Irish-American Heritage Month (March)
and St. Patrick’s Day (March 17): 2009
Originally a religious holiday to honor St. Patrick, who introduced Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century, St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into a celebration for all things Irish. 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. Congress proclaimed March as Irish-American Heritage Month in 1995, and the president issues a proclamation each year.
Population Distribution
36.5 million
Number of U.S. residents who claimed Irish ancestry in 2007. This number was more than eight times the population of Ireland itself (more than 4 million). Irish was the nation’s second most frequently reported ancestry, trailing only German.
Sources: 2007 American Community Survey
<http://www.cso.ie/px/pxeirestat/database/eirestat/Population%20Estimates/Population%20Estimates.asp>
<http://factfinder.census.gov>
24%
Percent of Massachusetts residents who were of Irish ancestry in 2007. This compares with a rate of 12 percent for the nation as a whole.
Source: 2007 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>
Irish-Americans Today
32%
Percentage of people of Irish ancestry, 25 or older, who had a bachelor’s degree or more education. In addition, 92 percent of Irish-Americans in this age group had at least a high school diploma. For the nation as a whole, the corresponding rates were 28 percent and 85 percent.
Source: 2007 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>
$56,966
Median income for households headed by an Irish-American, higher than the $50,740 for all households. In addition, 8 percent of people of Irish ancestry were in poverty, lower than the rate of 13 percent for all Americans.
Source: 2007 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>
39%
Percentage of employed civilian Irish-Americans 16 or older who worked in management, professional and related occupations. Additionally, 27 percent worked in sales and office occupations; 15 percent in service occupations; 10 percent in production, transportation and material moving occupations; and 9 percent in construction, extraction, maintenance and repair occupations.
Source: 2007 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>
72%
Percentage of householders of Irish ancestry who owned the home in which they live, with the remainder renting. For the nation as a whole, the homeownership rate was 67 percent.
Source: 2007 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>
Trade With the “Old Sod”
$26.2 billion
The value of U.S. imports from Ireland for January to October 2008. Meanwhile, the United States exported $7.4 billion worth of goods to Ireland.
Source: Foreign Trade Statistics <http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/>
Places to Spend the Day
4
Number of places in the United States named Shamrock, the floral emblem of Ireland. Mount Gay-Shamrock, W.Va., and Shamrock, Texas, were the most populous, with 2,623 and 1,830 residents, respectively. Shamrock Lakes, Ind., had 154 residents and Shamrock, Okla., 123. (Statistic for Mount Gay-Shamrock is from Census 2000; the other statistics are 2007 estimates.)
Sources: American FactFinder <http://factfinder.census.gov> and
population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/012242.html>
9
Number of places in the United States that share the name of Ireland’s capital, Dublin. Since Census 2000, Dublin, Calif., has surpassed Dublin, Ohio, as the most populous of these places (43,960 compared with 37,954, respectively, as of July 1, 2007).
If you’re still not into the spirit of St. Paddy’s Day, then you might consider paying a visit to Emerald Isle, N.C., with 3,651 residents. Other appropriate places in which to spend the day: the township of Irishtown, Ill., several places or townships named “Clover” (in South Carolina, Illinois, Minnesota and Pennsylvania) and the township of Cloverleaf, Minn.
Sources: American FactFinder <http://factfinder.census.gov> and
population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/012242.html>
The Celebration
41.5 billion and 2.6 billion
U.S. beef and cabbage production, respectively, in pounds, in 2007. Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional St. Patrick’s Day dish. The corned beef that celebrants dine on may very well have originated in Texas, which produced 6.8 billion pounds worth of beef, while the cabbage most likely came from California, which produced 581 million pounds, or New York, which produced 580 million pounds.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service <http://www.nass.usda.gov/index.asp>
$40 million
Value of potted florist chrysanthemum sales at wholesale in 2007 for operations with $100,000 or more sales. Lime green chrysanthemums are often requested for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service <http://www.nass.usda.gov/index.asp>
1 comments:
Thanks for the Dublin, Ohio mention. We like to think of ourselves as a great destination to spend more than a day! St. Patrick's Day would certainly be one great day to visit ... with our HUGE parade, Irish music, family fun and more. Then there's our annual Dublin Irish Festival (one of the largest--and BEST--in the nation.) Traditionally held the first weekend in August, it offers 7 stages of music, genealogy, Irish dance, culture, a 10th century Irish village and more. Year-round touches of Ireland await visitors ... with great pubs, rolling golf courses, and a European-inspired Historic District. We are located just 5 minutes from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium--recently ranked the #1 Zoo in the country by US Travel Guide (Check out our discounted summer getaways w/ Zoo tickets!)
Post a Comment