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An Old Irish Custom on St. Patrick’s Day 3/5/2007 5:31:42 PM
An old Irish custom to consume alcohol on St. Patrick’s Day is called Pota Phadraig or Patrick’s Pot. It is sometimes referred to as ‘drowning the shamrock’ because it is customary to float a leaf in the whiskey before downing a shot. This custom sprang from an Irish legend. St. Patrick stopped at an inn and was served a sparse glass of whiskey. St. Patrick decided to teach the innkeeper a lesson about generosity. He told the innkeeper that in his cellar a devil would live feeding off of his dishonesty, and if he wished to be rid of this devil, he must change his ways. When St. Patrick returned to the inn some time later, the innkeeper was filling each guest glass to the brim. St. Patrick went down into the cellar with the innkeeper and found the devil was emaciated because of the innkeeper’s generosity. St. Patrick then banished the devil, proclaiming that everyone should have a drop of the “hard stuff’ on his feast day.
