By Deborah Netburn, Whitney Friedlander and Patrick Kevin Day, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

Ah, St. Patrick's Day; America's drunken tribute to a whimsical idea of Irish culture. Four-leaf clovers! Leprechauns! Those green plastic hats the college kids like to wear! Guinness! The Blarney stone! "Kiss me, I'm Irish" T-shirts (worn by people who aren't Irish at all). Fiddles! Clogging!

We're all a little Irish on St. Patrick's Day, right? No, not really. But still! Here are some classics of Irish American (and sometimes just Irish culture) that have shaped the way we in the entertainment-observing biz view the people of Celtic descent.