Killarney National Park

Killarney National Park, Killarney National Park (Irish: Páirc Náisiúnta Chill Airne) is located beside the town of Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland. It was the first national park established in Ireland, created when Muckross Estate was donated to the Irish state in 1932. The park has since been substantially expanded and encompasses over 102.89 km2 (25,425 acres) of diverse ecology, including the Lakes of Killarney, Oak and Yew woodlands of international importance, and mountain peaks.

It has Ireland’s only native herd of Red Deer and the most extensive covering of native forest remaining in Ireland. The park is of high ecological value because of the quality, diversity, and extensiveness of many of its habitats and the wide variety of species that they accommodate, some of which are rare. The park was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1981. The park forms part of a Special Area of Conservation.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service is responsible for the management and administration of the park. Recreation and tourism amenities are also provided for.

St Patrick’s Day Parade

St Patrick’s Day Parade, An estimated 500,000 people crowded Saturday into central Dublin for the St. Patrick’s Day parade, a focal point for Irish celebrations worldwide and the start of the tourist season in debt-battered Ireland.

Bands from Britain, the United States and Russia joined thousands of Irish volunteers in the two-hour procession through Ireland’s capital of 1.3 million. It was the biggest of more than 50 parades and street festivals across the island.

Overseas, more than a dozen landmarks — including the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Empire State Building, the London Eye and Table Mountain in South Africa — were floodlit green in keeping with a holiday that highlights Ireland’s emigrant footprint worldwide.

But the holiday didn’t pass without trouble in the British territory of Northern Ireland, where extremists in the Protestant majority resist Irish celebrations.

St Patrick Day Traditions

St Patrick Day Traditions, As people across the nation sport four-leaf clovers and sip green beer Saturday, a handful pay homage to the true tradition of St. Patrick’s Day. The holiday, which is now commercialized and synonymous with parties and drinking, is actually steeped in religion.

It honors a man who was abducted from his native Scotland, abused and enslaved in Ireland. He later returned to Ireland as a Christian apostle, spreading God’s word in the country where he endured struggles and personal pain.

For that reason, many churches across the nation, and some in Bowling Green, use the holiday to remind people of the man’s actions and his sacrifice.

“I think more than anything else, he leaves us a legacy of someone who was totally committed to the faith,” said the Rev. Jerry Riney of Holy Spirit Catholic Church. “He was just tireless in his desire to teach people about God … he was also fearless in challenging people against greed and violence.”

Patrick was born in A.D. 385 and was 14 years old when he was kidnapped and enslaved in Ireland. About 10 years later, he escaped and returned to his family in Scotland. Soon, something triggered a deep connection to his faith, and Patrick entered the seminary. When he was ordained as a priest, he asked to return to Ireland, Riney said.

St Patricks Day Food

St Patricks Day Food, St Patrick’s Day celebrations are a many splendored thing: the parades, pub crawls and municipal water dyeing stunts are enjoyed by everyone — not just those of Irish descent. And that extends to food choices like beer, doughnuts, milkshakes, and even ketchup, all of which are getting a heavy dose of what is most likely the synthetic food dye, FD&C Green No. 3 on Saturday, March 17.

But is the dye a health problem? According to the experts, probably not. “The likelihood of harm
from some green dye on one occasion a year is apt to be very remote,” says Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University’s Prevention Research Center and a HuffPost blogger. “A lot of questions are asked about how to avoid health hazards associated with any given holiday. I think the best answer is to take care of yourself every day — and then you can relax and have fun when that special holiday rolls around!”

The worst that could happen is probably some gastrointestinal discomfort, according to Dr. Braden Kuo, an assistant physician at Harvard Medical School and at the GI Unit of Massachusetts General Hospital. Artificial food dyes and additives are often not meant to be absorbed by the body, he explains, and instead may weigh heavily on the bowel, which, in turn, can suck water into the bowels, resulting in diarrhea.

But even the dangers of long-term consumption are uncertain. While some research has suggested that certain food dyes can contribute to worsening hyperactivity among children, those are largely inconclusive. The FDA has ordered additional testing.