Im not Irish, but i celebrated it with Friends & Guinness, suffering now though !!
I'm Scottish on both sides, but there is a connection to be had. It is likely that my direct male ancestor who was around in the early 1600's was an Ulster Scot, and he and his family likely stayed in Northern Ireland from that time up until the early 18th century, when his descendants emigrated to the American Colonies (likely Pennsylvania, before making their way down to the Carolinas).
So I don't really consider myself Irish, though (or even "Scots-Irish," even though that's precisely what I am). My mother's side is also primarily Scottish, though there's some English there as well - she has a line all the way up to Duncan I of Scotland.
But hey, I'm amiable toward the Irish. We're all Gaelic peoples. Sláinte Mhath!