On this bright day, there is only one cloud to dull the sky for those who wear the Green. And, as usual, the cloud has an Orange lining. While Dublin Cheers and New York sends up its annual blue-coated paean to Shamrock land, the lads up north in Ulster must keep silent and dare not even march the streets of Belfast or toast Parnell with Irish Stout.

Brian Faginess, Home Minister for Northern Ireland, has come down hard on St. Paddy's men by signing an order banning all demonstrations in Belfast today. Remembering some slight disturbances last March, when a few of the boys worked over some shops and a police station, the Ulster government is wary of a new gathering. And perhaps they're right. It is a glorious sight when the lads of the Sinn Fein go swinging down the road, keeping time to the tap of their shillelaghs on the cobblestones; but feelings do run high.

So today the men of Erin must pause to think of their silent brothers, and look forward to the day when the Green Isle is one. Already the cause is making way. In the very Senate of these United States sits that nice young man who sponsored the bill to unify Ireland. And tomorrow, or maybe the next day, St. Patrick will come back to finish the job he started. Sure, it was not enough to drive the vipers out while the lion still has her paw on Eire's soil.