GREENING OF L.A.: There are almost 1...

GREENING OF L.A.: There are almost 1 million Irish Americans in Los Angeles and Orange counties, according to Thomas J. Kelly, who edits the Canoga Park-based Irish Tribune. As to the illegal community, Kelly speculates that it has decreased substantially recently because of pro-Irish legislation, “but you don’t go around asking.”

SURVIVAL GUIDE: Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, the Valley-based Emigration Assistance Coalition is publishing “The Irish Immigrant’s Survival Guide for Los Angeles.” The 96-page manual includes tips on everything from apartment hunting to paying taxes and warns against such local dangers as earthquakes, sunburn and American tea (“a pathetic little bag of withered sticks”). To get a free copy, call (818) 883-9324.

‘TIS THE SEASON: March 17 is a red-letter day for Shamrock Imports at 7945 Laurel Canyon Blvd., North Hollywood. Aficionados know that owner Imelda McCann, above, gets a shipment every Thursday of such choice comestibles as slab bacon, sausages and real Irish butter, direct from Shannon. And this time of year, there is a brisk business in Irish kitsch, including T-shirts ($10) that read: “Pray for me. My wife (husband) is Irish.”

FOOTBALL, GAELIC-STYLE: Sport matters to the Irish, especially Gaelic football. “They’re fantastically passionate about it,” said Tom Nolan of Panorama City, secretary of the local branch of the Dublin-based Gaelic Athletic Assn. “I’d say it’s the third-most-important thing in the country, after the government and the Church.” When the season starts in April, a number of Valley footballers will take the field in Orange County as members of the team Young Ireland.

THE SOURCE: According to many members of the Irish community, no one knows more about what’s happening here or there than Tom McConville of North Hollywood. A native of County Armagh, McConville is host of “The Irish Hour,” broadcast every Sunday at 3:05 p.m. on Glendale’s KIEV Radio 870-AM.