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Greetings & Blessings to all
Welcome to our February newsletter.
Here we are in the month of love. Bridget loved Valentine’s day and we had many wonderful celebratory days in his honor. Yes, I still miss her very much. I suppose I always will. The web site is all about St. Valentine’s day, You’ll find our suggestion for a perfect St. Valentine’s day feast and the language of love in Irish. I hope you do something appropriate for your loved ones. If you’ve been waiting, now is the time. I can’t participate anymore because my love is gone but I want all of you who can to give it your all. Someday like me, you may not be able to.
Enough of my nattering.
Again my thanks for the contributions. Please keep them coming. I would like appropriate news or other links more than anything.
We’re all in this together let’s make it as good as we can. Stay with me everybody.
Enough of the blather...
Is this your first edition? Many thanks for joining us and if you like our musings and meanderings please feel free to share them with your family and friends. And do encourage them to sign up. The more of us, the merrier! And for all of our readers, we hope this issue finds you in good health, good spirits and good company.
On with the update...
IN THIS ISSUE:
The Weather
Up the minute forecasts provided by Ireland's official source for all weather-related news. Please click Met Eireann.
http://www.met.ie/forecasts/
Basic Irish
Links
Quips, Quotes, Proverbs & Toasts
A Bit of the Wit
Joke of The Month
Did You Know
The week That Is
Leave 'em Laughing
Last Words
Basic Irish
Word: Love
Irish: grá
Pronunciation: graw
Phrase: My love
Irish: A grá
Pronunciation: ah ghraw
Phrase: St Valentine's Day
Irish: Lá Fhéle Vailintín
Pronunciation: law ay-leh val-in-theen
Phrase: Happy St Valentine's Day
Beannachtaí na Fhéle Vailintín
Pronunciation: Ban-ochth-thee na Fay-leh val-in-theen
Literally, Blessings of St. Valentine
1.Theme of St Patrick’s Day Festival to be ‘treasures from Ireland’
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/theme-of-st-patrick-s-day-festival-to-be-treasures-from-ireland-1.4172702
They don’t have enough time—Russ
2.Images of the Day
Nothing to say here—just check out the pictures
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/images-of-the-day-1.4173064
3.Love songs and poems of the great Irish writers for Valentine’s Day
When it comes to romance, Irish writers are rightly famous. With Valentine’s Day here, we decided to give you a flavor of the best love writings from some of our greatest writers and poets.
https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/love-poems-irish-valentines-day?utm_campaign=IC+FAV+-+Feb+13+-+2020-02-13&utm_content=Story6&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Mailjet
I have a lot of them on my site but you can never have too many—Russ
4. Weather warnings in place in parts of Ireland ahead of Storm Dennis
As Storm Dennis nears Ireland, Met Éireann has issued weather warnings for several counties across the country. Status Yellow - Snow/Ice warning for Connacht, Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Dublin, Louth, and Wicklow
https://www.irishcentral.com/news/weather-warning-ireland-storm-dennis
This seems like bad timing—Russ
5. Facebook suspends dating service rollout in Europe after Irish officials search Dublin HQ
The regulator said in a statement that it "conducted an inspection" of Facebook's offices in Dublin earlier this week after learning on February 3 about the US company's plans to introduce the feature in the European Union.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/12/tech/facebook-dating-ireland/index.html
More bad timing—Russ
6. THE MOST ROMANTIC towns in Ireland have been revealed, and the results may surprise you.
With Valentine's Day here, we thought it'd be a neat idea to look into which towns in Ireland are considered the 'most romantic' in the country.
https://www.irishpost.com/news/irelands-romantic-towns-revealed-179418
Extrordinary—Russ
7. Irish reunification now on the table, former Foreign Office head says
Reunification of Ireland and the future status of Scotland are issues “definitely on the table” as a result of Brexit, the former head of the UK Foreign Office and Diplomatic Service has said.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/irish-reunification-now-on-the-table-former-foreign-office-head-says-1.4170336
I’ll believe it when I see it—Russ
QUOTES, TOASTS , CURSES AND BLESSINGS
I live again the days and evenings of my long career. I dream at night of operas and concerts in which I have had my share of success. Now like the old Irish minstrel, I have hung up my harp because my songs are all sung.
John McCormack
A BIT OF THE WIT
You know it's summer in Ireland when the rain gets warmer.
Hal Roach
JOKE OF THE MONTH
When my wife's sister, Patty, was very young, she was allowed to have her best friend, a boy named Rory, over to spend the night. As the children grew toward adolescence, their parents knew that someday the sleepovers would have to end. One night, when Rory and his family were visiting, everyone gathered around the television to watch the Rose of Tralee pageant. When Patty asked if Rory could stay over, the parents hesitated, wondering if the time had finally come to discontinue the tradition. At that moment, the pageant host announced a contestant's measurements: 36-22-36. "Rory," his mother asked, "what are those numbers?" The boy thought for only a moment before responding, "Ninety-four?"
Rory was allowed to stay.
DID YOU KNOW
1. The sinister sounding Bloody Foreland in County Donegal owes its name to its magnificent sunsets?
The Irish are always dramatic—Russ
2. The crocus, which flowers about this time in Ireland, is St Valentine's Flower?
I think the only one that blooms sooner is the snowdrop—Russ
3. It was on Easter Monday, April 18, 1949, that Éire became officially known as the Republic of Ireland?
Bureaucracy always takes a long time—Russ
Sponsor
I’m my own Sponsor again this month.
Announcing the Irish Culture and Customs Book of Jokes
This is the collection of our Jokes. It was built up over many years and, now, is gathered here for your enjoyment. With this in your hand, whenever the day is dull or dreary you can open it up and have a good laugh, you'll feel better.
Available on Amazon. Use this Link:
https://www.amazon.com/Irish-Culture-Customs-Book-Jokes/dp/1986506800/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524578623&sr=8-1&keywords=irish+culture+and+customs+book+of+jokes&dpID=31oLHT0zknL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch
THE WEEK THAT IS
1. Article: The Irish Link to St. Valentine
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/ASaints/Valentine.html
2. Article: The Irish In Love
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/ACalend/IrishinLove.html
3. Article: The Irish In Love - part two
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/ACalend/IrishinLove2.html
4. Article: The Irish In Love - Still Waters Run Deep
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/ACalend/IrishinLove3.html
3. Article: The Irish in love Part 4: Tales of Romance from fact & fiction
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/ACalend/IrishinLove4.html
6. The Irish Kitchen: A Romantic Irish Menu for Valentine's Day
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/2Kitch/rValentines.html
10. Basic Irish: The Language of Love - in Irish
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/3Focloir/Lessons1.1.html
11. Kids’ Ireland: The Nightingale and the Rose
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/1Kids/NightingaleandRose.html
So there you have it until we write again - sometime in March.
If you are planning on getting married between now and then or tied the knot in the month of February, here is your special verse:
When February birds do mate,
You may wed, nor dread your fate.
And, if you are celebrating a birthday, anniversary or other special event between now and our next edition, we hope it's an occasion filled with joy and happiness.
We’ll take our leave with this blessing:
St. Brigid's Blessing for a home
May Brigid bless the house where you dwell,
every fireside door and every wall;
every heart that beats beneath its roof,
every hand that toils to bring it joy,
every foot that walks its portals through.
may Brigid bless the house that shelters you.
All the best & God Bless,
Bridget & Russ
Get down on your knees and thank God you’re still on your feet.
Téigh ar do ghlúine is bí buíoch le Dia go bhfuil tú fós ar do chosa.
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The Book
Potion, pope and perfidy
The second and final version is complete and available on Amazon.
Don’t order through ‘Marketplace’ or you’ll get the first version which is incomplete. Use this link: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Potion-Pope-Perfidy-ebook/dp/B07BBVST69/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1531576170&sr=1-2&keywords=russell+haggerty&dpID=61BzUIHyd2L&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
If any of you bought and read the first version, I don’t want you to pay the higher price for the second. So, send me an E-Mail at the address below and I’ll buy one for you at my author’s price and mail it to you (and, yes, I’ll sign it). Even with the postage it will save you a bit of money.
Bless you all,
Russ Haggerty
LEAVE 'EM LAUGHING
Sean and his wife, Aoife, had been debating buying a vehicle for weeks. He wanted a truck. She wanted a fast little sports-like car so she could zip through traffic around town. He would probably have settled on any beat up old truck, but everything she seemed to like was way out of their price range. "Look!" she said. "I want something that goes from 0 to 200 in just a few seconds. Nothing else will do. My birthday is coming up so surprise me!" Sean did just that. For her birthday, he bought her a brand new bathroom scale. Nobody has seen or heard from him since.
Last Words
If you or anyone you know can benefit from advertising in my newsletter or the Irish Culture and Customs web site please contact me. My E-Mail address is: rhaggerty@irishcultureandcustoms.com
Thank you in advance
For all of you who have supported Irish Culture and Customs all these years – thank you.
When you start to buy anything on the internet don’t forget to go through the web Site. If you use Amazon, click on ‘Shopping’ at the top of the Irish Culture and Customs Homepage and the next page you see will have Amazon at the top. Anything you buy from Amazon through our site pays a (very small) commission. It beats a blank and it doesn’t effect your price. Thank you again.
—Russ