Our Irish culture has always been a source of pride for my family. My name, O'Keefe, came from County Cork where my grandfather was raised.

We used to spend summers with my gradparents in the fishing village of Kinsale in southern Ireland. I must say that the Irish are some of the friendliest people I've ever met!

Until the 1970s, St. Patrick's Day in Ireland was a minor religious holiday. A priest would acknowledge the feast day, and families would celebrate with a big meal, but that was about it. Corned beef and cabbage is the traditional meal.

St. Patrick's Day was basically invented in America by Irish-Americans. Irish charitable organizations originally celebrated St. Patrick's Day with banquets in places such as Boston, Massachusetts; Savannah, Georgia; and Charleston, South Carolina.

18^th century Irish soldiers fighting with the British in the U.S. Revolutionary War held the first St. Patrick's Day parades. Some soldiers, for example, marched through New York City in 1762 to reconnect with their Irish roots. Others parades followed in the years and decades after, including well-known celebrations in Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago, primarily for flourishing Irish immigrant communities.

This picture is my little nephew Kieran, who is ready for the special green day!

It became a way to honor the saint but also to confirm ethnic identity and to create bonds of solidarity among the Irish immigrants.

On any given day 5.5 million pints of Guinness, the famous Irish stout, are consumed around the world. On St. Patrick's Day, that number more than doubles to 13 million pints!

For more information please contact Lara O'Keefe at 972.838.9156 or visit Hunter's Creek.