St. Patrick’s Day is upon us. This is the time of year when all of us (whether we have Irish heritage or not) are just “a little Irish.” In this updated edition of Off the Beaten Path, a few links related to the Irish and St. Patrick’s Day, featuring some new “lucky Irish” links.
This is the website for Ireland. If you were thinking about making a visit, this would be a great website to start with. With the size of Ireland and the different regions, you’ll find different experiences in different areas from Belfast to Dublin.
If you plan to make a trip to Ireland, what better way to fit in than to get to know the lingo and expressions. They do speak English in Ireland, but as we know from our own U.S. experience (think of the regional use of the words soda, pop, juice, and Coke as “interchangeable” expressions for a soft drink), they do have words that are slightly different. For instance, “heading to the jacks,” which means to the restroom.
The top international tourist attraction in Ireland in 2017 was Dublin’s St. James’s Brewery — and guess what is there. Yup! It’s the home the Guinness storehouse! Though Ireland has a lot of great and beautiful sights to see, who could miss seeing the home of Guinness (with its historical lease!).
After visiting the Guinness storehouse, here are 80 other very cool things you can do (if you are still awake and on your feet)! Ireland is a beautiful and fascinating country!
Shamrocks, green beer, silly hats, green clothing, bangers & mash, shepherd’s pie, cabbage … all part of what we (American’s) associate with St. Patrick’s Day. But what’s the real deal? From History.com is this link with information about St. Patrick’s Day, it’s original, how it’s celebrate, and how the Irish see it.
Irish Food for St. Patrick’s Day (or Anytime)
Who can resist corned beef and cabbage, Irish Stew, or Shepherd’s Pie? Each year at NAB, I make one of my first stops the Nine Fine Irishman pub (in New York New York) for some “lucky food.” Well, the food is good, but don’t know that it’s ever brought me much luck to “being in Vegas.” By the way, next month we’ll revisit “things to know before heading out to NAB in Vegas” in Off the Beaten Path.
America … the Country of Immigrants
From Biography.com, here’s a look at some of the most well-known Irish-Americans. From authors to politicians to actors, the U.S. has many great American’s with Irish heritage.
If you’d like to know more about St. Patrick, the same people from the Ireland website (above) trace the story of St. Patrick on this link.
Gangs of New York
In 2002, Martin Scorsese directed “Gangs of New York.” It was quite the movie about the different immigrants (including the Irish) who landed in New York City after immigrating to the United States. It showed the conflicts of different people and different heritages mixing together. Of course, this was JUST a movie, or was it? The movie actually DID reflect life in New York and The Discovery Channel presented a program called “Uncovering the Real Gangs of New York.” It’s a fascinating program!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J__ovpglAfs
Besides Enya, The Corrs, Flogging Molly (L.A.-based, though Celtic/punk), Sinead O’Connor, Van Morrison, The Cranberries, Bono, and many other Irish singers, the roots of Irish singers who gained popularity probably beginner with John McCormack. Though you probably don’t have “the cylinder” or 78 of “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” from 1914, it was one of his many “hits” and just one of hundreds of recordings he made beginning in 1904. Adding to our list of links is Archive.org. It has original McCormack recordings and maybe anything you are looking for.
And Finally …
Anne Corry, of Belfast, here is a link to some of her work.
If you stumble across a good or unusual website that might be of interest, please don’t hesitate to send me the link and any info you might have about it. Also, with the upcoming “heading to Las Vegas for NAB” edition, if you have any tips or stories to share, please send them my way. My email address is [email protected].
