You’ve put the nail on the head here. Being “Irish Irish” the description of what many people in the US get up to on Paddy’s Day is utterly strange to me. Green beer? Expressions like “Top O’ The Mornin’ to Ye”? The mad fascination with the wearing of emerald green? Leprechauns and shit? Man – trippy or what!

I came across this article from an Irishman in New York that pretty much said the same thing.

I’ve never been to the US on Patrick’s Day. Not hugely interested in doing so either. Tomorrow I’ll bring my kids down to the parade in Cork where we’ll see Lithuanian and Polish and Nigerian immigrants all dressed up in their national costumes and having a great time. We’ll see huge monsters and people dancing with hula-hoops and bongo drums and vampires or unicyclists handing out sweets to the smallies. We’ll also see a self-conscious pipe-band from the Carolinas wondering what planet they have landed on.

And maybe, just maybe, I’ll have a pint (or two) of Beamish later in the day. We haven’t totally dispensed with the stereotypes yet.