SiliconBeat

For those of you wondering about that green meat being served today in your company cafeterias, here’s a newsflash. It’s St. Patrick’s Day, which is why SiliconBeat is bringing you this item.

The San Jose-Dublin Sister City Program has presented its 2009 Spirit of Ireland Award to none other than T. J. Rodgers, chief executive officer of San Jose chip-maker Cypress Semiconductor.

What earned him this honor? Here’s how the company’s press release put it:

“Rodgers was instrumental in founding Cypress’s Irish Design Center in Blackrock, Cork, in an effort to establish closer ties with one of the most significant pools of semiconductor design talent outside Silicon Valley. Rodgers and Cypress have also made a commitment to hiring from Irish universities: Over 80% of the Cork staff has graduated from Irish schools, including the University College Cork.”

So there you have it. Oh by the way, if that green meat is still being served next week, you might want to order something else.