If You're Lucky Enough to be Irish, You're Lucky Enough!
By Patty Liston
This delightful Irish saying is for the Irish contingent of our DVO family. However, even if you are not Irish, chances are you will be doing something to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Maybe you will make green pancakes and milk for breakfast, corned beef and cabbage for dinner, wear some green shamrock socks, or attend a parade. Whatever you do, here are a few fun facts and jokes to get you into a fine mood to celebrate!
Do you know what "blarney" means? It gives people the "gift of gab" or eloquence of speech. Story tells of a time when Cormac McDermot MacCarthy, owner of Blarney Castle in Cork, Ireland, used his gift of gab to "placate Queen Elizabeth I and her advancing army while still keeping his Gaelic loyalties". It seems that the Queen, frustrated by all of his talking, rode away saying something about his "blarney".
An Irishman, by the name of O'Malley proposed to his girl on St. Patrick's Day. He gave her a ring with a synthetic diamond. The excited young lass showed it to her father, a jeweler. He took one look at it and saw it wasn't real.
The young lass, on learning the stone wasn't real, returned to her future husband. She protested vehemently about his cheapness.
'It was in honor of St. Patrick's Day, 'he smiled.
'I gave you a sham rock.'
St. Patrick: Patrick was the son of a wealthy British land-owner. Kidnapped by Irish marauders around 390 AD, Patrick spent many years tending sheep. It was during this very lonely period that he fell back on his Christian roots, escaped back to Britain and his family, and after several years, felt a "calling" to return to Ireland.
His return as a Catholic Bishop was difficult. Ireland was a tough land where thugs pounced on him, Irish royalty harassed him, and his British superiors chastised his work. Much is attributed to St. Patrick, but there is little to verify the legends that surround him. Even the dates of his birth and death are in question, with his birth being around 384 (?) and his death anywhere from 440 or 493. One date that is commonly accepted is that he died on March 17. Centuries later, he was honored as the patron saint of Ireland.
Guinness: famous Irish beer first presented in 1759. Total sales: 18 million pints a year!
Shamrocks: While legend says that St. Patrick used the shamrock to teach the Catholic Holy Trinity, shamrocks today are a symbol of the rebirth of spring and Irish pride.
Leprechauns: What would Ireland and St. Patrick's day be without leprechauns? What do you want to bet that more are seen on St. Patrick's Day, especially after a few pints of Guinness, than any other day of the year?
Anciently, Leprechauns, which means "small bodied fellow", were cranky little green men who dispensed good and evil deeds while protecting their pots of gold. However, Walt Disney changed that perception in his 1959 movie, "Darby O'Gill and the Little People". In this movie, leprechauns were portrayed as being cheery, friendly, and full of good mischief. This may be a great movie to watch while you eat your green popcorn!
Paddy was tooling along the road one fine day when the local policeman, a friend of his, pulled him over.
"What's wrong, Seamus?" Paddy asked.
"Well didn't ya know, Paddy, that your wife fell out of the car about five miles back?" said Seamus.
"Ah, praise The Almighty!" Paddy replied with relief. "I thought I'd gone deaf!"
Snakes in Ireland: Ah-h-h, myth. Ireland is surrounded by cold, icy water; not a hospitable habitat for snake migration from Britain. This story as well as others is attributed to monks that lived centuries after St. Patrick's death.
St. Patrick's Day: We can thank the Irish immigrants in America for this celebration. While the first parades took place during the revolutionary war, others have followed. The St. Patrick's Day parade held in Boston is a sight to behold; with bands, floats, and more colors of green than an Irish hillside! Maybe next year?
May your blessings out-number
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.
~Irish Blessing
