Here's your weekly dose of Irish for December 11th 2024...

Irish wisdom: "Lose an hour in the morning, and you'll be looking for it all day."

Latest updates:

Wow, my last email was on July 12th! So, I am not surprised if you are opening this email and wondering who this person is. Stephen from Irisharoundtheworld.com and I have taken time off(way more than expected). The reason is my adorable baby girl Alannah, who is now 10 months old. It is incredible how fast time flies with a baby and how slowly time can pass! Haha. I said in July that I would like to return to work, but somehow, it is now December.

So, I will be aiming to send out the weekly dose of Irish as normal again, but I will be sending it every Wednesday now.

For today's weekly dose of Irish, I said I would keep it time-related since it is something that affects me and all of us after all. Also, to keep things more streamlined, I will not include new posts in the weekly dose of Irish but rather have them aimed at a specific topic or theme. I will give you one guess what the one in two weeks will be about. Haha.

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Irish Quotes on the Passage of Time

Ireland has produced its fair share of wise thinkers and sharp-tongued wits. Here are some quintessential Irish sayings about time:

“Your pocket is your friend, but time is your master.”

This speaks to the inevitability of time’s passage—while material wealth may come and go, time governs all.

“There’s no time like the present.”

This classic Irish adage reminds us of the importance of seizing the moment. It’s simple yet profound advice to live in the now.

“Time is a great storyteller.”

This gem reflects the Irish love of storytelling and suggests that the passing of time reveals truths and wisdom.

“Lost time is never found again.”

A sobering reminder that each moment wasted is gone forever, encouraging us to make the most of the hours we have.

Irish Facts About Time ⌛

The Irish relationship with time isn’t just poetic—it’s practical and historical too. Here are a few fascinating facts about how time has played a role in Ireland’s history and culture:

Ireland’s Own Time Zone Drama:

In 1916, during the Easter Rising, Ireland was still operating on Dublin Mean Time, 25 minutes and 21 seconds behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Post-independence in 1922, Ireland aligned with GMT to simplify matters, but the switch marked a subtle assertion of modernity while leaving behind an older, slower pace of life.

Ancient Irish Calendars:

The Celtic calendar divided the year into festivals marking the changing seasons: Samhain, Imbolc, Bealtaine, and Lughnasadh. These festivals weren’t just about seasons but also a way to measure time through nature’s rhythms.

Ireland’s Timeless Monuments:

Newgrange, built around 3,200 BC, is older than the Great Pyramids and Stonehenge. Its structure perfectly aligns with the winter solstice, illustrating the ancient Irish understanding and reverence for the cyclical nature of time.

“Irish Time” Phenomenon:

Known for a more relaxed approach to punctuality, “Irish time” often refers to the tendency to take things at one’s own pace. While it may cause a chuckle, it’s also a nod to valuing connection over the rigid ticking of the clock.

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This week's Irish jokes

The First Irish Christmas Joke:

Three men died on Christmas Eve and were met by Saint Peter at the pearly gates.

“In honour of this holy season,” Saint Peter said, “you must each possess something that symbolizes Christmas to get into heaven.”

The Englishman man fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a lighter. He flicked it on. It represents a candle, he said.

You may pass through the pearly gates Saint Peter said.

The Welsh man reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He shook them and said, “They’re bells” . Saint Peter said you may pass through the pearly gates.

The Irish man started searching desperately through his pockets and finally pulled out a pair of women’s panties.

St. Peter looked at the man with a raised eyebrow and asked, “And just what do those symbolize?”

The man replied, “They’re Carols”

So what is this week's top Irish poem?

A Christmas Childhood by Patrick Kavanagh

One side of the potato-pits was white with frost -

How wonderful that was, how wonderful!

And when we put our ears to the paling-post

The music that came out was magical.

The light between the ricks of hay and straw

Was a hole in Heaven's gable. An apple tree

With its December-glinting fruit we saw -

O you, Eve, were the world that tempted me.

To eat the knowledge that grew in clay

And death the germ within it! Now and then

I can remember something of the gay

Garden that was childhood's. Again.

The tracks of cattle to a drinking-place,

A green stone lying sideways in a ditch,

Or any common sight, the transfigured face

Of a beauty that the world did not touch.

My father played the melodion

Outside at our gate;

There were stars in the morning east

And they danced to his music.

Across the wild bogs his melodion called

To Lennons and Callans.

As I pulled on my trousers in a hurry

I knew some strange thing had happened.

Outside in the cow-house my mother

Made the music of milking;

The light of her stable-lamp was a star

And the frost of Bethlehem made it twinkle.

A water-hen screeched in the bog,

Mass-going feet

Crunched the wafer-ice on the pot-holes,

Somebody wistfully twisted the bellows wheel.

My child poet picked out the letters

On the grey stone,

In silver the wonder of a Christmas townland,

The winking glitter of a frosty dawn.

Cassiopeia was over

Cassidy's hanging hill,

I looked and three whin bushes rode across

The horizon — the Three Wise Kings.

And old man passing said:

‘Can't he make it talk -

The melodion.' I hid in the doorway

And tightened the belt of my box-pleated coat.

I nicked six nicks on the door-post

With my penknife's big blade -

there was a little one for cutting tobacco.

And I was six Christmases of age.

My father played the melodion,

My mother milked the cows,

And I had a prayer like a white rose pinned

On the Virgin Mary's blouse.

About the founder of Irish Around The World: 

Okay, some of you might be wondering.

Just who runs this Irish Around The World website?? 

Or maybe you don't care, haha. 

My name is Stephen Palmer from Co. Cork, and I have been involved in many Irish-related projects over the years. 

While it may seem this website is run by a whole team of highly skilled Irishmen, it is just run by myself. 

So, I want to thank you again for taking the time to subscribe and participate in the community. 

So, how did you start a website about Irish people around the world, Stephen?

Where it all began: 

I created a website in 2013 to help Irish people who are moving to Australia, and recently, a new group to help Irish ex-pats who are returning to Ireland.

I have always enjoyed reading about Irish heritage and how connected Irish people are around the world.

However, I felt that the websites did not connect the people to the information. Instead, they just published daily articles regardless of whether people cared about them or not. 

So, I decided to change it and create my own Facebook community called Irish Around The World.

It expanded to an Irish Around The World group, now with over 70k members!

Many of you have probably seen me popping in and out of our Facebook group. It has been amazing to see the interaction with each member. 

There have been many ups and downs in the groups. Laughs and tears but every day, it continues to move forward. Thanks for being a part of it.

Sign up here if you haven't joined yet and don't know what you are missing.

Thank you again for being a part of Irish Around The World. 

Have a great day! 

All the best, 

Stephen Palmer

P.S Invite your friends or family to this weekly newsletter. Just share this link with them: Irisharoundtheworld.com/join.