St. Paddy

We celebrate St. Patrick's day to honor a man and missionary of God- who in the face of persecution continued to spread The Good News. In Ireland, ironic as it may seem, all pubs and bars were closed on March 17 in his honor, until 1970!


While I am very proud of my Irish heritage, I often feel like a bit of a loner in the Erin Go Brah world. I have the worst luck, I have never found a four leaf clover, I hate corned beef and cabbage (though I do love Shepard's Pie and potatoes in all forms), I'm not Catholic (although I support Catholic Ireland). I don't live in the North, and I don't curse like a sailor. I can't stand to read James Joyce, (although I love Mary Tighe, Shaw, Yeats, and Wilde, and the worst sin of all - I HATE Guinness - it tastes like motor oil to me (if I had tasted motor oil that is).

On the other hand, there are also a lot of things that I love about Ireland and the heritage that gave me milky white skin. I love the music and their musicians, especially Glen Hansard, The Cranberries, Sinead O'Connor, John Fogerty, Damien Rice, and Van Morrison. Green is one of my favorite colors and I look good in every shade of it, not to boast or anything.

Side Note: Blue was the color associated with St. Patrick, but this caused much confusion, as Ireland was associated with the color green. This was changed by the Church in 1750 to make things more cohesive.

I love the mysticism associated with the Old Land, the Celtic lore, and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I love that my Great-Great Grandpa was sent to America as a bond slave in order to pay back his debt to society: He hit a home run while playing baseball on the Sabbath Day, and that ball just happened to go over the fence, hitting and killing a pig. Three big no no's- playing a sport on the Sabbath AND killing an animal AND not having the money to pay for the prize winning hog.


See what I mean about luck? My family just doesn't have it! What are the chances that his home run would just happen to hit and kill the owner's pride and joy, prize winning money makin' hog?

Pretty Slim!

Although, if it hadn't been for that pig, my GG-Grandpa would have never of met his wife, Elvira (I kid you not) while en route, crossing the Pond to Virginia. It's nice to think how fate works, how certain events had to occur in order for us to be here, to be who we are.

This is one of my favorite Irish sayings/poems because I have always believed that the eyes are the windows into our souls. I hope you like it and I hope you had/have a day filled with the Luck 'O The Irish!

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.

Chaucey Olcott and George Graff, Jr.