In New York, almost everybody is Irish on March 17 — which means wearing the color green, humming bagpipes and possibly sharing multiple Guinness pints.

But the holiday celebrates a legacy intertwined with New York’s history that propelled poor immigrants to the highest political offices.

New York’s first female governor also happens to be Irish-American.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s family history mirrors that rise to prominence, recognizable to so many other Irish-Americans.

Hochul, whose maiden name is Courtney, traces back her roots to County Kerry, Ireland.

“My dad had that labor union card that lifted them into the middle class — [my] grandpa and my dad and all his brothers worked making steel just like generations before,” Gov. Hochul recalled earlier this month, speaking at The Cooper Union at the “Irish Unity Summit” on March 1. “They dug the ditch, they made the Erie Canal. So the Irish-American have paved their way through blood, sweat, hard work and toil, but never giving up on that resounding optimism that a better day lies ahead.”

But the Irish were not always celebrated, discriminated against because of their poverty and their Catholic religion. Single Irish men and women arrived in massive numbers in New York in the 19th century and quickly rose through the ranks. They were outsiders making their way inside.

“There are three pillars of Irish power in New York. There was the Catholic Church, there was politics — Tammany Hall — and it was labor unions. And the Irish dominated all three,” journalist and historian Terry Golway said.

The Democratic Tammany Hall organization is a reminder of that first political and social welfare structure the Irish benefited from.

“Operations like the church or Tammany Hall, as they’re starting to come into prominence in the 1850s and 60s, were essential for providing people with that network of support. So whether it was a job or housing, or if your husband died, maybe that Tammany Hall would feed you for a little while or give your oldest boy your job,” Elizabeth Stack, executive director of the American Irish Historical Society on Fifth Avenue and an Irish immigrant, said.

Stack explained that the Irish understood the power of the vote before they arrived in America because they fought back against the British and their oppressive penal laws back in Ireland.

“Irish people come to this country mobilized already, they know how to organize, they know how to demand, you know, kind of access and rights,” Stack said.

“The Irish were organized in Ireland, in opposition, in many cases, to British oppression of the Catholic religion,” Golway said.

The Irish filled police, fire and transit worker unions. All the city’s cardinals, senior clergy members in the Catholic Church, have been Irish-Americans. Notable politicians include Jimmy Walker, Al Smith, Robert Wagner, Hugh Carey and Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

“I’m 100% Irish and my father and his brother and mother went back to Ireland when he was a boy,” former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said. “All four of my grandparents were immigrants from Ireland. And it wasn’t like anybody had to say ‘you’re Irish and it means this and it means that.’ It was just a given. You know what I mean?”

The definition of what it means is something the Irish have struggled with in the past and even now going forward. There was a time when the Irish had to prove their American-ness.

“There was a very conscious choice made to push ‘American’ first instead of ‘Irish’ American,” Stack said. “I think the [American-Irish] Society chose to put America first, to show that was where their loyalty lay.”

Now, leaders are figuring out how to preserve the culture and teach a younger generation about the cultural contributions: the art, literature, even prominence in business. The City Council’s Irish Caucus will soon be looking for a new chair.

“My predecessor grabbed me and said, ‘you, you’re Irish! You’re coming with us.’” said Keith Powers, a Democratic city councilman who represents a portion of Manhattan and also chairs the chamber’s Irish caucuses. “So, I joined the Irish caucus and what I’ve learned as being chair of the Irish Caucus is that there’s a big community out there doing immigration work for people all over the city that are either of Irish descent or maybe not, there’s Irish cultural institutions.”

Second generation Irish-American, Una Neary, owns and operates the Sutton Place restaurant opened by her late father, Jimmy Neary.

“My father was somebody who brought people together and was very inclusive — his warm personality and his charm and a sense of humor,” Neary said. “Everybody on St. Patrick’s Day is Irish. It doesn’t matter where they came from, what their backgrounds are. They’re out there to celebrate the greatest parade and the greatest day.”

Neary said her father was an Irish immigrant who came to New York City and worked his way to the top. He befriended political powerhouses like former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“I actually think the next generation is not going to forget those humble beginnings that a lot of our parents and grandparents experienced in terms of coming here. I don’t think that gets lost or shed a big shadow on St. Patrick’s Day,” Neary said.

“The future for Irish-American is not politics. It’s not the Catholic Church. It’s not labor unions. It’s arts, it’s culture. And I think people in Ireland understand that as well,” Golway said. “That next generation of Irish-Americans are going to be interested in novels and movies and dance — not in wielding political power in their communities.”