Hello Connie,
         Yes the St Patricks Day Parades were cancelled in Ireland as a 
precautionary measure to prevent the gathering of large crowds of people 
just in case Foot & Mouth gets into this country.
           There have been no cases in the Republic of Ireland and only one 
case in the North of Ireland and that was a sheep bought in from England. 
All sheep that had been brought in from the UK were slaughtered as a 
preventative measure. Since there have been no new cases  it is looking 
better for this little island as a whole.
         It is a looking like an epidemic in the UK as a result of pigs 
being fed swill from an Internartional  airline. It was in the UK  in 1967 
but vigilance kept it out of here. Now the defences are up again and there 
are checks in place at ports and borders to prevent movement of animals and 
disinfection of wheels of vehicles etc.
          The Parade in Dublin is to go ahead at a later date.

Annette Ryan
Ireland


At 11:52 AM 3/16/01 -0700, you wrote:

>
>I heard St. Patrick's day celebrations have been canceled in most parts
>of ireland due to the Hoof & Mouth outbreak.   If this is true, I'm so
>sorry to hear this.  I hope to brighten your day by wishing all Irish
>Histonetters a most pleasant and happy day, anyway!
>
>and to all the rest of you...  Let the party begin!! *G*
>
>HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!
>
>Connie McManus (whose good Irish name comes by way of marriage)