Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Today is Saint Patrick's Day, which means that from Alaska to Zambia, millions of people will be Irish for a day. Most of them have never been to that wet and windy island in the north Atlantic, but they may have an ancestral connection with the place or simply feel attracted to Celtic culture. This often means music, either the New Age sounds of Enya or the rock 'n' roll of U2 . The last of the megabands is the most public face of global Irishness and they'll be playing that role during their next world tour, which starts on 30 June in Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium. After two months in Europe, U2 will cross the Atlantic for their first US gig of the tour on 12 September in Chicago's Soldier Field.

Because anyone can be Irish, U2 are "Irish". Most fans don't know or don't care that two members of the band, David Evans (The Edge) and Adam Clayton, were born in England. Patrick Azimkar (21) and Mark Quinsey (23) were born in England, too. These were the two soldiers killed recently by Irish terrorists after ordering a pizza near Belfast hours before flying to Afghanistan. And this is the other face of Ireland: A place of fanatical beliefs that produce a murderous mixture of religion and nationalism.

But just when one begins to despair about the country, along comes the Irish rugby team, which is made up of players from both sides of the border. So far this season, they have beaten France, Italy, England and Scotland, and next Saturday, if they win against Wales in Cardiff, they'll be European champions for the first time in 61 years. For millions of people, from Argentina to Australia, this will mean another party and endless singing of "Ireland's Call".

By the way, if rugby is not your game of football, there's always soccer. On 1 April, Ireland will play Italy in Bari in a critical World Cup game. Who's the Irish coach? Hint: He is 70 today. It's Giovanni Trapattoni. You see, anyone can be Irish. Happy Saint Patrick's Day!