IRISH

 “Someone called me “Irish” like it was something bad…something to be ashamed of.  He meant it as a dig in reference to my so called stubbornness, my pride. my willingness to see the truth for what it is and call it. He called it haughty, he called it “Irish” and I wore it like a badge of honor.”

I R I S H   P R I D E

It is not boastful pride or a belief that one person is better than another. It’s a pride in oneself and one’s heritage. It is honor and affection for loved ones, friends and comrades. It is standing up tall and looking everyone you meet straight in the eye and saying; this is who I am and I am proud. I don’t care if I am perfect, nor would I be if I could. It is rising in the face of adversity and succeeding. It’s staring down a sea of troubles and having a good laugh.

It is sticking up for oneself and standing for what you believe in…even if you are the only one. It is seeing life through the eyes of a hopeful child; no matter what has happened in the past– tomorrow is a new day and one’s luck can change in a flash of an instant. It is believing in magic and that dreams can come true but in order for that to happen one must work at them too.

It’s that spirit I think of when I think of the Irish.

I think of heart, soul and family and the wide green world around us. Ireland doesn’t have the monopoly on green or spirit. That is within us all….that  is the human spirit.  Today we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Today we are all Irish.  Everyday we are human with thoughts and dreams and ambitions. Don’t ever let anyone tell you can’t do anything, for there isn’t anything you cannot do.

When I think of the Irish I think of my father who was 100% Irish and damned proud of that too. He always had a smile for everyone he met and a “wee crack” to tell down at the bar to his friends. He was a good man who took care of his family and never had an unkind word for anyone. He always brought me a green carnation every St. Paddies day. He is gone from this earth now but his memory lives on in me and my brothers and sister and our families.  Every time I smell the scent of carnation I am reminded of him and how much he loved this day.

Sometimes a day can be like that; gaining meaning over the course of your life and how something as insignificant as a green carnation can hold so much.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Lá Shona Fhéile Pádraig

♥

~Nancy

Sunset at Donegal, Letterkenny, Ireland

“Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit.” 
― Oscar Wilde

“We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English.”

Winston Churchill

“In Ireland, you go to someone’s house, and she asks you if you want a cup of tea. You say no, thank you, you’re really just fine. She asks if you’re sure. You say of course you’re sure, really, you don’t need a thing. Except they pronounce it ting. You don’t need a ting. Well, she says then, I was going to get myself some anyway, so it would be no trouble. Ah, you say, well, if you were going to get yourself some, I wouldn’t mind a spot of tea, at that, so long as it’s no trouble and I can give you a hand in the kitchen. Then you go through the whole thing all over again until you both end up in the kitchen drinking tea and chatting. 

In America, someone asks you if you want a cup of tea, you say no, and then you don’t get any damned tea.

I liked the Irish way better.” 

― C.E. Murphy

“Beware of people who dislike cats.”

― Irish Proverb

Whitepark Rd, Antrim county, Nothern Ireland

THE IRISH

Be they kings, or poet, or farmers, they’re a people of great worth. They keep company with the angels. And bring a bit of heaven here to Earth.

~Irish Saying

“May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rain fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his hand” 
― Irish Blessings

 

“Ireland is a land of poets and legends, of dreamers and rebels. All of these have music woven through and around them. Tunes for dancing or for weeping, for battle or for love.”
― Nora Roberts

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References, Related Articles and Items of Interest

IRISH APES: TACTICS OF DE-HUMANIZATION (thesocietypages.org)

Ireland Facts (infoplease.com)

Castleblayney, Ireland