I've never been one for genealogy. Personally, I think it's a fetish for women so they can imagine they come from somewhere else. Besides, my heritage is not so exotic and can be summed up as Anglo-Saxon if you're fancy and white if you're going by colors. There's German, English, French & Irish ancestry in me from the old country, and both North and South side of the eastern and midwestern United States. As an actor I've done roles with accents that were British (Royal Pronunciation, if you please), German, Australian, the American South and Irish. All came a little too easy to not have some heritage from those places, but strangely enough, there is only one place where I embrace the old culture, and that is Ireland.

Out of all the places my great-great-great relatives came from, they probably spent the least amount of time in Ireland. Sort of just passing through on the way to the New World. My mother's side of the family has an Irish shield emblem, but it doesn't sound hard to get one of those. My fiancee always comments about my German aspects and features, and I always thought I just looked like a hick from the American South. But there's something about that Irish culture. It's just got more charm than these other places.

First and foremost, there's the beer. I discovered Guinness while I was in college, and around St. Patrick's Day (which coincided with Spring break), I would literally drink three or four bottles of Guinness for dinner and not much else. Eventually, I discovered Watney's & Murphy's & Wexford. I think some of the best beer in all the world comes from Ireland, and I will never refuse a pint of Stout or Cream.

They also have partisan whiskey, which is quite an odd thing. You can buy the pro-Irish Catholic Jamison or the bastard pro-British Protestant Bushmills from Northern Ireland. I've bought them both and can't tell much difference. I usually get Jamison for standard Irish whiskey, but I saved up and got a bottle of Black Bush this year (the really good Bushmills). Irish Whiskey doesn't quite have the panache of Scotch, and I'll take a good bourbon over either. Still, only the Irish make me take sides on my Christianity with which whiskey I drink. Now that's culture!

Arguably, the best writers come from Ireland. I'm pretty sure every man in Ireland fancies himself a writer of sorts. It's hard to tell them they're wrong when you've got James Joyce on your side. I've read The Dubliners and Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man. Both masterpieces. If I live long enough, I'll try to tackle Ulysses, but I'm still not ready. I've acted in two Martin McDonagh plays, one was specifically Irish and one wasn't. While McDonagh isn't Shakespeare, I actually like watching and performing in his plays more than the bard's. Mainly because ol' William S. is a bit over done, and McDonagh is much more violent, drunk and prop heavy. A lot of effort goes into a McDonagh production, and a lot of words go into Shakespeare.

I'll give the British the nod when it comes to rock n' roll. The Beatles beat U2 every time, but I still love pulling out that traditional Irish stuff every now and again. The Dubliners are a particular favorite, and every March, Flogging Molly enter the CD player. I've got The Dropkick Murphys in the car right now.

In total irony, I hate Notre Dame football. Hate it.

I think more than anything else, the Irish are the underdog. They've been under the rule of their English brethren for far too long (you're the same freaking people!), and it seems like the Irish get the shaft more often than not. Did you see that handball by the French to set up their deciding goal to keep the Irish out of the World Cup? Super lame.

All right, so the Irish blood in me flows just strong as all my other old country heritage, which is to say not much. But I like the Irish. I like celebrating on St. Patrick's Day, dancing a little jig and having a small one. Okay, maybe a few small ones. I'll wear some green and blather on in my Irish accent. It's the only one I like to talk in for no good reason.

Besides, there's not another big cultural holiday until Cinco de Mayo. You know, I have brown fiance and a brown baby, and there's nothing wrong with a good tequila and New World pilsner...

Chris Jungle had his head blown off on stage acting in his only Irish play.