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Welcome to the Irish Culture & Customs newsletter which has been designated the #1 non-fiction ezine for 2002 in the Preditors/Editors Readers Poll. It is published every Saturday and sent out to over 900 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 unsubcribe, instructions are at the end - but we do hope you\\\'ll stay with us.
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Greetings & Blessings to Everyone,
The warmest of welcomes to you all, especially all those who signed up the past week. Thank you! We\\\'re now rapidly approaching that 1000th subscriber and we\\\'re thinking it would be a nice gesture to reward the person who puts us over the top with a small gift - so, please spread the word!
What a week it\\\'s been - what with the awful weather here in the US, as well as the tragic accidents at the two nightclubs. Russ\\\' family is from the Warwick area - which is a relatively small area outside Providence, Rhode Island. So far, we haven\\\'t heard any bad news. - we\\\'re praying it will stay that way. We\\\'re also praying for the many who were injured and for the families and friends of those who perished.
In retrospect, we did a wise thing staying home for our Valentine\\\'s Day weekend. It turned out to be one of the stormiest periods on record. For those of you still digging out, we share your hope that this is last gasp of winter. Fortunately, many of us had the day off last Monday because of President\\\'s Day. Weather, or not, we hope all of our friends in the US enjoyed the long weekend.
As for ourselves, as usual, the week went by way too fast for comfort. Here we are, with the last week of the month looming and we\\\'re way behind with our St. Patrick\\\'s Day items. But, we did manage to get quite a bit done, including posting the new banner. Please let us know what you think of it.
We also received some very interesting emails. One was from a staff sergeant of Irish descent in the USAF who wanted to know about Irish card games he and his pals could play while awaiting deployment. It brought home to us the very real possibility of an attack on Iraq. If you know of someone who has been sent to the Gulf already, or will be, please send us their names and branch of the military and we\\\'ll list them on our Circle of Prayer page. Whatever our politics, people in the service all over the world need and deserve our prayers.
We also heard from \\"Hannah.\\" She\\\'d been sent a copy of our newsletter by her brother in Florida. Turns out, Hannah is the mother of Maureen McKervey - one of our Artisans of Ireland. Just goes to show that it really is a small world!
Have any McKenna blood in the veins? We also heard from Plunkett McKenna of Co. Monaghhan who wishes to announce that the 7th Clann McKenna Rally will be held in the ancestral home of the McKenna\\\'s from June 25th through Sunday June 27th 2004. Itinerary yet to be finalized. He would be delighted to arrange your accommodation, travel arrangements, let it be coach, mini-coach, or for those of the Clann with more expensive requirements, a limousine!. For more details, you can email Mr. McCann at plunkettmckenna@eircom.net
You can also visit his site: \\"Your link to Hidden Ireland & McKenna Heritage\\" Please click here: http://www.IrishCulturalConnections.com
With that on with the update:
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Help us keep this newsletter free - please visit the following sponsor:
Show your Irish colours on Saint Patrick\\\'s Day with a Party Pack from Celtic Links. Everything you need for an authentic Irish hooley - hats, scarf, tie, CD of party songs and more, shipped free to the US, Ireland and the UK.
http://www.celticlinks.com/cgi-bin/cl/00194.html?mv_pc=irishcultureandcustoms
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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?
New This Week
The Week Ahead
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A BIT O\\\' THE WIT
Samuel Johnson once said \\"the Irish are a fair people, they never speak well of one another.\\" So, naturally, Brendan Behan, that bad boy of Irish literature, had the Irish insult down to a fine art:
\\"If it was raining soup, the Irish would go out with forks.\\"
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OUR FAVORITE JOKE OF THE WEEK
Sean says to Dr. Flynn, \\"Doctor, doctor, I can\\\'t stop singing The Green, Green Grass of Home.\\"Hmm\\", says Dr. Flynn- \\"That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome.\\"
\\"Is it common? asks Sean.
\\"It\\\'s not unusual.\\"
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DID YOU KNOW...
1. Ireland\\\'s largest church is St Patrick\\\'s Cathedral in Dublin?
2. The Popularity of Patrick as a Christian name in Ireland is due to the great 17th century general, Patrick Sarsfield, not our patron saint?
3. While St. patrick is supposed to have driven the snakes out of Ireland, there are no moles there, either? __________________________________________________________
QUIPS, QUOTES & ANECDOTES - PROVERBS & TOASTS, TOO
The following are actual complaints sent to Irish housing authorities:
1. \\"The toilet is blocked and we cannot bathe the children until it is cleared.\\"
2.\\"This is to let you know that there is a smell coming from the man next door.\\"
3. \\"I am writing on behalf of my sink, which is running away from the wall.\\"
4. \\"I request your permission to remove my drawers in the kitchen.\\"
5. \\"Will you please send a man to look at my water, it is a funny colour and not fit to drink.\\"
6. \\"Would you please send a man to repair my downspout. I am an old-age pensioner and need it straight away.\\"
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KNOW YOUR IRISH WRITERS & BOOKS?
The answers to last week\\\'s quiz:
1. The St. Patrick\\\'s Day Shillelagh - Janet Nolan
2. The Wearing of The Green - A History of St. Patrick\\\'s Day - Mike Cronin and Daryl Adair
3. Perceptions of St. Patrick in 18th century Ireland - Bridget McCormack
We would love to see some new names on the following list - they\\\'ve become our core group of Irish bibliophiles! In any event, a standing ovation for:
Judy Skapik
Ellen Parodi
Namely Gifts at http://namelygifts.com
Personalized Name Keepsakes and Gifts
Sandra Druckman
Hartson Dowd
A good Irish language site - Ron\\\'s Irish Language:
http://www.greenapple.com
Deirdre 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
Helen Dowd
If you feel the need of encouragement, entertainment, relaxation, visit my website at: http://occupytillicome.online-ministries.com
Dallas Franklin - http://sellwritingonline.com <http://sellwritingonline.com/>
Voted # 1 in the Preditors and Editors Poll as Zine Editor for 2002! An interactive weekly newsletter for writers. Send an email to:
dallas@sellwritingonline.com
This week\\\'s quiz - who wrote:
1. St. Patrick\\\'s Purgatory
2. In the Steps of St. Patrick
3. The Wisdom of St. Patrick
Hint: all three titles can be found on amazon - please click here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385418493/qid%3D1041089301/sr%3D2-2/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!)
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HOME PAGE - NEW OR REPUBLISHED FROM OUR INDEX THIS PAST WEEK:
1. Article: Celebrating St. Patrick\\\'s Day in old Ireland
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/ACalend/StPatsDay.html
2. Article: Shrovetide, the Marrying Season
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/ACalend/Shrovetide.html
3. Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Day!
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/ACalend/ShroveTues.html
4. Emblems of Ireland - The Shamrock
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/AEmblem/Shamrock.html
5. Irish Landmarks - Croagh Patrick
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/ALandmks/CroaghPat.html
7. The Irish Kitchen : Recipes in celebration of spring
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/2Kitch/1Home.html
8. Basic Irish: This week\\\'s lesson is about music
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/3Focloir/1Home.html
9. Today\\\'s Irish News: Want to have your own Irish newspaper delivered to your door? We\\\'ve added a link in the right margin to a site that carries just about all of them - magazines, too!
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/01News/Home.html
10. Circle of Prayer: Today, 2/22, begins our third Novena in this cycle and will continue through March 2. If you would like to join us in daily prayer or meditation, please click:
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/Blessings/CirclePrayer.html
11. Shop Ireland: The page has been revamped to feature classic favorites, from Shillelaghs to Aran isle sweaters. We now have three pages of fine Irish products - have fun browsing - and buying!
12. Think You\\\'re Irish? If you haven\\\'t entered our quiz yet, the last day is looming - next Friday, 2/28:
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/TriviaContest.html
All entries must be in by midnight, EST
NEXT WEEK, GOD WILLING:
Bridget has found so many St. Patrick\\\'s Day celebrations, she\\\'s sifting through them all to bring you the most interesting and/or unusual. She\\\'s also putting the finishing touches to the article about Dublin\\\'s Festival which is a full week long this year. With Lent starting on 3/4, our next recipes will be last indulgences in the verboten meat, eggs, alcohol and so on. As always, we will update the news and history each day, post a new blessing on Sunday and a new quote on Wednesday. We welcome your submissions - they are a big help to us - but please read our guidelines first. All items we consider for publication must be appropriately Irish and family oriented:
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/SubmissionGuide.html
So, that wraps it up for another week. Until next time, please know that you are always in our daily prayers. We also hope that the Good Shepherd of us all will watch over you and your loved ones, and keep 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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Help us keep this newsletter free - please visit the following sponsor:
St. Patrick\\\'s Day is just a few weeks away. Be proud of your Irish roots and send an authentic St. Patrick\\\'s Day card to all your friends and family! Set of six cards with the phrase Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona Duit - Happy St. Patrick\\\'s Day is shipped directly from Dublin.
http://www.celticlinks.com/cgi-bin/cl/00311.html?mv_pc=irishcultureandcustoms
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