Chesterton on the Irish

MARCH 17th - ST. PATRICK'S DAY

THE average autochthonous Irishman is close to patriotism because he is close to the earth; he is close to domesticity because he is close to the earth; he is close to doctrinal theology and elaborate ritual because he is close to the earth. In short, he is close to the heavens because he is close to the earth.

GKC in George Bernard Shaw
(as quoted in Chesterton Day by Day, 1912)