Ramblings | Irish American Mom

Romance And The Irish

February 13, 2016 by Irish American Mom 6 Comments

Especially for Valentine’s Day, I thought we might explore the topic of romance and the Irish.

I know we are not world renowned romantics like the French and the Italians, but Ireland is a land of poets and balladeers, so we must have a romantic side too.

Sending Anonymous Valentine’s Cards:

When I was growing up in Dublin, St. Valentine’s Day was just for teenagers and those in their early 20’s. Unsigned cards were delivered through mail boxes across the city, raising all kinds of questions about would-be card senders, and potential admirers.

Who sent who a card was the topic of the day. Now that I am many years older I realize most of the cards were sent by parents, not yearning admirers.

My Irish Romantic Credentials:

Since those early days of penning anonymous Valentine’s cards, I must confess I have done little to develop my romantic credentials.

Truth be told, the very mention of Valentine’s Day makes me cringe, just a tad. After 23 years of marriage, I understand a little about love and commitment, but when Valentine’s Day comes around I find all the commercially-driven, compulsory outpourings of love a little off-putting.

And so since my romantic credentials are so sadly lacking I thought I would recruit the help of the good folk at Celtic Cross Online, who put together this informative graphic about the Irish and romance.

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Romantic Ireland’s Alive And Well:

If you enjoyed this information you may wish to explore some lessons in love from old Irish sayings, or perhaps you might smile as you read about love and marriage, Irish style.

And so, are the Irish any good at romance?

The big problem I perceive is that romance itself is very hard to define.

We Irish may not be any good at showy demonstrations of love and affection which are universally accepted as romantic gestures. But if you carefully examine the romantic traditions outlined in this graphic and our old Irish sayings, it’s clearly evident we’re very good at loyalty and commitment.

For me, romance has nothing in the world to do with money wasted on unnecessary gifts or flowers. For me, romance is something completely intangible and priceless. It’s the ongoing devotion that helps us plod onward together in life, through thick and thin, always trusting in each other’s love and support.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all!

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

P.S. This is not a sponsored post and I don’t have a business relationship with the good folks at Celtic Cross Online. I simply enjoyed their infographic, appreciate the effort they put into creating it, and thought you might like it too.

The Most Cups Of Tea Poured In An Hour

September 23, 2015 by Irish American Mom 18 Comments

This week at the Irish Ploughing Championships a world record has been broken. A very important world record, mind you.

The Guinness Book of Records for the Most Cups of Tea Poured in an Hour now rests with the Irish. A fitting home for such a prestigious honor. As you know, we Irish love our cuppa tea.

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The Irish Ploughing Championships:

This week the Irish National Ploughing Championships are in full swing.

I’d love to attend this event, and don my fanciest wellies to mingle the highways and byways of the exhibit tents, learning all about the agricultural wonders of the country of my birth.

Dear American readers, please forgive my Irish spelling of the word “ploughing”. I know American farmers do the “plowing”, but I just can’t bring myself to type it so when referring to “The Ploughing”, as this festival is lovingly referred to in Ireland.

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Despite growing up in Dublin’s Fair City, I ~~hale~~ hail from two rural Cork families. Farming is in my blood, and I think I’d be in my element at this fantastic festival of Irish farming. Someday I’m going to get there.

Back To The Tea:

This year the Tea Pouring World Record caught my attention. You can’t beat an ingenious, quirky world record attempt as the basis for a good story.

An expert team of 12 tea-pourers from Lidl supermarket smashed the previous record of 1,608 cups set last April in London.

The Irish tea team poured and poured, until they filled no less than 1,848 cuppas in just 60 minutes. Now that’s a lot of tea, 240 cups more than the previous record.

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Thirsty Farmers?

Tea, the beloved beverage of my homeland, must be made in teapotfuls, kettlefuls, nay bucketfuls, to quench the thirst of parched farmers at a ploughing championship.

But wait, all that tea just went to waste. Health and safety regulations dictated it was not fit for consumption.

Well I’ll be. Why on God’s good earth could fine cups of Irish tea not be enjoyed?

Oh let me think over my granny’s rules of Irish tea making ….

Fully Boil The Water:

Perhaps the water wasn’t quite at boiling point.

For a real Irish cuppa the kettle must be hopping off the stove before even attempting to make the tay.

There were no American style singing kettles in my granny’s kitchen. But I remember the black kettle hanging on the hook above the lapping flames. It bubbled and spewed steam for a few minutes before the water was deemed “ready for the tay.”

Scald The Pot:

And what about scalding the pot?

There’s no way to properly scald the pot before making 1,848 cups of tea, and we Irish all know from our mammies and grannies that scalding the pot is a prerequisite for a good pot of tea.

Brew The Tea For At Least 3 Minutes:

Churning out barrels of tea in an hour could mean the minimum required 3-minute brewing time was probably not adhered to.

Did the Guinness judges test the strength of each and every one of those 1,848 cups of tea, because my granny’s tea had to be a perfect shade of mahogany brown?

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Black Tea or Milky Tea?

How do you set the rules and standards for a good cup of Irish tea?

Do you want a milky brew?- Very Irish
A cuppa with a slice of lemon?- Not so Irish
How about a dash of milk and a spoon or two, or three of sugar? – Some like it sweet, you know.
How about a dash of the good stuff? – A little whiskey and honey goes a long way for a sore throat….

The options are endless. I understand fully why the Guinness judges settled on a black brew of plain tea.

Congratulations To The Tea Makers:

And so I say well done to all the brave tea pourers at “The Ploughing”.

Congratulations on such an outstanding achievement, working together to celebrate one of our favorite Irish pastimes, drinking tea.

And don’t mind what health and safety say … if I was there I’d have enjoyed a cup or two of your expertly poured brew.

I hope everyone had fun breaking this tea pouring record. And a big thank you to the good folks from Lidl who organized this event.

Wishing everyone the peace and relaxation of drinking a nice cuppa tea, and not having to worry about pouring another two thousand cups.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

A Rose For William Butler Yeats

March 30, 2015 by Irish American Mom 4 Comments

This year, 2015 is the 150th anniversary of the birth of William Butler Yeats, Ireland’s renowned and beloved poet. To mark the occasion the good folks at The Secret Gardens of Sligo are launching a brand new Irish rose to be named in his honor.

William_Butler_Yeats_by_John_Singer_Sargent_1908 — Public Domain – Portrait of William Butler Yeats by John Singer Sargent, 1908

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Why Name A Rose For Yeats:

Naming a rose is a very special privilege, one that Yeats truly deserves. A beautiful red rose has been chosen which eloquently reflects Yeats’ lines:

‘Red rose, proud rose…Rose of all my days!’

This is a flower that will be a timeless legacy to Ireland’s most distinguished poet.

“Surely thine hour has come, thy great wind blows,

Far-off, most secret, and inviolate Rose?”

~ The Secret Rose, by WB Yeats

Yeats referred to roses in many of his works, making it all the more fitting that this rose, named in his honor, be launched in Sligo, Yeats’ ‘Land of Heart’s Desire”.

http://www.irishamericanmom.com/2013/05/24/foggy-ben-bulben/ — County Sligo

The Rose As A Symbol Of Ireland:

Roses are often associated with England, not Ireland, but in a previous post I explored this misconception, and hopefully firmly established the rose as a symbol of Ireland.

In centuries past The Black Rose was sometimes used as a code word for Ireland, when English law prohibited direct references to Ireland as a nation.

http://www.irishamericanmom.com/2014/06/16/the-rose-as-a-symbol-of-ireland — Wild Roses In Ireland

Even Yeats drew upon the Irish cultural symbolism of roses and rose trees …..

.. ‘But where can we draw water,’

Said Pearse to Connolly,

“When all the wells are parched away?

O plain as plain can be

There’s nothing but our own red blood

Can make a right Rose Tree.’”

~ from ‘The Rose Tree’ by WB Yeats

Creating A New Rose:

I am a rose-lover, but I confess I knew little about how they are bred until I was contacted by the Secret Gardens of Sligo to introduce me to this project. I was surprised to learn it takes eight years to develop a new rose.

Not every attempt is successful, with failure adding to the expense of the process.

WB Yeats Rose:

Yeats’ rose has been bred by Dickson’s Rose Nursery, in Newtownards in Couty Down, and I’m delighted to report it has passed all its initial trials with flying colors.

It has even been awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Hague International Rose Trials, a Trials Ground Certificate by the Royal National Rose Society and, just recently, a Gold Medal by the RNRS.

Kudos to the developers. A prize winning rose is surely what our Nobel prize winning poet deserves.

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According to the developers ….

“The rose to be named for WB Yeats is a scarlet floribunda with bright golden stamens. It is disease resistant and will flower all season long. Each individual bloom on its multi-headed stems opens semi-flat to form a spectacular show.”

WB Yeats roses can be ordered in advance, but availability will initially be limited because it is a new variety.

Those ordering roses can expect delivery in autumn 2016. Inquiries can be sent by e-mail sent to:

[email protected]

A Little Help For Yeats’ Rose

This is Yeats Year, and to help launch his rose, donations towards the cost of this brand new, specially bred rose are greatly appreciated. As The Secret Gardens of Sligo say …..

“Every fiver helps!”

You can also help by sharing their Facebook page with your friends!

They also have a Facebook page specifically dedicated to this project called An Irish Rose For Yeats.

Details of how to donate are on their website.

Thank You:

I wish to extend my gratitude to all who have worked on this wonderful project. This beautiful rose is the culmination of years of planning and fund raising, and it’s wonderful to see this magnificent flower blooming in this special year in which we remember Yeats.

Wishing you every success as you complete your dedicated work.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

Living In Ireland, Then And Now

February 26, 2015 by Irish American Mom 4 Comments

Life in Ireland has changed significantly over the past 150 years. Old images relate stories of the past to us, but have you ever wondered how specific locations in Ireland might have changed with the passing of time?

In today’s post a Cork Photographer tells of his experiences in recreating some of the region’s most iconic images from days gone by.

A big thank you to James Walsh from My Ireland Tour in Cork, detailing his amazing work. And so I’ll hand you over to James to tell his story.

Ireland Then And Now

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For the first 30 years of my life, living in Cork, I had never noticed any real changes taking place in the city.

I guess when you see a place every day the little differences don’t tend to resonate as much. But I recently moved back to the city after spending a year in the UK and, returning home, I couldn’t believe what I saw.

Cork had changed. It must have been all the small, subtle changes I’d never taken note of before.

A paint job on my favorite pub, a new coffee shop, different road layouts, a juice bar next to the War Memorial on the Grand Parade. It felt as though I’d traveled into the future, even if really I’d been left in the past.

After a few days back I started to adjust to my surroundings and it started to feel like the Cork I know and love.

At the same time I kept thinking about the change, wondering if it had changed that much in a year how much had it changed in the last 5 or 10 years.

Knowing about my background in film and photography, a local tourism company called My Ireland Tour asked me to produce a photographic resource based in Cork and I immediately knew the pitch should be “the changing face of Cork city” – an article showing photos of Cork as it was and recreating those same iconic images today.

mit monument — Grand Parade, Cork, as it is today.

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I started by researching old archive photos of Cork (some dating back as far as the 1880’s) and marking out the ones that I could recreate from the same location. The results, when put side by side, were fascinating. The cars, clothes, shop fronts had all drastically changed over time but the essence of the city was still there. It was still Cork. It was still Cork people going about their day.

The little story-telling nuances really brought each image to life for me and, bringing in a web-design specialist, I added a ‘magnifying glass’ tool which allows visitors to see every detail up close.

Whether you want to have a closer look at the mysterious woman dashing across Patrick’s Street in 1902 or the license plates of the cars parked across the Grand Parade in 1948 the magnifying glass really adds an extra level of enjoyment to the page. I hope you enjoy browsing through it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Ireland Then and Now : Images of Cork, past and present was conceived, captured and shared by James Walsh on behalf of My Ireland Tour.

A big thank you to James for his amazing work and this guest post. I hope you all enjoy the pictures of Cork, both old and new, which can be accessed through the links above. I loved using the magnifying tool to appreciate details of the pictures from the past.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings),

Irish American Mom

Valentine’s Day In Ireland

February 13, 2015 by Irish American Mom 10 Comments

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and many of you may be curious about how Irish people celebrate this most romantic day of the year.

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And here’s a little question to whet your appetite for romantic information about my fellow country men and women….

Which Irish person receives

the most Valentine’s cards each year?

Incredibly, the answer is the late Michael Collins. Almost 93 years after his death, Ireland’s revolutionary leader receives a plethora of Valentine’s cards, which are placed on his grave in Glasnevin cemetery.

When I read this fact in a wonderful infographic created by the good folks at Killarney Hotels, I thought I should share their research with you.

Truth be told I’m no Valentine’s expert. We do little to celebrate the day in our house. When my eldest son was asked to write a story at school answering the following question:

What does your family do to celebrate Valentine’s Day?

He answered truthfully, honestly and concisely by writing at the top of a long page of lines …..

Nothing

That’s my romantic Irish boy. Remember the same child answered his teacher’s question about why he loves his mom, by answering “because she does the work“.

And so, as the mother of such a budding Irish romantic, my level of Valentine’s expertise demands I hand you over to the highly informed hoteliers in Killarney, who are more keenly in tune with the romantic side of my homeland. I hope you enjoy this little round up of facts about Irish Valentine celebrations……..

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Wishing you all a very romantic and happy Valentine’s Day 2015.

Slán agus beannacht,

Goodbye and blessings,

Irish American Mom

P.S. This is not a sponsored post and I don’t have a business relationship with the good folks at Killarney Hotels. I simply enjoyed their infographic, appreciate the work they put into creating it, and thought you might like it too.

Sending Anonymous Valentine’s Cards:

My Irish Romantic Credentials:

Romantic Ireland’s Alive And Well:

And so, are the Irish any good at romance?

Happy Valentine’s Day to all!

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

The Irish Ploughing Championships:

Back To The Tea:

Thirsty Farmers?

Fully Boil The Water:

Scald The Pot:

Brew The Tea For At Least 3 Minutes:

Black Tea or Milky Tea?

Congratulations To The Tea Makers:

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

Why Name A Rose For Yeats:

‘Red rose, proud rose…Rose of all my days!’

“Surely thine hour has come, thy great wind blows,

Far-off, most secret, and inviolate Rose?”

~ The Secret Rose, by WB Yeats

The Rose As A Symbol Of Ireland:

.. ‘But where can we draw water,’

Said Pearse to Connolly,

“When all the wells are parched away?

O plain as plain can be

There’s nothing but our own red blood

Can make a right Rose Tree.’”

~ from ‘The Rose Tree’ by WB Yeats

Creating A New Rose:

WB Yeats Rose:

[email protected]

A Little Help For Yeats’ Rose

“Every fiver helps!”

Thank You:

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

Ireland Then And Now

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings),

Irish American Mom

Which Irish person receives

the most Valentine’s cards each year?

What does your family do to celebrate Valentine’s Day?

Nothing

Slán agus beannacht,

Goodbye and blessings,

Irish American Mom

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