Irish celebrities to party with on St. Patrick's Day

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, we bring you this guest post from Sarah Anne Hughes, intern and Young Celebritologist -- you know, sort of like the Young Indiana Jones -- who writes about the famous people she'd like to hang out with on this greenest of green days.

Having turned 21 last September, today marks my first opportunity to officially celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. And by officially, I mean, an evening’s worth of beer-drinking, pub-crawling, blarney-stone-kissing shenanigans.

Which got me to thinking: who among the rich-and-famous set would make the best companion as I venture into the realm of St. Patty’s revelry? Here are the five notable Emerald Isle-related celebrities that -- with a little luck of the Irish -- I would be thrilled to stand beside while celebrating this St. Patrick’s Day.

Would you spend St. Patrick's Day with this man? Because we totally would. (Peter Kramer/AP)

Colin Farrell:While this Irish bad boy has reportedly given up the bottle – a very responsible decision on his part – he still has the past St. Patrick’s Day experience and Irish street cred I lack. Between Farrell’s knowledge of the inside of a pub and his ability to be the designated driver, he'd make an extremely worthy companion.

Bono: Okay, so Bono can get a little preachy at times. But the front man of the Dublin foursome U2 has never forgotten where he came from, even with all his focus on saving the world. Spending Ireland’s most widely celebrated holiday with a modern-day saint sounds as good to me as his band’s music.

Joe Quimby: Senator Ted Kennedy is sadly no longer with us. But we’ll always have "Diamond Joe" Quimby, the cartoon mayor from "The Simpsons" that's based loosely on the late politician. (And yes, I know it's hard to hang out in real life with an animated character, but just roll with the fantasy.) The bumbling public official with the Boston-Irish accent is known for his philandering, boozing and debauchery, three things that would usually be turn-offs. But since I’d be spending St. Patrick’s Day in the fictional world of Springfield, I think I could make an exception.

George Clooney: The Oscar winner/dreamboat’s Irish roots can be traced back to his paternal great-grandparents, who emigrated from Ireland to the U.S. Judging from Clooney’s allegedly grouchy (or perhaps tipsy?) appearance at the Academy Awards, this Irish-Catholic salt-and-pepper-haired fox either needs to unwind or already knows how to. Either way, I'm there.

Conan O’Brien: I’m on Team Coco and proud of it. In addition to that red hair, almost translucent skin and extremely Irish last name, this comedian – who for legal reasons can’t be funny on TV at the moment – has the exact sort of sarcastic energy I need on this high-spirited holiday. Other Conan bonuses: the massive amount of free time currently on his hands (see Twitter account), his lack of anywhere urgent to be (at least until his tour begins) and his desire to honor his Irish roots (see video below). While Conan’s banishment from late night is bad news for comedy lovers, it’s good news for anyone in need of a hilarious St. Patty’s Day partner.

Now it's your turn. Which Irish celebrity would you want to spend St. Patrick’s Day with? Let us know in the comment section below.

Sarah Anne Hughes, a spring semester intern for The Washington Post Web site, comes from a long line of proud, partly Irish people.