Your weekly dose of Irish ☘️🥂
Apr 01, 2022 10:01 am
Hi there,
Here's your weekly dose of Irish for April 1st 2022...
Irish toast:
Here’s to cheating, stealing, fighting, and drinking.
If you cheat, may you cheat death.
If you steal, may you steal a woman’s heart.
If you fight, may you fight for a brother.
And if you drink, may you drink with me.
Did you know?
This Irish fact surprised me! I'm assuming you have watched a movie and seen this friendly lion roar before the movie started?
Well, he is, in fact, a real lion! And he was born in Dublin Zoo in Ireland. Leo, the eighth and current lion, is MGM's longest-used, appearing in most MGM films since 1957. He was also the youngest when MGM filmed him roaring, hence his smaller mane. No 3D or special effects, just a camera and a roaring lion! Amazing.
Latest updates & news:
- Today is April Fool's day! Do you know the story behind Steve April(1777)? Read the short story here.
- Who doesn't love an Irish toast? I decided to put together a collection of the best Irish toasts. This week I have Irish toasts for friends. You can read the post here.
- I hope you have a fantastic weekend! A big welcome to new followers and subscribers! Thank you for being part of Irish Around The World!
This week's posts:
☘️ 25+ Memorable Irish Toasts For Friends And Friends Departed
I love a good toast, and sometimes it helps to remember a few Irish toasts for friends when you are called upon.
I will also be sharing Irish toasts for …
The post 25+ Memorable Irish Toasts For Friends And Friends Departed appeared first on Irish Around The World.
☘️ Station Island Poem, by Seamus Heaney – Analysis And Meaning
Another fantastic Irish poem by Seamus Heaney.
And of course, it is a long one!
This poem comes in at number 88 on the top 100 Irish poems list.
The post-Station Island Poem, by Seamus Heaney – Analysis And Meaning appeared first on Irish Around The World.
☘️ Jokes and Accents of Ireland – Niall Tóibín
I found this great clip from Niall Tóibín.
A fellow Cork man passed away on November 13th 2019. He was a fantastic Irish comedian and actor.
The post Jokes and Accents of Ireland – Niall Tóibín appeared first on Irish Around The World.
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This week's Irish jokes:
Three men were sitting together bragging about how they had set their new wives straight on their domestic duties. The first man had married a woman from Italy and boasted that he had told his wife she would do all the dishes and house cleaning that needed to be done. He said that it took a couple of days, but on the third day, he came home to a clean house, and the dishes were all washed and put away. The second man had married a woman from France. He bragged that he had given his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, all the dishes, and the cooking. He told them that he didn't see any results the first day, but the next day it was better. By the third day, his house was clean, the dishes were done, and he had a delicious dinner on the table. The third man had married an Irish girl. He boasted that he told her his house was to be cleaned, the dishes washed, the cooking done, and the laundry washed. And this was all entirely her responsibility. He said the first day he didn't see anything, and the second day he didn't see anything, but by the third day, some of the swelling had gone down, so he could see a little out of his left eye!
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Two lovely old biddies had been friends for many decades. Over the years, they have shared all kinds of activities and adventures. Lately, their activities had been limited to meeting a few times a week for a cup of tea and a chat. One day they were sipping their tea when one looked at the other and said, "Now don't go getting upset with me...I know we've been pals for a long time.....but I can't think of your name! I've thought and thought, but I can't remember it. Please tell me what your name is. Her friend glared at her. For at least three minutes, she just stared and glared. At last, she said, "How soon do you need to know?
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A young lad had just gotten his provisional license. (learner's permit) He asked his father, a minister, if they could discuss his use of the car. His father said, "If you bring your marks up, study your bible, and get your hair cut, we'll talk about it." A month later, the boy returned and again asked his father if they could now discuss his use of the car. His father said, "Well, son, I see that your marks have improved, you've studied your bible diligently, but you didn't get a haircut!" The young man waited a moment and replied, "You know, dad, I've been thinking about that. Didn't Samson have long hair, Moses have long hair, Noah has long hair, and even Jesus himself have long hair?" His father replied, "They did so, and they walked everywhere they went!"
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So what is this week's top Irish poem?
Station Island Poem, by Seamus Heaney
Another fantastic Irish poem by Seamus Heaney. And of course, it is a long one! This poem comes in at number 88 on the top 100 Irish poems list. Station Island is on Lough Derg in Co. Donegal in the northwest of Ireland. It refers to Station Island (St. Patrick’s Purgatory) on Lough Derg in Co. Donegal has been a site of Christian pilgrimage for many centuries.
It lasts for three days and involves fasting, praying barefoot around stone “beds”, and other various penitential exercises which make up the “station.” For over 1500 years, pilgrims have been visiting the Lough Derg shores to find peace & pray for loved ones. Lovely right? Not my cup of tea!
According to legend, this Island site dates from the fifth century when Jesus Christ showed St Patrick a cave on Station Island. This cave was supposedly an entrance to Purgatory that St Patrick had visions in from the otherworld, hence the name “St Patricks Purgatory”.
The cave that started it all has been closed since 1632 and covered over by the Basilica to protect others and welcome people from all over the world to visit and pray over the gateway for all time.
Once again, with Seamus Heaney, we get plenty of powerful imagery. If he were a painter, I would imagine his paintings to be highly detailed while simple. Heaney’s great skill was his way of putting words so that they transported you to the place, time or event. Don’t believe me? Give a read of his other poems, such as blackberry-picking or mid-term break. And let’s not forget that he appears ten times on the top Irish poems list!
As I said, this is no short poem but worth a read. This is only a selection from the whole book(collection), including 25 poems. If you are interested in picking up the book, you can see it on Amazon here.
I have only included part one of the first part, and you will see even after a few minutes of reading that you will be transported to the place.
Enjoy this powerful Irish poem by Seamus Heaney.
Station Island
I
It was a close grey morning,
a reek of early summer
pith-life, rotted things,
reed-beds, thick young corn
hushed and water-blistered.
Something beat on iron:
a hurry of bell-notes
flew over sedge and iris,
an escaped ringing
that stopped as quickly
as it started. Sunday,
the silence breathed
and could not settle quite
for a man appeared
at the back of the hedge
with a bow-saw, held
stiffly up like a lyre.
He moved and stopped to gaze
at the shins of hazel trees,
then angled the saw in,
pulled back to gaze again
and moved on to the next.
“I know you, Simon Sweeney,
for an old Sabbath breaker
that has been dead for years!”
“Damn all you know,” he said,
his eye still on the hedge
and not turning his head.
“I was your mystery man
and am again this morning.
Through gaps in the bushes
your First Communion face
would watch me cutting timber.
When cut or broken limbs
of trees went yellow, when
woodsmoke sharpened air
or ditches rustled
you sensed my trail there
as if it had been sprayed.
It let you half-afraid.
When they made you listen
in the bedroom dark
to wind and rain in the trees
and think of tinkers camped
under a heeled-up cart
you shut your eyes to see
a wet axle and spokes
in moonlight, and me
streaming from the shower,
headed for your door.”
Sunlight broke in the hazels,
the quick bell-notes began
a second time. I turned
at another sound:
a crowd of shawled women
were wading the young corn,
their skirts brushing softly.
Their motion saddened morning.
It whispered to the silence,
“Pray for us, pray for us,”
it conjured through the air
until the field was full
of half-remembered faces,
a loosed congregation
that straggled past and on.
As I drew behind them
I was a fasted pilgrim,
light-headed, leaving home
to face into my station.
“Stay clear of that procession—”
he was shouting angrily,
“Don’t turn your back again.
Sooner or later, son,
you will have to face me
with both eyes open.”
But the murmur of the crowd,
and their feet slushing through
the tender bladed growth
was another scent picked up,
a drugged and open path
I was set upon.
I trailed those early-risers
who had fallen into step
before the smokes were up.
The quick bell rang again.
What did you think of this poem?
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