Irish Castle photo

Did you know…

In 1780, to honor his many Irish troops, General George Washington issued a proclamation during the Revolutionary War, declaring St. Patrick’s Day a holiday for the Continental Army. Washington remarked that the proclamation was “an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence.”

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated by many nationalities, especially the 34.7 million U.S. residents who claim Irish ancestry. This number is almost nine times the population of Ireland itself. Irish is the nation’s second most frequently reported ancestry, trailing only those of German ancestry.

There are nine places in the U.S. that share the name of Ireland’s capital, Dublin. The two largest cities are Dublin, California, with a population of 39,328, and Dublin, Ohio, with a population of 34,964.