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If You're Irish, come into the parlour

posted 16 Mar 2011, 00:25

Today is St. Patrick's Day and everyone is a little bit Irish, except for the Italians and the gays - Kent O'Brockman

It's been St. Patrick's Day for hours and I'm still not drunk yet - Homer

The feast of St. Patrick is a celebration associated with the introduction of Christianity into Ireland and, for the people behind The Simpsons, an excuse to engage in merry old stereotyping of things that everyone associates with Ireland except for, strangely enough, the Irish. What is wrong with those people? Don't they know how to conform?

The Irish have provided an important element of The Simpsons from the very earliest days - see Irish References in The Simspons from The Simpsons Archives.

• • Barney, the town drunk is Irish (although he thinks he might be Polish).

  • In the Whacking Day episode Bart uncovers its secret history - it was started as an excuse to beat up the Irish.

  • In Homer the Vigilante Grampa Simpson declares he was the one who drove the Irish out of Springfield (and a fine job he did of it too!)

  • When Smithers thinks he may have shot Mr Burns he confides in a priest: "Now I know I haven't been a very good catholic ... though I did once try to march in a St. Patrick's Day parade."

  • Let's not forget too that Ireland is one of the countries outside the United States that the Simpson family have visited.

  • In The Simpsons Movie Lisa meets a boy whose family 'moved here from Ireland' and his father is a musician and a crusader, but he isn't Bono, though if he was it would explain why he's been banished from Ireland.

  • 'And speaking of Bono, he is among the legions of celebrities who have guested on The Simpsons, along with the other members of U2.

  • Plus Liam Neeson has appeared too and probably scores of others but after 20 years who's counting?

So before we all get too drunk, let's raise a glass, or several, to Irish influences on The Simpsons. For those already too drunk here's a short video that should answer all your questions: