McLaughlin is an Irish name and about half of my ancestors can be traced back to the Emerald Isle, but they were all Northern Irish Protestants. When I was a kid, my mom used to tell me that I should be wearing orange instead of green on St. Patrick's Day. Since I look awful in orange, I ignored her. That was in the days before people pinched you if you didn't wear green. I've long been a fan of Irish music, not the Riverdance type of music so much, but the pub music, especially the drinking songs and the rebel songs. No one with my romantic tendencies could resist songs about a glorious lost cause like the United Irish uprising of 1798 that attempted to unite Catholic and Protestant Irishmen to throw off the yoke of England. I think I'll celebrate by downing a beer while watching my Celtic Thunder DVD. It won't be dyed green though.
This is one of my favorite Irish blessings:
Here's to lying, stealing, and cheating!
May you lie to save a friend;
May you steal the heart of the one you love;
And may you cheat death.
And my own St. Patrick's Day wish:
On St. Paddy's Day,
My wish for you
Is a large bowl
Of Irish stew.
And a pint or two
Of your favorite brew.
What are you doing for St. Patrick's Day?
Linda / Lyndi
Don't forget to check out the wondrous
Women of Mystery blog since they are the originators of Two Sentence Tuesday.
This is one of my favorite Irish blessings:
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6 comments:
Hey Linda,
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
One of my ancestors, Jane Kealey, came from the North. she was born in Drumnahay, County Derry and raised a Catholic.
The United Irish rising, 1798. Wasn't that under the leadership of the glorious Protestant Wolfe Tone?
In honor of your comment about Irish songs, here is quote from G.K Chesterton:
"The great Gaels of Ireland
Are the men God made mad,
for all their wars are merry
and all their songs are sad."
I have always taken this quote as a tribute to Irish optimism.
In light of the very recent troubles in the North, I pray that common sense prevails.
Terrie
Happy St. Patrick's Day, Linda. I love your Irish blessing. My ancestors are from the very south of Ireland, and I'm wearing my Rock of Cashel t-shirt that my mom and aunt brought back from their tour of Ireland to celebrate the day. I will not be eating corned beef and cabbage, though. Irishness has its limits, especially with a Chinese husband...
Terrie, thanks for the Chesterton quote. The one I'd always heard was supposed to be Sheridan: "Ireland is the land of happy wars and sad love songs". I'm not sure which gentleman said what first. Have to look it up. I hope the latest troubles won't add up to much, too. Just when I thought it was safe to travel there.
You won't be the only one not eating corned beef and cabbage, Teresa. The cabbage kills me.
Happy St. Paddy's Day! I love it that you wax poetic in your 2x Tuesday post.
Linda, it appears your early relatives may have known my early relatives as my great-grandfather was born at Camus House, Coleraine as was his brother, James McCardie Martin. Interesting to note, Camus House is now run as a B&B. I will be doing a brief post before the day is over with photos I gleaned.
Here I thought I only had a smidgen of Irish through my grandmother, but it turns out she was all Irish but born in England.
Thanks, Lois. I rarely wax poetic, but this was fun.
Barbara, how interesting. My grandmother on my mom's side was also born in England but was 100% Irish. Her father was from Belfast and her mother from County Down. I'll check out your pictures tomorrow. Time to go celebrate!
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