DiLiGO wishes you the luck of the Irish this St Patrick's Day

Some people say that we create our own good luck, and that positive thinking draws good fortune to us like a magnet. In the case of the Irish, luck appears to be a national trait, at least according to popular belief.

“May the luck ’o the Irish be with you” is a common saying on St Patrick’s Day and it suggests that no one could be more blessed with good fortune than an Irishman.

St Patrick himself is considered a symbol of good fortune. Perhaps this is because, before he became a saint, St Patrick was captured as a slave. Through sheer good luck, he managed to escape his captors and then went on to covert all the pagans in Ireland to Christianity – and they’ve felt very lucky ever since.

However, some people suggest that Irish luck is a curse rather than a blessing. When the Irish immigrants came to America they struggled for a long time, and they appeared to have terrible luck. “May you be blessed with the luck of the Irish” might have been an insult in those days. Unless you understood that there is a lot more to Irish luck than meets the eye.

Irony seems to play a big part in the Irish idea of luck. For example:

Megan:    I just put on my new boots when I stepped in a cowpat.
Sean:    Well, ’tis a lucky thing you were wearing those boots then!
Megan:     Yes, luck ’o the Irish!

Another example of the Irish sense of irony occurs on St Patrick’s Day – a day that is considered especially lucky. Why should there be a Leprechaun on the day of a Christian saint who converted pagans? There seems to be no obvious connection between St Patrick and this fairytale creature, except that they both bring good luck.

The Leprechaun is a little man dressed in green, who lives by himself and makes shoes. He also keeps a pot of gold somewhere, and if you are lucky enough to catch him, he will take you to it. However, the Leprechaun is a clever little trickster, and he is able to escape captivity in the flash of an eye. In most stories, the gold seekers are so serious and goal directed that they cannot see through the Leprechaun’s tricks and stories, so he always gets away.

A Leprechaun is a lucky thing, not because he has a pot of gold, but because he always manages to escape. Just like St Patrick did. The real gold they both have to offer is the lesson that nothing is as it seems. When you feel trapped, there is always a way out, and often it just means finding your sense of humour. If you’re only looking for the gold, you may miss the laughter and the magic of a situation.

The real Irish luck is having the right attitude, a tricksy, ironic way of looking at life, which turns troubles into challenges, and replaces a frown with a smile.

Get in the mood for luck and see if you can win big playing our Leprechaun themed Slot Machine. Because he's a trickster there is one happy catch: You’ll win both tokens and points in this leprechaun’s patch!