L.A. LIFE BREATH O' FRESH EYRE.

Byline: - Compiled by Elizabeth Smilor

Want to be wearin' the green Sunday or kickin' up your heels like the Lord of the Dance? Spend an evening at the Celtic Arts Center, which is tucked inside a Studio City strip mall, and you'll see there's more to Irish culture in Los Angeles than green beer on St. Patrick's Day. The center, at 4843 Laurel Canyon Blvd., holds Irish language classes, Celtic music concerts, dances and plays. It boasts 200 members, a mere fraction of the nearly 200,000 Angelenos who cited some Irish ancestry in the 2000 census. There are dozens of Irish groups, organizations, dance schools and, of course, pubs and restaurants in L.A. Check out www.irishinla.com for a list. As the song ``If You're Irish Come Into the Parlour'' suggests: ``Whoever you are, you are one of us; If you're Irish, this is the place for you!''

OLD IRISH L.A.

The Irish influence in Los Angeles is evident in the names of streets and neighborhoods. The long and winding Mulholland Drive is named for William Mulholland, who spent his childhood in Ireland before coming to Los Angeles and eventually spearheading the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Doheny Drive is named for Edward Doheny, the son of an Irish laborer and gardener in Wisconsin, who came to Los Angeles and created the city's first oil boom in the late 1800s. Other Irishmen were Andrew Boyle, who built Boyle Heights, and John G. Downey (as in the city of Downey), who became California's youngest governor at age 32 when the elected governor resigned.

CELEBRATIONS

St. Patrick's Day (March 17) honors St. Patrick, the missionary credited with converting the Irish to Christianity.

The Los Angeles St. Patrick's Day Parade begins at 10 a.m. Friday at the Los Angeles Library downtown and ends with a performance by the Young Dubliners at Pershing Square.

The Irish Center of Southern California's eighth annual St. Patrick's Day Celebration will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Hilton Hotel in Glendale. Tickets are $50. Call [phone].

The Irish Fair will be held June 15 and 16 at Woodley Park in Encino.

BIT O' BLARNEY 

For everything from T-shirts with Irish and U.S. flags to Irish dancing shoes and bacon and sausages flown in from Ireland, visit Shamrock Imports (12514 1/2 Magnolia Blvd., Valley Village, 818-505-9221) or the Irish Import Shop (738 Vine St., Los Angeles, 323-467-6714).

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Kira Ott performs an Irish step dance at the Celtic Arts Center in Studio City, where visitors can also get a taste of Irish music, top right.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer

(3 -- 4) Mulholland Dr. and Greer Rd.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer