Hi there,

Here's your weekly dose of Irish for May 6th 2022...

Did you know? You may be wondering if the beer brand has anything to do with the Guinness Book of World Records. The answer is yes, these two are related, and this is one of the most fun facts about Ireland.

• Back in the 1950s, Sir Hugh Beaver was the managing director of Guinness. He got into an argument with friends regarding the fastest game bird; realising no one was conceding defeat, they turned to books. Unfortunately, there were no such books as the records found in the Guinness Book of World Records today — and there and then, the idea was born.

Dublin is said to have the widest street in Europe, O’Connell Street (49 meters wide).

Irish sayings: There’s no need to fear the wind if your haystacks are tied down.

Latest updates:

• I certainly am enjoying the warmer days as we get closer and closer to summer. My post last week on the last of the Cycling postman was well admired. If you missed it, check it out here.
• Have a fantastic weekend! I am off to Spain for some much-needed sunshine!

This week's posts:

📈 How To Stop Rising Inflation In Ireland? – 1974

Well, I don’t know about you, but I have felt the pinch in my pocket the past few months.

Inflation affects just about every single person. Well, except maybe Elon …

The post How To Stop Rising Inflation In Ireland? – 1974 appeared first on Irish Around The World.

Click here to read more.

🦢 Irish Poem: Leda and the Swan, By W. B. Yeats

It has been a while since I featured a poem by the great W.

B Yeats from the top 100 Irish poems list.

This week the poem comes in at number …

The post Irish Poem: Leda and the Swan, By W.B.Yeats appeared first on Irish Around The World.

Click here to read more.

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This week's Irish jokes:

Four men were bragging about how intelligent their dogs were. One man was an engineer, the second man was an accountant, the third man was a chemist, and the fourth was a government worker. To show off, the engineer called to his dog. "T-square, do your stuff." T-square trotted over to a desk, took out some paper and a pen, and promptly drew a circle, a square, and a triangle. Everyone agreed that that was quite clever. The accountant said that his dog could do better. He called to his dog and said, "Spreadsheet, do your stuff." Spreadsheet went out into the kitchen and returned with a dozen cookies. He divided them into four equal piles of three cookies each. Everyone agreed that that was good. The chemist said that his dog could do better still. He called to his dog and said, "Measure, do your stuff."Measure got up, walked over to the fridge, took out a quart of milk, got a ten-ounce glass from the cupboard, and poured exactly eight ounces without spilling a drop. Everyone agreed that that was very impressive. Then the three men turned to the government worker and said, "What can your dog do?" The government worker called to his dog and said, "Coffee Break, do your stuff." Coffee Break jumped to his feet, ate the cookies, drank the milk, claimed he had injured his back while doing so, filed a grievance report for unsafe working conditions, put in for workers' compensation, and went home for the rest of the day on sick leave. They all agreed that that was brilliant!

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A young man from America went to visit his 90-year old grandfather, who lived in a very secluded, rural part of Ireland. After his first night, his grandfather prepared a traditional Irish breakfast consisting of eggs, bacon and black pudding. The young man noticed a filmy substance on his plate, and he asked his grandfather: "Are these plates clean?" His grandfather replied: "Those plates are as clean as cold water can get them, so go on now and finish your meal." Later in the day, while eating the sandwich his grandfather had made for lunch, the young man noticed specks around the edge of his plate and what looked like dried egg yolks. So he asked again: "Are you sure these plates are clean?" Without looking up from his sandwich, the grandfather says: "I told you before, those dishes are as clean as cold water can get them - stop being so fussy -you're in Ireland now, not back in America!" That afternoon, the young man was on his way out to the pub in a nearby village. As he was leaving, his grandfather's dog started to growl and would not let him pass. "Granddad," the young man called, "your dog won't let me out." Without diverting his attention from the newspaper he was reading, his grandfather shouted: "COLDWATER, get out of the way!"

So what is this week's top Irish poem?

Leda and the Swan, By W. B. Yeats

It has been a while since I featured a poem by the great W.B Yeats from the top 100 Irish poems list. This week the poem comes in at number 98—a powerful sonnet composed by Yeats in 1923. A Sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines using a number of formal rhyme schemes.

The poem focuses on the story from the Greek myth in which Zeus, having adopted the form of a swan, ravishes the girl Leda and impregnates her with the child who will become Helen of Troy. It’s a big subject, and there’s a lot of literature and artwork on the web. It is also quite unusual for Yeats as he typically did not write sonnets. Enjoy this incredible Irish poem. Be sure to comment below with what you thought. 

Leda and the Swan

BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS

A sudden blow: the great wings beating still

Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed

By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill,

He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.

How can those terrified vague fingers push

The feathered glory from her loosening thighs?

And how can body, laid in that white rush,

But feel the strange heart beating where it lies?

A shudder in the loins engenders there

The broken wall, the burning roof and tower

And Agamemnon dead.

                                 Being so caught up,

So mastered by the brute blood of the air,

Did she put on his knowledge with his power

Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?

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