Irish is the second most commonly reported ancestry in Clark County, behind German. Nearly 12 percent of the population, or 51,755 people, claimed Irish ancestry, according to the 2015 American Community Survey estimates published by the Census.
About 10 percent of the nation’s population claims Irish heritage. However, it’s higher in certain areas, such as Massachusetts and New Hampshire, where around 20 percent of residents claim Irish heritage. In some areas of Massachusetts, more than 50 percent of people claim to be Irish.
Irish-born people are few and far between in Clark County. Only a few dozen residents have emigrated here from Ireland. When it comes to Europeans moving to Clark County, it’s more likely they’re from the United Kingdom, Germany or the Netherlands, according to Census data.
If you want to fly to Dublin today and catch Ireland’s festivities, it’ll run you at least $880 (if you’re lucky).
Whether you’re Irish or not, there are many ways to locally celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on Friday and through the weekend. We may not dye the Columbia River green, but Vancouver has its popular Paddy Hough Parade. This will be the 26th year of the parade where Hough Elementary students, staff and neighbors get dressed up and parade along Main Street to celebrate Patrick (Paddy) Hough, who was a teacher and principal. He was born in Tipperary, Ireland, on St. Patrick’s Day in 1846. Hough Elementary School was built 16 years after he died.
Check out our coverage of the parade in Saturday’s paper.