Irish pubs, bagpipes, St. Patty's Day, kilts, Guiness... These things all go extremely well together, and are often presented in concert. Picture a Highland Pipes and Drums band (clearly Scottish, plausibly mostly Presbyterians) marching on St. Patty's Day (an Irish Catholic celebration). In my gut, and the back of my head, I can make sense of this, but I'm wondering about the cultural/historical background of Scots and Irish culture becoming sorta -- comfortably overlapped? And, how does the culture of Mother England factor into the equation?

I have my own theories/historical interpretation for this phenomenon, but I'd love to hear other's thoughts -- especially our brothers over in Ireland/Scotland/England. Ham? Pour1Malt?