By SHELLEY EMLING
Palm Beach Post-Cox News Service

The Irish-themed episode of The Simpsons marks the first time a foreign audience will see the show before U.S. viewers do.

So what will television's biggest bumbling cartoon dad, Homer Simpson, say first – "top o' the mornin'" or "Begorrah!" – on a special Irish-themed episode of The Simpsons airing here today, a week before its U.S. debut?

Indeed, Irish bookmakers are offering odds on which cliché Homer will utter first in the episode, which marks the first time in the TV show's 20-year history that an overseas audience will see an episode before Americans do.

"We're no strangers to betting on The Simpsons," the Paddy Power wagering firm said in a statement. "We're still feeling the pain from the massive payout we faced when baby Maggie shot Mr. Burns all those years ago."

Designed to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and its foreign fans, the show will air tonight in Britain and Ireland.

To mark the occasion, executive producers Al Jean and James L. Brooks, as well as Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart, will travel to Dublin and attend the St. Patrick's Festival Parade, the largest in Europe, complete with a massive Simpsons float.

As in the United States, The Simpsons remains wildly popular in overseas markets. The Simpsons Movie topped overseas box offices when it was released in the summer of 2007.

One of the show's few failures has been on Arab TV in the Middle East, where fans were apparently confused by a toned-down and revamped version called Al Shamshoon that featured a soda-drinking Omar instead of a beer-swigging Homer.

The "show has always been hugely popular over here, and everyone watches it," said Anne Browing, a Dublin-based spokeswoman for the St. Patrick's Festival.

"We're all very excited because the episode nicely showcases some of our biggest landmarks."

Tourism officials hope the highly publicized new episode – "In the Name of the Grandfather" – will give a boost to some popular Irish sites.

It spotlights attractions such as the Giant's Causeway, the Blarney Castle and the Guinness Brewery.

The episode centers upon Grampa's desire to return to Ireland to have a beer in the Tom O'Flanagan's Pub of his youth, a wish Homer sets out to fulfill.

"Homer and Grampa get drunk," Jean told the BBC. "They buy the bar and then they find, as it turns out, in Ireland, pubs aren't so popular anymore because you can't smoke in them. So they're really up a creek."

Although Marge isn't likely to be a happy camper, Irish fans are sure to love it.