IRELAND CANCELS ST. PATRICK'S DAY FESTIVITIES
From the Real Beer Page Newsletter -
The Irish Republic has canceled St. Patrick's Day festivities in Dublin because of the continued concern of the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. This highly contagious disease has swept through animals in Great Britain, and there has been at least one confirmed case of the disease in Northern Ireland. Usually, more than a million Irish pause in their penitence during Lent in favor of four days (March 16-19) of merriment and take to the streets of Dublin to honor St. Patrick with a festival of music, street theater, and parades and plenty of stout.
<Editor's Note> Now when I read this, what jumped out at me was the fact that though St Paddy's day is in the middle of Lent, the Irish don't let that stop them from their celebration & merriment. Now, not being Catholic I'm not really up on these things. Did Paddy get a dispensation from the Pope to party down? How does that work? Well, however it works I hope you have a great St Patrick's Day with plenty of stout·. And no green beer!
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