TOP OF THE MORNIN' TO YOU ON THE NET

St. Patrick's Day is fast approaching. It's a day people feel a kinship with the Irish, or at least would like to possess the "luck of the Irish." Of course, many may feel a little down on their luck this year as Ireland has just postponed its national St. Patrick's Day celebration. The postponement is a precautionary measure against an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Ireland.

www.paddyfest.ie

Here you can learn more about the plans for the big celebration and the reasons for the postponement. Last year, it attracted some 1.3 million people to the streets of the Irish capital Dublin for a four-day festival.

It's not disappointing only to the Irish, but to the many visitors planning to make the trek. Of the 5,000 bands set to perform, 2,000 of them were from the United States. No doubt these high school students saved for some time to afford such a trip.

The site points out that St. Patrick's Day is the one national holiday that is celebrated in more countries around the world than any other.

But it's also interesting to note this strange fact of life: "That the celebration in Ireland for St. Patrick's Day prior to 1996 paled in comparison to those held abroad." That's when officials in Ireland set out to completely transform the national and international perception of St. Patrick's Day in Ireland. The festival has become the biggest annual celebration in Ireland.

You can also send Irish postcards and greeting cards from the site, as well as join in the message boards. You can even add a scanned photo to the messageboard.

www.stpatricksday.com

This site has an interesting opening page. It asks you to pick a coin from the Leprechauns' Pot 'o Gold. The words "Happy St. Patrick's Day" follow your pointer across the screen.

This site will link you to the regional and local Irish papers, so you can keep up on the celebration postponement or any other Irish news.

There's a whole page of Irish toasts. According to the story, each king in ancient times had a poet, and they were as revered as much as the kings themselves.

Most of the Irish get their practice of storytelling, blarney and other verbal arts in the pubs -- a place where people, friends and family gather.

I had to laugh at some of the toasts, including this one: "I drink to your health when I'm with you; I drink to your health when I'm alone; I drink to your health so often; I'm starting to worry about my own." There's also a guestbook and a link to Irish events around the world, including two links in Missouri. One links to St. Patrick, Mo., which apparently is the only St. Patrick in the world. The other link is to the University of Missouri-Rolla, which has held a rollicking St. Patrick's festival for the past 92 years.

There's lots of cool links to other Irish sites, including those featuring recipes, music and dancing.

I want to take a closer look at St. Patrick, Mo.'s Web site.

www.mayo-ireland.ie/Patrick

The Irish immigrants settled the town in 1833. Then, in 1935, a young Irish priest came to the town and helped to build a shrine to honor St. Patrick.

This apparently is the only town in the world with a post office that bears the name of Ireland's patron saint.

Donations poured in from all over the world, and the shrine was built and still operates today in this "little bit of Ireland" in Northeast Missouri.

You can also find out how to send a letter to the post office, which uses a special cancellation during the month of March.

The town is in the northeast corner of Clark County, Mo., on Highway 61. It's 11 miles north of Canton, if that helps.

If you want to learn more about the history of St. Patrick, try the History Channel.

www.historychannel.com/exhibits/stpatricksday/main.html

It answers such questions as "Who was St. Patrick," the history of the holiday, 800 years of conflict, and even some famous Irish personalities.

According to this site, St. Patrick is credited with founding hundreds of churches and converting thousands of people to his faith. Today, some 93 percent of the Republic of Ireland's population is Catholic, says the History Channel.

This site, too, points out that the fact and fiction about St. Patrick is hard to separate. Consider this: "Many stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling." It is believed he died on March 17. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for thousands of years. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would feast on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

Ironically, the first St. Patrick's Day parade took place not in Ireland, but in New York City in 1766. And they still hold a great parade today.

www.ny.com/holiday/stpatricks

They point out that, in a bit of holiday irony, scores of Irish make the trip "across the pond" for St. Patrick's Day in New York.

According to the site: "New Yorkers have their own unique way of celebrating Saint Patrick's Day, The Wearing of the Green. Green clothes, green flowers, and green hats are standard, but you'll also find unique green beers, green bagels, green water fountains, and even a green Empire State Building. "

It's interesting that the typical elements we think of with parades such as floats, automobiles or exhibits -- are prohibited. It's people dressed in green that are the stars, more than 150,000 marchers each year. You can see photos of past parades online.

You can learn more about St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan, or get a long list of the many Irish pubs in New York City.

Not to be outdone, there's a great Irish site on the Boston.com site.

www.boston.com/stpatricksday

They have assembled an overview of what they feel is the "best in Irish music, literature and food." You can get ideas for recipes, or find out what Irish films are playing. You get peruse a list of the best pubs "in the Hub" or send an e-postcard from Ireland.

There's also some history about St. Patrick or you can find out more about the Irish Immigration Center in Boston.

I also enjoyed the quotes, links and articles on historical and contemporary Irish authors and poets. You can also throw in your two cents in the bulletin board.

Of course if you want to send an e-card, I'll direct you to one of my favorite sites: Blue Mountain.

www.bluemountain.com/eng/stpatrick

There's plenty of choices, including cards and invitations. Many of the cards are interactive and funny.

You can also attach digital photos to your card for free. I was amazed to learn you could also attach a video free as well -- choose a stock video or upload your own from a PC.

What's your favorite Irish site? E-mail me at jonia@sehosp.org.

See you in Cyberspace, and don't forget to wear green.

Joni Adams is the Webmaster at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau.