IRISHish

Beer Beer Beer - The Clancy Brothers

(Irish Drinking Song)

It's that time of year again, when everyone's blood runs green for the day. Get to the nearest pub and hoist a cold green one and shout "Slainte".

It's my lifetime desire to visit the Emerald Isle. Yes, even in the midst of the political and religious strife of the "Troubles" that extended from the 1960's to the late 1990's. Stay away from Northern Ireland people said. There were frequent reports of bombings and terrorist type attacks. Indeed, more than 3500 were killed and 47,000 injured. Back then people thought I was nuts. Today they know it lol! I'm kidding (that's the beer talking), but I still want to go. One day I shall.

Besides the Leprechauns, there seems to be something magical about the place. An old world charm, the friendliness of the people, the camaraderie in the pubs, the comfort food, the pace of life and the beautiful countryside, the stone buildings and the ancient castles. 

And the music..oh the music. You can tell so much about a nation by their traditional songs. There are not too many that I personally have heard and not liked. Some people mumble along the words to our national anthem, I find myself "trying" to sing along to ditty's I've heard but once in a drunken haze. And I want to dance. Dance like nobody is looking. Without a care in the world - like Phoebe from the television show Friends when she runs. Devil be damned, turn up the music and dance. With a pint or two of liquid courage coursing through the veins. 

Truth? It reminds me of the Italian songs I learned listening to the Cucina parties growing up, with the homemade wine in the wicker-wrapped bottles decorating the table. Except the Italian traditional songs sang more about women, wine and the mountains (well in the north anyways) and were happier, less morose, less poignant feelings. Bionda, bella bionda lalala...

The fascination for all things Irish is above all else, the people. Wherever we originate, we know we will be embraced by the Irish. What other culture would allow you to laugh with them and enjoy their eccentricities right along side. Holding each other up in laughter, song and libation. What a sad world without the Irish to remind us to let loose and have some fun. Alcohol is not mandatory...Laughter is! 

The Fields of Athenry - The Dubliners

There are several stories that have heard recently that explain some myths we hold to be true and I want to share because I found them fascinating. Of course all related to this holy day, the land and the people of Erin. 

1. The wearing of green to honour St. Patrick on the beer drinking holiday named after him has very little to do with the culture of the country. In fact the official colour of Ireland is blue. Which makes me wonder why there is green but no blue on the flag? Ok, beer fog again. But the truth is that the idea for green probably came from the colour of the shamrock and the referral of Ireland as the Emerald Isle. 

2. Even St. Patrick himself is a bit of an oddity. Lore has it that he was responsible for driving the snakes out of the country and is the patron saint. But hold on to your Leprechaun, St. Patrick wasn't Irish and there were never any snakes on the Isle for him to banish in the first place. And to this day, there are no native snakes in Ireland. St. Patrick however remains a Patron Saint of Ireland.

3. Originally St. Patrick's day was a dry holiday steeped in religious tradition and solemn contemplation rather then hoisting a stein. It was likely the immigrated population in the New World that decided to mark the day as a celebration of national pride and heritage and flocked to the pubs to guzzle a cold green one. 

4. Family celebrations in the form of parades were not common place until the mid-19th century and had modest beginnings in Boston and New York. Many of the millions that left their homeland during the potato famine ensured that the heritage of the land of the Shamrock stayed alive. 

5. Call it a prayer or a blessing, nobody does it better than the Irish. It has roots in religion but the wording allows it to apply to all, regardless of the deity revered. Mother Nature (as a concept) figures more prominently then a higher unseen figure so often the cause of war rather than peace. Peace and love to all. Amen. 

6. It is St. Paddy's Day not St. Patty's day. 

7. There are currently more than 8 times the number of Irish immigrants living abroad then there are in Ireland itself. So St. Paddy's Day is another day to cry in your beer as you remember the homeland and ancestors you left behind. For the millions upon millions who claim an Irish heritage just for the day, we can often do the same, for here in the Americas we are almost exclusively "from away".  

8. Any country that boasts the catchphrase/motto/slogan "Kiss Me I'm Irish" is okay by me. Next to drinking beer, it happens to be one of my favourite pass times. Mwah! ;)

Previous post on the subject:
http://pinkpantherfancanada.blogspot.ca/2012/03/i-rish-i-was-irish.html

Credit where credit is due:
http://www.ibtimes.com/st-patricks-day-history-traditions-9-surprising-facts-you-may-not-know-about-st-patrick-irish
http://www.eupedia.com/ireland/trivia.shtml
http://truenomads.com/2013/04/26-intersting-facts-about-ireland/

I-rish I was Irish

Barrett's Privateers - Signal Hill

Nobody does this song with as much passion as Signal Hill, but this is the song that got the party rolling for me last night during the annual St. Paddy's Day festivities, not in Halifax or Dublin but a wee watering hole in Streetsville. The happiest day of the year it is said. And everybody it seems becomes Irish for a day - the whole day. And being as for the first time in 5 years the day fell on a Saturday, people were determined to do it up right. I know people who were in the bars downing the sudsy brew at 7 am - Halifax really knows how to do it up right! Locally, the consensus seemed to be more around a noonish start time. Either way, the popularity of the event seems to be growing, of course it is another way for the corporations to squeeze a few more dollars from our pockets. The displays of the Pride of the Irish and all things green took up aisles in the stores rivaled only to the space given to Halloween and Valentines Day. It's a bit like Halloween because the paraphernalia for sale is to decorate ourselves - Be on the lookout for leprachaun costumes next year! Mardi Gras type beads, stovetop hats and shamrocks - all green and a lot of glitter. But to be authentic it must be Kelly green or the Emerald green synonymous with the Island where it all began. 

In the last while there seems to be an explosion in the popularity of St. Patricks Day. Not just with those of bar age either. This year would be an exception, but maybe it's the time of year that it falls. Mid-March, we are finally beginning to see the tail end of winter and are ready for a party and a celebration. For some of us - get that mirror away from me lol - any excuse to party will do! The bars and the beer companies go all out to bring in the thirsty with promotional giveaways throughout the night, and we oblige by lining up, then waiting in holding areas before we are let in. But we feel so lucky when finally we become one of the chosen to get in, because through those doors are the friendliest people you will meet. More than any other day in a bar everyone is friendly. Like a family - we are all pretending to be Irish for the day. What is gone from the typical Saturday night at the bar is the fake people dressed to kill looking for a companion to brighten the darkness of the lonely nights. People who have no business wearing pajama pants in public are wearing them tonight because they have shamrocks on them. People are wearing "Kiss me I'm Irish" boxers over track pants - they look ridiculous and they fit in. This is not the meat market of typical Saturday night it is all about the congeniality. 

And to that end, here is a little shout out to the Meadowvale gang that we met. What an awesome bunch of people! New friends, neighbours and high school friends all getting along and enjoying each other but still with enough joy and laughter to share with even more people. You made the evening even more fun! I will look for you when I am cruising above the clouds :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May there always be work for your hands to do.

May your purse always hold a coin or two.

May the sun always shine on your windowpane.

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain. 

May the hand of a friend always be near you.

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

Ireland, is a place that I have always had an odd attachment too. I say odd, because I have no known heritage to the people of Ireland. But for as long as I have been able to remember, I have wanted to go to there - more than that, I have felt like I need to go there. Long before the days of the internet, I wanted to see and experience the beauty of the land and the people. My knowledge was limited to the awareness of the Irish Potato famine and the violence and devastation caused in the name of religion. Yet in the heyday of the bombings, I longed to go while friends wondered if I had lost my mind. The only thing that deterred me was money. I could barely make it across the street let alone across the world. 

Is it the struggles of the people? The harshness of the economic climate? The history of oppression and poverty? There is a beauty that emanates in the words of the poems, the blessings and the pre-drink cheers. There is a romanticism in the names of the places - Killarney, Galway Bay and Kilkenny. The is a depth in the lyrics sung by the artists like Chris DeBurgh, U2, the Cranberries - a richness in the voices that reminds me of the rich green grasses, the rhythm of the waves pounding the shores. 

You can have your Mexican and Jamaican all inclusive vacations on the sandy beaches. I dream to go to Ireland over anywhere else save maybe Scotland - ayi those kilts! ;)

I-rish you a very nice place to live,

I-rish God's greatest gifts he'll give.

I-rish you health, wealth and more.

I-rish your smilin' face were at my door!