How to resolve AdBlock issue? St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, now coincides with Irish-American Heritage Month, thanks to a 1991 proclamation by the US Congress and an annual proclamation by the president.
The day began as a holiday to honor St. Patrick, who introduced Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century.
However, the first St. Patrick’s Day parade didn’t take place in Ireland but in New York City on March 17, 1762, and featured Irish soldiers serving in the English military, according to a US Census Bureau fact sheet. This parade became an annual event, with President Truman attending in 1948.
The Census Bureau reported that 32.3 million Americans – or 10 percent of the United States’ population – claimed Irish ancestry in 2016, making it the No. 2 ancestry group in size, behind German with 44.7 million, according to the American Community Survey.
There are estimated to be 20,590 Irish speakers in the United States, the agency said.
In Lake County, the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey for 2012 to 2016 found that there were 6,882 residents who reported Irish ancestry. In keeping with the nationwide pattern, that group ranked No. 2 in size compared to those reporting German ancestry, who totaled 7,744.
Those interested in finding out more about their ancestry can find information at the following sites:
– Famine Irish passenger record data, offered by the National Archives: http://aad.archives.gov/aad/fielded-search.jsp?dt=180&;cat=SB302&tf=F&bc=sb,sl.
– National Archives immigration records: www.archives.gov/research/immigration/.
– Irish Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Dedicated to assisting visitors with searching for family history records, www.irishgenealogy.ie.
– Information on travel and events in Ireland: www.ireland.com.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
[Source: U.S. Census Bureau] 
