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St. Patrick's day

March 17th is an important day for a few reasons. It is St. Patrick's day which all who know me understand has a special place in my heart. My wife of 12 years, Mairead, is Irish born and raised (and has yet to become U.S. citizen) and my kids are half-Irish by nationality (perhaps fully by blood!). I have traveled all over Ireland and lived in Irish neighborhoods in Boston during many of my formative years. In my younger days, I've pressed the flesh with Gerry Adams and Teddy Kennedy, been detained for "walking while catholic" on the mean streets of West Belfast and have looked down the business end of an Enfield.

Evacuation Day

But March 17th is important for other reasons. It is celebrated in the commonwealth of Massachusetts as an official state holiday because it is "Evacuation Day"

"The holiday, celebrated each March 17 in the city of Boston and three other local municipalities, commemorates the day in 1776 when the British redcoats ended their occupation of Boston. By some happy coincidence, March 17 happens to be Saint Patrick's Day. How fortuitous that Suffolk County, a region which has a large percentage of citizens of Irish descent, was able to find an event which just happened to coincide with the day of celebration of Irish culture.

Evacuation Day, as a historical event, is not of the same caliber as Patriot's Day or Bunker Hill Day. Those holidays commemorate the battles of the American Revolution fought here and serve to remind both us and the nation of Massachusetts' role in freeing the United States from British rule. Evacuation Day merely marks the day that the rump of the British contingency left this region to go attack other regions." 1

Image of Evacuation

Even though I have moved from Boston a few years ago, a drawing of the "Rebel Works" circa 1775 surrounding the city of Boston immediately prior to evacuation still hangs proudly in our house.

Finally, March 17th is my birthday!

Based on these important reasons I think March 17th will be made a company holiday in 2007.

My Next Trip to Ireland

Although I haven't been to Ireland for quite awhile, we will be going back next summer to attend my sister-in-law's wedding. This is her partially constructed house in Co. Cork with amazing view (as you can see) on top of a large hill, that we'll be staying in. Let's hope it's finished by the time we arrive!




1 copyright Michael J. Ring, "The Tech" 1998

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Labels: Holiday

posted by Brian Lockwood on Saturday, March 25, 2006