Irish Thought for July 31...

A Wee Bit O' Irish History

Born in 1530, an Irishwoman named Grace O'Malley, or Gráinne Ní Mháille, became known as the Queen of the Pirates.  She was the commander of a fleet of ships that would waylay slow vessels outside the port of Galway.

As depicted in Wikipedia, this is Grace (on the left) meeting with Queen Elizabeth I

Irish Thought for July 30...

Irish-American Movies

Angela's Ashes

A young Irish-American boy born in Brooklyn moves back to Ireland with his family, where they struggle with extreme poverty and alcoholism, attempting to survive by keeping their sense of humor.  Based on Frank McCourt's Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography.  Starring Emily Watson, Robert Carlyle, and Michael Legge.

Irish Thought for July 29...

Irish Toasts

Here's to you and yours,
And to mine and ours.
And if mine and ours
Ever come across to you and yours,
I hope you and yours will do
As much for mine and ours
As mine and ours have done
For you and yours!

That is a mouthful to say!  I think everyone should practice and toast with daily glass of milk or juice, or maybe when you sit down for a meal with your family!

Irish Thought for July 28...

A Wee Bit O' Irish History

Born in 1280 in Kilkenny, wealthy Dame Alice Kytler was the first woman condemned for being a witch in Ireland.  She was indicted for sorcery, heresy, and poisoning four of her husbands, but she fled the country before she could be executed.  Her old home is now a restaurant called Kytler's Inn.

Now that is what I call a true escape for someone accused of witchcraft.  Any witch would be smart and powerful enough to fly away before put in harm's way.  One would never be able to execute a real witch.  I wonder if scary things ever happen at her old home, like maybe she put a spell on it or something.

Irish Thought for July 27...

Irish Movies

The Matchmaker

Set in the fictional small village of Ballinagra (filmed in Roundstone, Connemara), The Matchmaker tells the story of an American named Marcy who is sent to Ireland to discover the Irish ancestry of her boss, a senator seeking the Irish-American vote.  Marcy arrives in the village during a matchmaking festival, and the matchmaker will stop at nothing to set her up with one of the eligible local bachelors.  Starring Janeane Garofalo and David O'Hara.

The senator is seeking election in Boston and that is why the Irish vote is important.  They have a big community of Irish-Americans, who, like us Kansas City-ans, are proud of their heritage.

Irish Thought for July 26...

Irish Writers

George Bernard Shaw

The Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw started his career writing literary and music criticism, although he soon had great success as a dramatist, with more than 60 plays to his credit.  Shaw's dramas have starkly sociopolitical (combining social and political - yes I had to look the word up so don't feel bad if you didn't know it either!) themes, but with a strong sense of humor.  He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925, and in 1938, he won an Academy Award for his screenplay adaption of his own play, Pygmalion.  Shaw is the only person to have won a Nobel Prize and an Oscar.

Irish Thought for July 25...

Irish Trivia

Believed to have been built sometime around 3200 BC, a tomb in County Meath called the Newgrange Passage is thought to predate Stonehenge by more than a thousand years, and the Egyptian Pyramids of Giza by more than six hundred years.

Irish Thought for July 24...

Irish Proverbs

There is no luck except where there is discipline.

In other words, one must work hard to get some luck.

Irish Thought for July 23...

Irish-American Writers

Raymond Chandler

The novelist and screenwriter Raymond Chandler had a pervasive influence on the contemporary private detective story, popularizing many of the characteristics of the film-noir genre.  His novels include The Big Sleep, Farewell, My Lovely, and The Long Goodbye, for which he won an Edgar Award.  His screenplays include Double Indemnity and Strangers on a Train.

Irish Thought for July 22...

Irish Trivia

As recently as the 1920s, on February 1, also known as St. Brigid's Day, a couple in Teltown, County Meath, could marry legally merely by walking toward each other.  The next year on St. Brigid's Day, the could could divorce by walking away from each other in the same location if things weren't working out between them. 

Irish Thought for July 21...

Natural Wonders of Ireland

Ring of Kerry

This area is one of the most visited sights in the country.  Along the circular "ring" around the Iveragh Peninsula that makes up the Ring of Kerry, look for the charming village Sneem, Moll's Gap, and the Macgillicuddy's Reeks.

You should look this place up on the Internet because it would take many pictures to capture all there is to see on this journey.  It is breathtaking.

Irish Thought for July 20...

Irish Trivia

"The gentleman who pays the rent" was an old, common term for a pig that was allowed to live inside the house with an Irish farm family.

Irish Thought for July 19...

Irish Slang

Yonks

A long time.  I haven't seen her in yonks!

Irish Thought for July 18...

Irish Proverbs

The work praises the man.

Well, as I have mentioned before, the potato is our theme for this year's Irish Fest Kids Area.  I got to take a gander at some potato whack-a-laylees.  I am thinking that everyone is going to have a great time taking whacks at these potatoes.  Who doesn't love a potato with candy and presents inside?

Irish Thought for July 17...

Irish-American Celebrities

James Cagney

Although James Cagney was thought of as a tantamount to the Hollywood "tough guy," he was acclaimed for many different types of characters, including his role as the musical star George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy, for which he won the Best Actor Oscar.  Cagney was ranked eigth among the "Greatest Male Stars of All Time" by the American Film Institute in 1999.

Irish Thought for July 16...

Irish Slang

Holliers

A holiday; vacation time.

Sorry I messed up yesterday's thought.  I have corrected the name.  I guess when you have Irish thoughts on the brain, then it is not hard to change a person's name from Iris to Irish!

Irish Thought for July 15...

Irish Writers

Iris Murdoch

Born in Ireland, Iris Murdoch gained fame for her sociopolitical novels with themes of morality and the unconscious.  Her first book, Under the Net, published in 1954, was selected in 2001 American Modern Library as on of the best 100 best 20th-century English-language novels.  Murdoch was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1987.

Irish Thought for July 14...

Irish Musicians

Snow Patrol

Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994, Snow Patrol is an alternative rock band from Northern Ireland.  With their major label debut, Final Straw, in 2004, Snow Patrol rose to fame in Ireland and the United Kingdom, and their worldwide fame has grown with each album they have released.  During the course of their career, Snow Patrol have won five Meteor Ireland Music awards, been nominated for three BRIT awards, and sold more than 10 million albums internationally.

I love this band.  I wish I could put a clip of one of their songs on here, so you could listen to them and love them as I do.  I would recommend going to Itunes or amazon or anywhere you can listen to a clip.  My personal favorite song is "Chasing Cars" which was released in 2007, I think.  Awesomely enough, they are still growing and releasing great music, as recently as last year.  Check them out!

Irish Thought for July 13...

A Wee Bit O' Irish History

1535

Thomas FitzGerald, the tenth Earl of Kildare, attacked the Dublin Castle and renounced his allegiance to Henry VIII, the Lord of Ireland, wrongly assuming his cause would gain popular support.  His army was routed, he was excommunicated, and his failed rebellion caused Henry VIII to pay more attention to Irish matters.

Irish Thought for July 12...

Irish Food

Boxty

Traditionally, these simple potato pancakes were made fro a combination of leftover mashed potatoes and grated raw potatoes, along with baking powder and sweet milk.  Boxty is sometimes flavored with onion and garlic in modern recipes.

Irish Thought for July 11...

The Famous and the Great

St. Brigid

or Mary of the Gael (452 - 524):  One of three patron saints of Ireland.  Legend holds that everything she touched increased in quanity or quality, whether the sheep she tended or food for the poor, but many believe she was an invention of the Catholic Church used to convert pagans to Christianity.

Irish Thought for July 10..

A Wee Bit O' Irish History

1366

Lionel of Antwerp, the Duke of Clarence, was appointed as viceroy to Ireland by Edward III, and authored the Statutes of Kilkenny, which forbid intermarriage of English and Irish.

I wonder why the King was so interested in whom people marry.  What was his opinion of the Irish that categorized them non-marriage material?

Irish Thought for July 9...

Irish Quotations

It is the most beautiful, the most fertile, the most abundant, the most productive country on the face of the earth.  It is a lovely land, indented with noble harbors, intersected with transcendent, translucent streams divided by mighty estuaries.  Its harbors are open at every hour for every tide, and are sheltered from every storm that can blow from any corner of heaven.  Oh, yes, it is a lovely land and where is the coward that would not dare to die for it!

  -Daniel O'Connell, Speech at Tara, 1843

Irish Thought for July 8...

Irish Blessings

May you live as long as you want,
And never want as long as you live.

Irish Thought for July 7...

A Wee Bit O' Irish History

1172

Pope Adrian IV decreed that Henry II of England was the Lord of Ireland.

I was raised Catholic and know a tad about the Popes and such.  However, I didn't know that these men got to decree who is the Lord of countries.  Maybe my confusion is because back then Catholicism was more widespread and  dominant and the Pope was king of the world and Jesus' right hand man, and these attributes allowed him to make decrees about who is the head of certain areas.  Man, I wish I was powerful enough to decree that I am the Lord of the United States, then we wouldn't have so many problems with politicians who do nothing but make any progress murky and thus impossible (not to mention only working for those who have enough money to buy politican's help).  I have a suspicion that even a beautiful dancing cow would get locked in an insane asylum if she tried to declare herself Lord of anything.  I will just have to stick to Kansas City Irish Fest for a year of being a princess of such an awesome event!!!

Irish Thought for July 6...

Quotations

The Irish gave the bagpipes to the Scots as a joke, but the Scots haven't seen the joke yet.
  - Oliver Herford

Irish Thought for July 5...

Gaelic Sports

Hurling

Similar to lacrosse or hockey, with some elements of basketball, hurling is a highly skilled stick-and-ball game played by 15-man teams on a grass pitch with H-shaped goals at each end.  Scoring is achieved by driving the ball (or sliothar) with a curved wooden stick (or "hurley") through the goals, or by knocking the ball over the bar three times for the equivalent of a goal.  Hurling is often considered to be the world's fastest game played on a field.  It's more than 2,000 years old, the Irish mythology is full of ancient heroes who were also champion hurlers.

Irish Thought for July 4...

A Wee Bit O' Irish History

1014

After the time of St. Patrick, all was well in Ireland until the Vikings raided.  They ravaged Ireland for a time.  Then, in 1014, Irish King Brian Boru defeated the Vikings at Clontarf, north of Dublin, but Brian was also murdered.

Happy Fourth of July!  I hope everyone enjoys their holiday. 

Irish Thought for July 3...

A Wee Bit O' History

430 A.D. or so...

Pope Celestine I first sent Palladius to be the first bishop of Ireland even though the Irish that believed in Christ were few in number with Druids being the most common.  A year after Palladius arrived, a lad formerly named Maewyn Succat was sent by Pope Celestine to spread Christianity throughout the land.  Maewyn, who had spend years as a slave/shepherd to a Druidical high priest, ran from Ireland after an angel urged him to escape.  While Maewyn was studying Christianity in France, Ireland still sung in his head and gave him visions of returning.

When Maewyn got to Ireland, he took a new name - Patrick.  In the forty years (or so) he spent in Ireland, we succeeded in converting a great many citizens.  And this man is known to us as St. Patrick.

Irish Thought for July 2...

Learn Gaelic!

bród - pride
misneach - courage
neart - strength
lag - weak
beannaithe: blessed
uasal: noble
dílseacht - loyalty, faith
críonnacht - wisdom
Locfaidh mise don gach rud! - I will pay for everything!

Irish Thought for July 1...

Limericks

For beauty I am not a star,
There are others more handsome by far;
But my face, I don't mind it,
For I am behind it;
It's the people in front that I jar.