Tell us - what does being Irish mean to you?

This coming Friday is St. Patrick's Day, the day each year when Ireland and all things Irish are celebrated around the world with festivals and parades and famous buildings and monuments turning green. It's a day when you feel extra special to be Irish or of Irish descent. 

This St. Patrick's Day, IrishCentral wants to know what being Irish means to you, our readers. 

It could be that, for you, being Irish is rooted in family, or the craic, or your general outlook on life. 

It could be something like still knowing how to Irish dance even though it's been 10 years since you took a class, or a love of the Irish language, or a deep connection you've always felt with Ireland. 

Or maybe some of the big news stories out of Ireland recently - such as the excavation of human remains from grounds of a former mother and baby home in Tuam, Co. Galway; the massive pro-choice protests that swept Ireland on International Women's Day; the sea change in the Northern Ireland elections - have you in a more contemplative mood and have produced some more complicated feelings about being Irish. 

It's all fair game, we want to hear it. 

So, tell us! What does being Irish mean to you? You can leave a comment on this article, send us an email to [email protected], or post to social media with the hashtag #beingIrish. We'll gather your answers and share them as some food for thought on Paddy's Day.