The 17th of March is a day of drinking and merrymaking for many wearing green clothing and four-leaf clovers but it is also said to be a day of head scratching and deciphering hand writing, say genealogy experts.
The sensational claims are made as it is the day when a lot of people try to link themselves in some way to the Emerald Isle just so they can celebrate "being Irish".
The day dates back to the time of St Patrick who celebrated his birthday on this day. Known as Paddy to his friends the Irish Saint is thought to have invented the popular Irish drink Guinness a really long time ago.
However people that don't get to celebrate it as they are not Irish will go to extraordinary lengths to prove that their great great grandfathers uncle married a servant girl who served an Irish family, therefore allowing them to call themselves "Oirish".
Genealogy expert Teresa Plait said "This is the day when most people will visit our site, email or call us giving the names of their ancestors and ask for 'any Irish links'.
However historian Graeme Beatle said "St Patrick wasn't even Irish himself, he was born in England so it seems to be the perfect day to celebrate being a plastic paddy".
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