Happy St. Patrick's Day

Today is St. Patrick's Day and for those of us who are Irish it is a special day. For Irish-Americans it is a day when we can see how far we have come. When the Irish first came to America they were the poorest of the poor. You would see signs that said "No Dogs or Irishmen". We have come from cleaning mansions to owning mansions. There are many parades and celebrations to honor this day.

In spite of our accomplishments there is still a long way to go for us as a people. When John Kennedy was elected president he had to face the prejudice that still exists of being an Irish Catholic. Growing up Irish I faced that same prejudice. You still see some of that prejudice today.

In Ireland their economy has thrived and they are known as the Celtic Tiger. In Northern Ireland the uneasy peace of the Irish Accord is still in place but true equality is not. The deep seated distrust of the Protestants versus the Catholics is still there. Gone thank God is the violence that destroyed so many lives.

So today we celebrate but in that celebration we need to remember that there are others who still struggle like we once did. As Irishmen we need to make it our duty to help those less fortunate then ourselves to achieve the dreams that we have reached.

The picture is called "By the Risin' of the Moon."