When I was a girl, every year my mother would come to school on St. Patrick's Day and host a party for all the children in my grammar school class. She would bring shamrock cookies from a bakery in her old neighborhood, Inwood. I remember Hawaiian punch was served. We loved it. Have you ever marched in the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade? No. I remember going to the parade as a girl and watched but didn't ever march. Five essential Irish albums that should be part of everyone's music library: The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, Live at Carnegie Hall; War by U2; Astral Weeks by Van Morrison; The Long Black Veil by The Chieftains; Fisherman's Blues by The Waterboys. How much green do you wear on March 17th? The right amount. Do you eat corned beef & cabbage on St. Patrick's Day? Yes. How about soda bread? Yes, and the best soda bread is made by Jean Meara. Favorite Irish film? "The Field." Favorite Irish book? "Dubliners" by James Joyce. Favorite Irish song? "The Streets of New York" by the Wolfe Tones. Complete this sentence: The most Irish thing about me is . . . Everything!
