neill spoke to BBC Radio 5 straight after the race, expressing "We work all year for cheltenham, it's a magical week. Everyone's having a great time and it's great to be part of it". 

This was only the beginning. The main event of the day - The World Hurdle was won by Ruby Walsh, who certainly hasn't been keeping quiet during the festival. On "Ruby Tuesday" he won a hat-trick of races, but Walsh was extremely complimentary of his steed. "He's an aeroplane, you can't fault him. I knew it would be tactical but this horse no longer needs to be kept behind, he can stretch in front".

 There was a tense moment between Big Buck's and challenger Grands Crus, ridden by Tom Scudamore, but Walsh ultimately was the first past the post. 

Scudamore gracefully accepted a very worthy victor: "It was a great advert for racing. We've beaten by a great horse. The best compliment we can pay Big Buck's tonight is he knows he's been in a good race and will sleep well tonight. We'll try chasing next year". 

Winning trainer Paul Nicholls admitted "The best horse won on the day but it was an awesome performance by both horses. I think that's arguably Big Buck's career best".

Cheltenham has provided a very memorable St. Patrick's Day, but theres still plenty more to come on its final day. A. P. McCoy had hoped he would ride Binocular in Tuesday's Champion Hurdle, but will ride Kempes in tomorrow's Gold Cup - "You have prepared all year for this and everyone in the stables has done their utmost so you are praying nothing goes wrong... And when it all comes right it is just unbelievable. The cheers you receive can't be beaten". 

Perhaps citing the 'luck of the Irish' isn't appropriate. These sportsmen are clearly focused and ambitious, just as The Wild Geese were. Congratulations to both and lets see what tomorrow brings. 

A Great Day for The Irish

As the Irish Diaspora spread across the globe, so too did celebrations of St. Patrick's Day - which traditionally commemorates Ireland's patron saint who brought Christianity to it.

St. Patrick's Day is not only a national holiday in Ireland, but also on the Caribbean Island Montserrat and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Montserrat, known as the 'Emerald Island of the Caribbean' for its founding by Irish refugees from Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Although this is a national holiday in Ireland, the celebration has become inclusive of anyone with many other nationalities taking part in parades and parties. For instance, many Argentinean cities host all-night parties in the streets and it is thought that most of those who take part have no Irish ancestry. Argentina's Irish community which is thought to be the fifth largest in the world plays no role in organising these parties.

Across the US, about 36 million people are of Irish descent and since 1991, the entire month of March has been recognised as Irish-American Heritage Month. Last year US President Barrack Obama explained "it's a testament I think to how close our two countries are that America has been shaped culturally, politically, economically by the incredible contributions of Irish Americans".

The Irish Celebrate!

In London, the route to work today was lined with Irish flags - hanging from houses, pubs and small offices. It was a very striking reminder not just that today is St. Patrick's Day, but also of the powerful influence Irish migration has had on the world. This is a day for Wild Geese throughout the world to celebrate Irish culture.

One of the biggest St. Patrick's Day parades in the UK is held in Birmingham, which took place on Sunday  13th March, where over 8000 people celebrated the event.

But today in New York City one of the longest running St. Patrick's Day parades will be held. This year marks the 250th anniversary of the parade, which first started in 1762 by "a band of homesick Irish ex-patroits and Irish military" - 71 years after The Flight of The Wild Geese. The official website of the parade explains why its popularity has lasted 250 years: "The parade participants revelled in the freedom to speak Irish, sing Irish songs and play the pipes to Irish tunes that were very meaningful to the Irish immigrants who had fled their homeland". This event is testament to the resounding impact of the migration of 1691 which is celebrated each day by The Wild Geese Irish Whiskey.

Last year's event looks as if it was a memorable event and we're sure this year will be unmissable.

Happy St. Patrick's Day from The Wild Geese Irish Whiskey!