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Welcome to the Irish Culture & Customs newsletter which is published every weekend and sent out to more than 1300 readers all over the world. You are receiving this newsletter because you signed up for it - God Bless you! If you'd like to read past issues, they are archived at: http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com/pubarchive.php?Herself
If, for any reason, you wish to unsubscribe, instructions are at the end - but we do hope you'll stay with us.
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Greetings and blessings to all,
It's a sunny Sunday morning here in the Ohio Valley. As we write this, the church bells are chiming up the street; they have a carillon and we are serenaded every hour, on the hour with a hymn. Not just on Sundays, but every day. Right now, we're listening to "Bringing in the Sheaves" and Bridget remembers that when she was little, she always thought it was bringing in the sheep!
It's beeen a lovely week. Bridget pulled weeds, Russ revamped the library section so that you can now find books listed under specific categories, and we watched a wonderful movie called Chocolat. Set in France, it's the story of a woman who opens a sweet shop during Lent. The despotic mayor is not amused. The surprise was Johnny Depp who turns in a remarkably good performance as an Irish traveler. No caravans, though - this group makes their by boat on the rivers. Well worth watching.
Of all the news we received, among the best was hearing that our dear friends, Helen & Hartson are fine. They've been helping an elderly friend after the loss of a spouse and they haven't had time for playing on the 'puter. Hartson's very tired, but Helen assures us that he and she will be back on line soon.
We also received a prayer request from Junette and Alan in Fatima. For centuries, Portugal has been known as the Land of Our Lady and right now, it is experiencing devastating forest fires, one of which is threatening the city of Fatima. God willing, with the help of our prayers, it will be spared.
By way of George at Irish Heritage, Martha reports that a new monthly magazine has been launched in Southern California called Irish Scoop. The hard copy version will be distributed in pubs and other outlets, but you can also view it online at
http://www.irishscoop.com
In other news - first from Ireland:
It's hard to believe that places like Galway and Dublin were warmer than Cincinnati this past week! Bridget's brother lives in London where it was in the 90s - totally unheard of. We hope all of our subscribers in Ireland and other European countries found ways to cope with the heat. We're so used to just turning on the air-conditioning, but over there, many people don't bother with fans, let alone A/C!.
A rare occurrence will take place in the British Isles on Monday, 8/11 - a total solar eclipse. The last one was in 1927 and the next will be in 2081! There are fewer than a hundred total eclipses of the sun every century, and each visits only a thin swath of the world. There are exceptions-the coast of Angola will see total eclipses in both 2001 and 2002, and some parts of Turkey graced by the forthcoming eclipse on Aug. 11 will see another one on March 29, 2006 but on average, a given spot on the globe will be passed over by a total eclipse only once every 410 years - so enjoy, but do be cautious and don't look directly at the sun.
In news closer to home, we added more than twenty new subscribers to our list. Go Raibh Míle Maith Agaibh - Thank you all very much - and, if you like your first copy of the newsletter, please feel free to forward it on to family and friends.
In another interesting message from the mailbag, Emily asked if anyone knows of any beliefs about displaying unlit candles. She's heard you're always supposed to burn the wick on a new candle. Neither Russ nor Bridget know of this custom, but Russ thinks it's leaning a bit toward being lace curtain Irish if you show off unlit candles.
Well then, except to say a warm welcome back to all of our readers and hoping this week's edition finds you in fine fettle, enough of all the blither and blather and on with the update....
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IN THIS ISSUE:
A Bit of The Wit
Joke of The Week
Did You Know?
Quotes & Quips
Know Your Irish Writers & Books?
Riddle
New This Week
The Week Ahead
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A BIT O' THE WIT
Know any good Irish limericks? Here's one we just found - hope you enjoy it!
There was an old fellow at Trinity
Who solved the square root of infinity.
But it gave him such fidgets
To count up the digits
That he dropped Math and took up Divinity
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OUR FAVORITE JOKE OF THE WEEK
Thanks to our friend Patricia Edwards in England for this week's offering. It's a wee bit lengthy, but worth the read.
There were two nuns. One of them was known as Sister Mathematical (SM),
and the other one was known as Sister Logical (SL). It is getting dark and they are still far away from the convent.
SM: Have you noticed that a man has been following us for the past thirty-eight and a half minutes? I wonder what he wants.
SL: It's logical. He wants to have his way with us.
SM: Oh, no! At this rate he will reach us in 15 minutes at the most! What can we do?
SL: The only logical thing to do is to walk faster.
SM: It's not working.
SL: Of course it's not working. The man did the only logical thing. He started to walk faster, too.
SM: So, what shall we do? At this rate he will reach us in one minute.
SL: The only logical thing we can do is split up. You go that way and I'll go this way. He cannot follow us both.
So the man decided to follow Sister Logical.
Sister Mathematical arrives at the convent and is worried about what has happened to Sister Logical. Then Sister Logical arrives.
SM: Sister Logical! Thank God you are here! Tell me what happened!
SL: The only logical thing happened. The man couldn't follow us both,so he followed me.
SM: Yes, yes! But what happened then?
SL: The only logical thing happened. I started to run as fast as I could and he started to run as fast as he could.
SM: And?
SL: The only logical thing happened. He reached me.
SM: Oh, dear! What did you do?
SL: The only logical thing to do. I lifted my habit up.
SM: Oh, Sister! What did the man do?
SL: The only logical thing to do. He pulled down his trousers.
SM: Oh, no! What happened then?
SL: Isn't it logical, Sister? A nun with her dress up can run faster than a man with his trousers down!
And for those of you who thought this would be off-colour, say two Hail Marys!
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DID YOU KNOW...
1. Kevin Street Garda Station was once the Palace of the Archbishop of Dublin?
2. The police station in Dungannon, County Tyrone, should overlook the Khyber Pass? in the 19th century, the plans for this fearsome fortress-type building were sent by mistake to Ireland instead of India!
3. In Sligo, you still officially need a licence to buy molasses? It's a legal hangover from the days when the county was the poitin capital of Ireland.
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QUIPS, QUOTES & ANECDOTES - PROVERBS & TOASTS, TOO
Father Michael O'Connor tells of the Sunday after Mass when he was approached by one of his elderly parishioners."Oh Father, says she, "you'll never know what your homily meant to me. It was just like water to a drowning man!"
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KNOW YOUR IRISH WRITERS & IRISH-RELATED BOOKS?
The answers to last week's quiz:
1. The Galway Races by Jack Mahon
2. Loitering with Intent - The Child by Peter O'Toole
3. Autumn Journal by Louis Mcneice
A big round of applause for our literary sleuths:
Dallas Franklin
Sell Writing Online - An interactive newsletter for writers. Discover Paying markets, Writing/marketing Articles, other Writing ezines and more. Plus you get the opportunity to promote your Website/book in the following issue.
http://www.sellwritingonline.com
Déirdre McKiernan-Hetzler
According to Terry Flynn Tours of Ireland, who has the longest continuously running tour from the States to Ireland? The McKiernans of Irish Books &
Media:
http://www.irishbook.com/tours.htm
Patricia Edwards
My favorite site is Roots Web. It gives surnames, counties, maps and loads of history about the country.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlkik/ihm/iremaps.htm
Ellen Parodi
Namely Gifts at http://namelygifts.com
Personalized Name Keepsakes and Gifts
Something for every name on your gift list!
Featuring Babies & Children and Our Everyday Heroes
Judy Skapik
Judy didn't nominate a favorite site, so we found another one of her great articles: When Writing Becomes a Detriment
http://www.blueberrypress.com/features/articles/writing_detriment_skapik1.html
Want to see your name and favorite site on our list? Try to find the following authors - we assure you, it's really easy! Who wrote:
1. Irish Dance
2. The Story of Irish Dance
3. Irish Dancing Costumes
1. Hint: All three titles can be found here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00007AYIR/qid%253D1060443190/sr%253D11-1/ref%253Dsr%255F11%255F1/103-2159383-7488629%20/irishcultucus-20 Send us the correct answers to two out of three and the rewards are:
1. If you have a web site, send us your URL plus a short description and we'll publish it in the next newsletter. If you don't have a web site, please nominate a favorite. Also, please remember that we list our sleuths in the order of entries received.
2. Receive a correct entry into the current "So You Think You're Irish" trivia contest. (In fairness to those of you who go to the trouble of actually finding the answers to the trivia contest, you'll get a bonus entry!)
NOTE: It would be very helpful if you would send your entries to: bhaggerty@irishcultureandcustoms.com
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THIS WEEK'S RIDDLE
Last week's was:
A boy was at a carnival and went to a booth where a man said to the boy, "If I write your exact weight on this piece of paper then you have to give me $50, but if I cannot, I will pay you $50." The boy looked around and saw no scale so he agrees, thinking no matter what the man writes he'll just say he weighs more or less. In the end, the lad ended up paying the man $50. How did the man win the bet?
The answer is: He wrote the words: your exact weight. We had a slew of responses, but the first was from our friend Bill Smith in North Carolina. Well done, Bill. By the way, we messed up the spelling of our previous "first": The name is Michael McLoughlin - sorry, Mike!
Now for your new brain bender:
A ........ surgeon was about to perform an operation but he found he was........ because he had .........
Each of the blank words is made from the same 7 letters in the same order. What are they?
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NEW OR REPUBLISHED FROM OUR INDEX THIS PAST WEEK:
1. Home Page - See what's new at a glance:
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/index.html
2. Article: Pattern Day in Old Ireland
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/ACustom/PatternDay.html
3. Kids' Ireland: Taggart's Lesson by Grainne Rowland
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/1Kids/1Home.html
4. The Irish Kitchen - Recipes for Lughnasa
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/2Kitch/1Home.html
5. New Book: "Hungry for Home" - an extraordinary book at an even more extraordinary price! Scroll down the home page and you'll see it in the right margin
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/index.html
6. Basic Irish: Like to play the ponies? This week our lesson is devoted to horse-racing
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/3Focloir/1Home.html
7. Circle of Prayer. Our third Novena in this cycle continues through August 11 and the fourth one will begin on Tuesday. This week we received a prayer request for C.J. who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. We continue to pray for Eileen's brother Bob, Pricilla and her family, Therese, Christopher, Sam, Steven & Margaret, and for our military personnel stationed all over the world, especially in Iraq. As always, our Novenas are primarily dedicated to to the peaceful resolution of the many conflicts we face in our world. Whatever your spiritual leanings, we hope you will join us in prayer or meditation each day. Knowing that we hold all of these people in our thoughts and hearts is, of itself, a great comfort to them.
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/Blessings/CirclePrayer.html
8. Irish News: Headlines for the past week
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/01News/Home.html
9. This month in Irish History:
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/02Hist/Home.html
10. Trivia Contest. Have you entered yet? This one has brought in a flood of entries which we're very happy about - did we make it too easy? Take a look...
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/TriviaContest.html
11. Music Review - Wall of Tears. We're leaving it up because we feel it's that important. Bridget listened to it several times this past week - it really is a great CD and we love that it's for such a worthy cause
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/Libr/zWallTears.html
12. Library: Russ has spent a lot of time taking all of the books and putting them into appropriate categories, history, fiction, classics and so on. It should make finding a book a lot easier
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/Libr/1BkHist1.html
NEXT WEEK, GOD WILLING:
It's going to be a busy week. Bridget hopes to post articles on Puck Fair, the Dublin Horse Show and an interview with Oliver Sach - New Zealand's number one Irish dancer. We're also very happy to announce the debut of a new monthly column on music by Michael Carlin - watch for hist first one early next week. We'll also be posting a recipe for Kerry Pie, traditionally served at Puck Fair; the blessing for this week is posted, we'll have a new quote on Wednesday and we'll update the history and news daily.
So there you have it. Happy International Lefthander's Day on August 13th to all of our "sinister" subscribers and, until next time, may God send each and every one of our readers and your loved ones an abundance of blessings. May He hold you safe from all harm and, as they say in Ireland, mind yourself.
All the best,
Bridget & Russ
Get down on your knees and thank God you're still on your feet
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A Piece of Ireland
Located at Lissacreasig, Macroom, Co. Cork, Ireland Macroom Land Trust is offering1-foot square plots of land for sale. Each purchase comes with a certificate suitable for framing, photographs from the area, and a 4- page history. A perfect gift for weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays, A Piece of Ireland is also ideal for
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Did you enjoy reading this edition of our newsletter? Voluntary donations to help keep us going are always welcome. Please send whatever you can to: bnhaggerty@cinci.rr.com at http://www.paypal.com And many thanks for your kindness!
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Events & Classifieds
Note: To avoid duplication, we list only those events not mentioned in the comprehensive listing put together by The Wild Geese. To check their Events Page, please click: http://www.thewildgeese.com/pages/events.html
The Irish Heritage Newsletter also lists events - if you'd like to subscribe, just send a note to George at Steeler059@aol.com
The Voyage of the Jeanie Johnston
She is in Portsmouth, New Hampshire until August 11. She then bids the USA adieu and sets sail for Canada. Her next port of call is St. Andrews in New Brunswick where she will be docked from August 15 to August 19
For more details, please click: http://www.jeaniejohnston.ie/voyage.asp?id=3
Dublin, Ireland
August 13-August 30
The Other Side -Project Art Center, Essex Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
This is an exciting new play by award winning theatre company ReadCo. A unique theatrical experience, it divides not only the characters on stage but the audience as well so that we can only see and hear things from the perspective of just one character. So bring a friend to The Other Side but don't sit together. You'll have a lot to talk about later.For more info, please contact Bernadette Larkin:
bernadette@writerscentre.ie
http://www.writerscentre.ie
Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, Ireland
Festival of World Cultures - August 22-August 24
Arts festival celebrating cultural diversity through an extravaganza of internationally acclaimed acts including music, film, circus, theatre, dance performances, club nights, markets, exhibitions, workshops & children's activities.
http://www.festivalofworldcultures.com
Irish Writers Center, Dublin, Ireland
New Creative Writing Courses at IWC have been announced for the month of August. For more information, please contact Bernadette Larkin: bernadette@writerscentre.ie
http://www.writerscentre.ie
Let Me Take You To the Island 2003
The Rathlin week-end will take place on the 5th -7th September
The Houston St. Patrick's Parade Commission Presents:
2003 St. Paddy's Irish Open - Monday, September 15, 2003
2PM Shotgun Start - Four Man Scramble & Green Ball Contest at Augusta Pines, 18 Augusta Pines Rd, Spring, Texas For more details, please write: Irishmkk@aol.com
Scriobh Literary Festival, Sligo 11 & 14 September 2003
Tel. +353 71 41405
Samhain International Poetry Festival Friday 31 October & Mon 3 November in Gort a'Choirce, Co. Donegal. Email: info@samhainpoetrycompetition.com
or info@maggiedans.com
A Celtic Pilgrimage to Sacred Ireland
Sept 30 - Oct 8 2003
Learn. Pray. Observe. Meditate. Eat. Explore. Experience the beauty and mystery of Ireland in a unique spiritual journey to the Emerald Isle's sacred sites. For more details, please click
http://www.beliefnet.com/features/ireland_main.html
6th Int'l McManus Clan Association Gathering May 25th through May 31st, 2004
For full details please visit our website at:
http://members.aol.com/manusclan/mcm2004.htm or contact Phil McManus at Manus@aol.com
Ancient Order of Hibernians Historical Tour of Ireland
January 27, 04- February 4, 04
In conjunction with Our Lady of Knock Division No. 2; Ancient Order of Hibernians, Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information, please call James V. Magee, Jr., President (513) 621-9660
7th Clann McKenna Rally - June 25th through Sunday June 27th 2004
For details, please write plunkettmckenna@eircom.net
or click on the following link:
www.omagh.gov.uk/historypark.htm
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