Hard to get away from all those jokes with a last name of Kilpatrick. There were not ton’s of Irish kids in my Texas school, in fact there weren’t any as far as I know. Every year without fail I would get teased on that same March date – THE DREADED 17th! The one that seemed to live on year after year was “Hey Carrie Ann did you Kill Patrick” Ha Ha Ha

Gotta Love elementary and junior high fun, right? In all seriousness I really didn’t know that much about my heritage or any of the things that made it special and made me unique. Although I had heard a little here and there from family members, I think we had all been long removed from the day’s when we landing in the United States.

I don’t know the year or date, but pretty sure there were no Kilpatrick’s here when Columbus hit the scene. As I got older I did start doing more research, learning the history of Ireland and there was so much there. Now I love being Irish and having that background, like everyone else in the US I am a mix of a lot of things but with a last name of Kilpatrick I will cling that Irish tag all day long.

St. Patrick’s Day, celebrated on March 17 started off as a day to remember the death of the, patron saint of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain in the late 4th century, he was kidnapped at the age of 16 and taken to Ireland as a slave. He escaped but returned about 432 CE to convert the Irish to Christianity.  As with many important figures in history, many legends grew up around him—such as, that he drove the snakes out of Ireland and used the shamrock to explain the Trinity. Ireland came to celebrate his day with religious services and feasts. The holiday has evolved into a celebration of Irish culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, drinking and a whole lot of green.

resource: Brittanica News