Having read the article, I see the author's intent a little differently. It seems that the intent is to point out the irony that green-colored food (and drink!) represents a celebration among the American Irish, while during the famine times, there were instances of people having died with green mouths, since they had resorted to eating grass in desperation. I see of no evidence presented, and I know of no instance otherwise, of the color green being associated with any tragedy in Irish history. It remains an important national color to be celebrated in Ireland.

The irony is seen through this author's eyes in what is almost a literary interpretation of history rather than a prevailing Irish point of view.