Happy St Patrick's Day 2003! A Rattlin' Celebration

HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY to everyone reading this!!!

Lads, it's the big day. The 17th of March. The day when the whole world goes green and pretends to be Irish (and we let them, because we're sound like that). I've been looking forward to this all year, and not just because of the parade or the pints — though both are very much on the agenda.

Today is the biggest day of the year for The Rattlin' Bog, and I want to talk about why.

The Song and Irish Identity

I try not to get too serious on this website. It's meant to be fun, a fan shrine for a song about a flea on a bird in a bog. But on St Patrick's Day, I think it's okay to get a little bit earnest.

The Rattlin' Bog is part of who we are. Not in a flag-waving, chest-thumping way. In a quieter, deeper way. It's part of the fabric of Irish life — the same fabric that includes trad sessions, family dinners, school assemblies, long bus journeys, and pub nights. It's one of those songs that every Irish person seems to know, even if they can't remember where they learned it. It's in the air. It's in the water. It's in the bog, you might say.

On St Patrick's Day, when the whole country is celebrating what it means to be Irish, I think it's worth remembering that our identity isn't just about history and politics and literature (though those are all grand). It's also about the small things. The songs we sing. The sessions we play. The stories we tell about our nans and our uncles and the time someone tried to add an extra verse at Christmas.

The Rattlin' Bog isn't a patriotic song. It's not about rebellion or history or heroes. It's about a tree in a bog. But it's OURS. It comes from our tradition, our people, our way of being together. And that makes it part of Irish identity in the most genuine, unforced way possible.

Today's Plans

Right, enough philosophy. Here's the plan for today:

Morning: Watch the parade in Ennis with the nephew Cian. He has been promised a flag and a bag of sweets. He has also been told that if he sings The Rattlin' Bog during the parade, his Uncle Seamus will be very proud and his mother will be very tired.

Afternoon: Home for dinner. The traditional St Patrick's Day dinner — bacon and cabbage, not corned beef (that's an American thing, lads). Rattlin' the cat will get a bit of bacon because it's a special day and she deserves it.

Evening: SESSION AT CRUISE'S. This is the main event. The St Patrick's Day session at Cruise's is always special, but this year I have a feeling it's going to be legendary. Word is that musicians are coming from all over Clare. Paddy has been "resting his voice" for a week, which means he's planning something.

I have made a solemn vow that The Rattlin' Bog will be sung at least three times tonight. I will accept no fewer.

A Message to the Site Visitors

I've noticed the hit counter has been going mental this week. More visitors than usual — we might even crack 200 today! I reckon it's people searching for Irish folk songs around St Patrick's Day, and they're finding us. If that's you — if you've just found The Rattlin' Bog Fan Shrine for the first time — WELCOME. Have a look around. Check out the lyrics page. Read about why this is the greatest song ever written. Sign the guestbook. Stay a while.

And wherever you are today — Dublin, London, New York, Sydney, or a small town in Clare — sing the bog. Sing it with your family. Sing it with strangers. Sing it on a bus. Sing it badly. Sing it fast. Sing it until the flea verse breaks you and you're laughing too hard to continue.

That's how you celebrate St Patrick's Day. Not with green beer (please, no green beer). With song. With community. With a rare bog, a rattlin' bog, a bog down in the valley-o.

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh!

Happy St Patrick's Day to every single one of you. I'll post a session report tomorrow, assuming I survive the night.

Slan go foill, BogLord2002

P.S. — If you're in Ennis tonight and you end up at Cruise's, find the lad with the bodhrán and the Rattlin' Bog t-shirt (yes, I made a t-shirt, no, it's not for sale yet, maybe someday). That's me. First round of the bog is on me. The pints, you'll have to buy your own.