Irish Thought for June 30...

Irish Food

Coddle

This hearty, satisfying, and inexpensive meal is a stew of pork sausage chunks and bacon with sliced potatoes, onions, and sometimes barley.  Coddle is associated with Dublin.  It was supposedly a favorite dish of Jonathan Swift, and the dish is referenced in several works, including the books of James Joyce.  The term comes from the slow simmering of the dish, and is often eaten in the winter months.  Traditionally, the recipe called for the addition of a small amount of Guinness.

from
http://www.food.com/recipe/dublin-coddle-irish-sausage-bacon-onion-and-potato-hotpot-288885

Irish Thought for June 29...

Irish-American Celebrities

Denis Leary

Known for his acerbic comedic style, Denis Leary has appeared as an actor in more than 40 films.  He's the co-creator and star of the television show Rescue Me.  He also founded the Leary Firefighters Foundation, which has raised and distributed millions of dollars for equipment and facilities for East Coast fire departments.

Irish Thought for June 28...

Irish Toasts

Ireland, it's the one place on earth
that heaven has kissed
with melody, mirth,
and meadow and mist.

Irish Thought for June 27...

Irish Writers

Samuel Beckett

Born in Dublin, Samuel Beckett, widely regarded as one of the most important writers of the 20th century, was an avant-garde dramatist, novelist, and poet, perhaps best known for his play Waiting for Godot.  He's often considered one of the last modernists, and sometimes as a postmodernist pioneer due to his minimalist and absurdist influence on subsequent writers.  In 1969, Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Irish Thought for June 26...

Irish Proverbs

Always remember to forget
the things that made you sad.
But never forget to remember
the things that made you glad.

Irish Thought for June 25...

Gaelic Sports

Camogie

Camogie is the version of hurling for female players.  It's very similar to the male version, with some minor rule changes, such as a lack of special rules for goalkeepers, the allowance of hand passing, the use of a smaller ball (called a sliothar), and a 60-minutes games instead of a 70-minute.  Camogie players also generally wear skirts of skorts rather than shorts.

Irish Thought for June 24...

Irish Curses

Here's good health to your enemies' enemies.

Irish Thought for June 23...

Quotations

You know it's summer in Ireland when the rain gets warmer.
 -Hal Roach

Irish Thought for June 22...

Irish Blessings

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends

Each day your whole life through!

Irish Thought for June 21...

Irish Fest News!

I am proud to announce that my supplier just brought back the piñatas that we will be using for whack-a-laylee this year!  I hope you like the pictures (and don't feel bad for whacking a cow - the cows are happy to spread candy and toys out for everyone who is close enough to snag some)!!!

Irish Thought for June 20...

Irish Trivia

Although St. Patrick was known for his emphasis on education, introducing the Roman alphabet and Latin literature to Ireland and turning the Irish monasteries into leading intellectual centers, he himself was rather uneducated, and legends persist of his insecurity about his writing abilities.

Irish Thought for June 19...

Irish-American Celebrities

Ed Sullivan

Best known as the host of The Ed Sullivan Show, a television variety program, entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan presented musical, vaudeville, and novelty acts to his audience from 1948 to 1971, making the show one of the longest-running variety shows in television history.  During its run, the program showcased popular entertainers such as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Supremes, and The Jackson Five.

Irish Thought for June 18...

Irish Proverbs

A good beginning is half the work.

Irish Thought for June 17...

Limericks!

There was an old man of Kilkenny,
Who ate eggs for a penny.
When they asked, "Are you faint?"
He replied, "No, I ain't,
But I'd rather I hadn't ate any."

Irish Thought for June 16...

Irish-American Heroes

Philadelphia John Dunlap was one of the earliest American printers and is known for developing many innovations in the development of newspapers and the printing industry.  He's the most famous for printing the first copies of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Irish Thought for June 15...

Irish Musicians

Sinéad O'Connor

The Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor, known for her powerful voice, turbulent career, and shorn heard, was born on December 8, 1966.  She had a massive international hit in 1990 with the song "Nothing Compares 2 U", written by Prince, and since then she as become controversial with her outspoken views on religion, women's rights, and war, while still being successful as a singer.

Irish Thought for June 14...

Irish Songs

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

There's a tear in your eye, 

And I'm wondering why, 

For it never should be there at all. 

With such pow'r in your smile, 

Sure a stone you'd beguile, 

So there's never a teardrop should fall. 

When your sweet lilting laughter's 

Like some fairy song, 

And your eyes twinkle bright as can be; 

You should laugh all the while 

And all other times smile, 

And now, smile a smile for me. 

Chorus

When Irish eyes are smiling, 

Sure, 'tis like the morn in Spring. 

In the lilt of Irish laughter 

You can hear the angels sing. 

When Irish hearts are happy, 

All the world seems bright and gay. 

And when Irish eyes are smiling, 

Sure, they steal your heart away. 

For your smile is a part 

Of the love in your heart, 

And it makes even sunshine more bright. 

Like the linnet's sweet song, 

Crooning all the day long, 

Comes your laughter and light. 

For the springtime of life 

Is the sweetest of all 

There is ne'er a real care or regret; 

And while springtime is ours 

Throughout all of youth's hours, 

Let us smile each chance we get.

Irish Thought for June 13...

Irish Blessings

May your troubles be less,
And your blessings be more,
And nothing but happiness
Come through your door.

Irish Thought for June 12...

Quotations

My number one choice is Guinness.  My number two choice would be Guinness.  My number three choice would have to be Guinness.
  -Peter O'Toole, on his favorite Irish food

Irish Thought for June 11...

Irish Drink

Irish Whiskey

As the general catchall term for any whiskey brewed in Ireland, Irish whiskey encompasses multiple brands and methods of distillation.  The word "whiskey" stems from the ancient Gaelic phrase uisce beatha, which can be translated as "water of life."  As a general guideline, most brands of Irish whiskey are distilled three times, as opposed to most Scotch whiskeys, which are distilled twice.  Irish whiskey often has a smoother aftertaste, since peat is rarely used in the malting process, avoiding the earthier, smoky notes.

Irish Thought for June 10...

Irish Proverbs

All happy endings are beginnings as well.

Irish Thought for June 9...

Irish Writers

Roddy Doyle

Born in Dublin, Roddy Doyle is a screenwriter, playwright, and novelist.  The movies The Commitments and The Snapper were based on his novels.  Also in 1993, Doyle won the Booker Prize for his novel Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, a book notable for its beautiful, childlike use of language.

Irish Thought for June 8...

Irish Poetry Mixed with the First Irish Fest News!!

I walked among the seven woods of Coole:

Shan-walla, where a willow-bordered pond 

Gathers the wild duck from the winter dawn;

Shady Kyle-dortha; sunnier Kyle-na-no,

Where many hundred squirrels are as happy

As though they had been hidden by green boughs

Where old age cannot find them; Pairc-na-lee, 

Where hazel and ash and privet blind the paths...

Extract from The Shadowy Waters by W.B. Yeats.

My first Irish Fest Kids News is that we have chosen the theme for the 2014 Kansas City Irish Fest Children's Area....IRISH WOODLANDS!  This is chosen yearly with the help of the Kansas City Irish Fest Kids' Club (thanks group!) and can be summed up as to why with the blurb below.  The Club is already enjoying each other's creativity in how this theme is going to be spotlighted throughout this years Irish Fest.

Woodlands and forests are places of 

great beauty and mystery. They are three 

dimensional at the human level: we can 

walk into a wood and be dwarfed by the 

trees in a way that is not possible in, for 

example, grasslands or bogs. They are 

places of fairytales and folklore, romance 

and poetry. Even within small woodlands 

it is possible to feel isolated as the trees 

reduce the view and cut off outside sights 

and sounds. Indeed, it is much easier to 

get lost in a relatively small wood than on 

a mountain! The trees themselves form 

the woodland habitat and at the same 

time provide habitats for other plants and 

animals which live in and on the trees. Even 

though Ireland is the least wooded country 

in Europe (apart from Iceland), forests and 

woodlands, especially our native woodlands, 

contain a great variety of plant and animal 

life or ‘biodiversity’ and are a very valuable 

part of our natural heritage.

Taken from Cross, J.r. (2012). Ireland’s Woodland Heritage. 

Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAWN ANNE!!!
(SHE RUNS THE KIDS' AREA EVERY YEAR)

Irish Thought for June 7...

Irish Poem

Beannacht

On the day when

the weight deadens

on your shoulders

and you stumble,

may the clay dance

to balance you.

And when your eyes

freeze behind

the grey window

and the ghost of loss

gets in to you,

may a flock of colours,

indigo, red, green, and

azure blue

come to awaken you

in a meadow of delight.

When the canvas frays 

in the currach of thought

and a stain of ocean

blackens beneath you

may there come across the waters

a path of yellow moonlight

to bring you safely home.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,

may the clarity of light be yours,

may the fluency of the ocean be yours,

may the protection of the ancestors be yours.

And so may a slow 

 wind work these words

of love around you, 

an invisible cloak

to mind your life.

~John O’Donahue~ 

Irish Thought for June 6...

Irish Proverbs

A misty winter brings a pleasant spring; a pleasant winter, a misty spring.

Irish Thought for June 5...

Irish-American Facts

The annual celebration of St. Patrick's Day may be the most widely recognized symbol of the Irish presence in America.  In cities throughout the United States, this traditional Irish religious holiday becomes an opportunity to celebrate all things Irish, or things believed to be Irish.  The largest celebration of the holiday takes place in New York, where the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade draws an average of two million people.  The second-largest celebration is held in Boston.  The South Boston Parade is one of the nation's oldest, dating back to 1737.  Savannah also holds one of the largest parades in the United States.

Irish Thought for June 4...

Irish Folklore

The Gray Man

The Far Liath, often called the Gray Man, is the fairy personification of fog.  He delights in causing confusion, covering both the land and sea with his opaque cloak to hid rock formations so that ships smash into them, and to obscure the road so that travelers tumble over cliffs.  Cruel and malicious, the Gray Man often casts his illusions in the higher altitudes and mountain paths, or blankets coastal lighthouses to cause as much mayhem as he can.

Irish Thought for June 3...

Irish-American Celebrities

Gene Kelly

An influential and beloved force in 20th-century movie musicals, Gene Kelly was a dancer, actor, singer, director, producer, and choreographer.  Although he is best known for his unforgettable performance in Singin' in the Rain, throughout the 1940s and '50s, Kelly was celebrated for his masculine, athletic dancing style, and his handsomeness and genial personality on-screen.  For his numerous career achievements, Kelly was the recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 1952.

Irish Thought for June 2...

Irish Proverbs

A meeting in sunlight is lucky.

Irish Thought for June 1...

Irish Blessings

Whenever there is happiness,
Hope you'll be there too.
Wherever there are friendly smiles,
Hope they'll smile on you.
Whenever there is sunshine,
Hope it shines especially for you to make each day
For you as bright as it can be.