Sheelah’s Day

The day after St Patrick’s Day was kept in Ireland as Sheelah’s Day, in honour of a Sheelah whom some called Patrick’s wife and others his mother. Nobody much minded who she was, so long as her memory was kept with whiskey. The shamrock of St Patrick’s Day was supposed to be worn again and drowned in the last glass on Sheelah’s night, though it was often drowned the night before and a fresh one had to be found.