This lively and ambitious book - the first to chronicle the full history of St. Patrick's Day, from its medieval origins to the modern day - explores the shared heritage of the Irish through the development of this unique national holiday.

"An inventive, delightful, and percipient book that uses Ireland's national feast day as a means to examine the texture and drama of the history of the Irish wherever they might find themselves."--Thomas Keneally, author of "The Great Shame" and "Schindler's List."