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Health & Fitness

The Last Irish Story

Being Irish, I have an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustains me through temporary periods of joy. W.B. Yeats

The events that shaped Ireland’s History contain moments of joy and extreme suffering. St. Patrick’s Day may be a day of celebration, but it is also a time when people remember the hard times that many Irish were forced to struggle through.

St. Paddy’s Day from an 8 year old’s perspective

I’ve talked all week to so many Puerto Rican classes about Irish culture / heritage / history until I was green in the face.  By week’s end I ended up in a 2nd Grade class and I found out what was really important… The afternoon before I was due to speak, the students had laid out a trap to catch a Leprechaun.  Having done their research the wee ones had a water tight stratagem. Since Leprechauns are cobblers, mending shoes for the Fairies, an old shoe would entice one; or so the fable goes... a few gold coins were also layin’ about... As a final allure; a giant hat, laid upside down, was placed, with a ladder going to the top. A sign saying, “do not climb the ladder”.  Leprechauns are always up to mischief…the trap was set.  The children were confident -- but very concerned about “what if we caught him?”, “what if he jumps out?” 

The next day…Who cared about famine, starvation, hardship, heritage, culture, etc. -- that’s just blah, blah, blah -- what is years of unrelenting suffering to an 8 year old?  What about the Leprechaun? The fantasy is better. They were perhaps more Irish than I guessed.

Northern Ireland

During the 1970’s and 1980’s I became desensitized to sectarian violence.  Hearing of another British soldier being murdered or hearing of an IRA terrorist shot by a British soldier only gave me goose bumps and sadness for moments. However, I do remember well, the parents of many soldiers on both sides coming out on the TV issuing statements.  You could see and feel their dismay and sadness.  Many would go on to say how they forgave the killers of their sons or husbands.  The families destroyed, are the folks I think about all of the time -- and the forgiveness they were able to grant killers.  Forgiveness is what I learned through our history… a history that took 6,000 years to make.

I never ceased to feel shame when the little Catholic school-goers in N. Ireland were spat on by Protestant parents and their offspring as they walked to their school.  Shame when Irish Catholics boys and girls would throw petrol bombs at Protestant households.

For many of us, the feeling of resignation, and a belief that with this hatred in our hearts; change and peace would never be possible.  I will never hate the English for causing so much grief and trouble.  St. Patrick was an Englishman & a slave.  Former Prime Minister and Englishman Tony Blair has done a lot for peace over the years.   I prefer to quote John Fitzgerald Kennedy, US President, “Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names”. For history sake, we cannot forget their names so that we never allow it to happen again.

A Brief History


Celtic tribes arrived on the Irish island between 600-150 B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian Boru of Ireland defeated the Danes in 1014. Then, English invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo(English)-Irish struggle, marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in independence from the UK/England for 26 southern counties. Six northern (Ulster) counties, where much of the ship building industry was located, remained part of the UK. This was also where the strongest concentration of Scottish / Protestant populace was located.

In 1948, The Republic of Ireland withdrew from the British Commonwealth; it joined the European Community in 1973. Irish governments have sought the peaceful unification of Ireland and have cooperated with Britain against terrorist groups. A peace settlement for Northern Ireland was approved in 1998, known as the Good Friday Agreement, and is being implemented with some difficulties.


We Dive into Fantasy World to survive.

The Department of Irish Folklore at University College Dublin, has over 100,000 Irish tales, myths and legends on record, the largest collection of its kind in the world.

This is an Isle perched on the northwest tip of Europe.  Despite all the troubles, this is the one place in the world where having time on your hands and getting lost will be worthwhile... and we are all so happy to do this most of the time.  With ancient myths and legends to uncover, amazing landscapes to explore, and locals who will be more than happy to reveal their hidden gems, it is easy to go where the island takes you. This is guaranteed.

Rather than let time decay, rather that rot the mind with pain and suffering, the Irish used songs, poetry, myth, and fantasy to come to terms with it all throughout the centuries.

She’s some Queenie

Queen Elizabeth 1 recognized the power of music & dance in the Irish culture and put an end to all singing and music making as well as the Gaelic language.  Because of the ability music had to bond the Irish people together, Queen Elizabeth called for all musicians to be arrested.  Her efforts to silence the spirit of the Irish were unsuccessful.  Her efforts backfired and even today, Irish bands play jubilant music and the spirit of our music is even stronger than ever.  In fact, if there’s more than two people in a room, then there’s more than enough to have a party in Ireland.

The Great Famine, 1845

I almost dread the week of St. Patrick.  It forces the mind to relive and recount history…the difficult times in Ireland, the starvation and mass exodus after the fungus destroyed the potato crops.  1.3 million Irish emigrated.  It is said up to 40%  died on the “coffin ships“.  1 million died at home from hunger.  The Irish diaspora is said to have resulted in more than 80 million offspring around the world; which is more than thirteen times the population of the island of Ireland, today. 

Despite times being hard in the New World, it beat dying of starvation at home in Ireland.  In the US, Australia and Canada, those Irish that lived, did not waste time dwelling on their difficult conditions.  They built Irish communities and began working hard to teach their children skills that would bring better times.  The new generation of Irish in the New World became plumbers, carpenters, policemen and firefighters.  They were able to send money home and saved for an even rainier day. Great lessons for our spendthrift generations of late.  We have always been grateful to the US for this opportunity. 

Religious Celebration - St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland

Hundreds of years ago,  when the holiday first began; St. Patrick’s Day was considered a solemn day set aside to remember the life of St. Patrick. It is a holy day of obligation.  After the celebration of mass, the remainder of the day was for feasting and relaxation.  Each March 17th falls on the Lenten season, where Christians fast.  But, in Ireland, the rules of fasting were lifted and people were allowed to indulge in eating, celebrating and dancing.

But, meanwhile, back in the states; from that very first St. Patrick’s Parade in Boston in 1841, the Irish Americans have worked hard to cast a positive light on their culture and this has ensured Ireland‘s heritage has spread across the globe.  I think throughout history, the people of Ireland have faced extreme obstacles of hardship. But the pride of the first generations here in the New World have helped our old nation to survive so well.  

St. Patrick’s Day is both a day to remember the past and a time to look forward to the future [if you’re Irish]. And if you’re not, it oft is a handy excuse to knock back a few for good measure. Quite often, within human nature; we find solemnity -- and turn it into Leprechauns, Santy Claus, and Bunnies --  and yet for many it is a week, through misty eyes, to say thanks to those that have helped us become a respected cultural group.

It is sort of like the Pledge of Allegiance or National Anthem. If you aren’t currently or have not, in the past, defended your nation’s freedoms or experienced the absence of freedom… then it’s just a bunch of blah, blah, blah -- and you‘re just eager for the game to begin. It seems hard for any oath, day of respect, or ancient covenant to carry sincerity into perpetuity unless THIS generation experiences it first hand. We collectively want the freedom, and once we have it, our children, our very memory; forgets... We no longer cherish freedom or even run from looming oppression -- we seem carelessly blissful without anchor. The Irish have perhaps captured this paradox in a bottle with their music. As we all know, every Irish song has both a drink and an impish wink in hand; while every Irish song instills lost love, lost land, servitude and unforgettable farewells.

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