I just get a tiny bit irritated (and embarrassed) when "Irish" Americans make asumptions,thinking they're experts on Ireland and its traditions. They rightly associate Saint Patrick's Day with Ireland, but they assume that it is celebrated the same here as it is there. Everybody and their brother here in Americay makes a big deal about corned beef and cabbage on St. Paddy's Day. Even some non-Irish restaurants serve it, but only on that one day. This association between St. Paddy's, corned beef, and cabbage indicates a common assumption that people in Ireland must eat it as part of their Saint Patrick's Day tradition. Not that I know first hand (ashamedly, I've never been to Ireland), but I've been told by all my Irish pals that St. Paddy's Day is a religious observance in Ireland, not an excuse to get shit-faced and eat corned beef. Sure, they eat corned beef in Ireland. They eat it in Scotland, too. And probably in every meat-consuming country on the planet. The point is, it ain't unique to ANY culture, certainly not Ireland's. Incidentally, Argentina produces more corned beef than anywhere else in the world.

"Slauncha" (as the Bennigan's Irish Restaurant chain describes the pronunciation of the word) HS