It’s St Patrick’s Day next Wednesday. You lot have the luck of the Irish! We’ve rounded up a few wee sites for you, flavoured liberally with leprechauns and limericks of the green variety. Did you know that Pat hailed from Scotland? Was captured by pirates aged 16? Found God while herding pigs? Read on…

Thanks to St Patrick's lasting influence, the Irish were one of the few literate peoples in Europe throughout the Dark Ages. Choice Irish Toasts celebrate a rich history of bar room banter. Remember, "As you slide down the banisters of life may the splinters never point the wrong way".

Taste the drink, live the life and enjoy the art. Choose The Guinness Site.

Learn the secret of eternal blaggage. Women will fall at your feet and police let you off with a mere caution. For the legend of the Blarney Stone and its magical powers of persuasiveness, head to The St Patrick’s Day Site.

For ancient Irish folklore of olde, look no further than Wearin’ O The Green. Find out about invasions, mythological cycles and how The Bulls Were Begotten or for lighter reading, rainbows, shamrocks, banshees and Irish soda bread.

A Wee Bit O’ Fun tells tales of Pat’s Scottish heritage and his fondness for banishing pagan snakes from the Emerald Isle.

More comprehensive is The Confessio of St Patrick which claims to be an "autobiographical confession… written by Patrick himself, in Latin, around the year 450. It offers a unique record of life in the British Isles during those times. Born in England or Scotland, kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland as a teen, escaping probably to northern France, and returning to Ireland as a missionary after a prophetic dream... it's quite amazing that this record has survived". Go and see for yourself.

The A-Z of Ancient Ireland is a fascinating yarn. Check it out for stories of Earth goddesses, astrology and Irish links to Ancient Egypt.

Having a dinner party? Need inspiration? How about parsnip and apple soup to start, oatmeal and bacon pancakes to follow, and a potato and apple pudding for dessert? Good Irish scran the lot of it. Check out your vital ingredients at Irish Recipes.