|
 |
|
"People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors."
Quotes
Shops Ireland Bunús na Gaeilge Himself/Herself Write to Us Readers Write.. Links/Link to Us Advertise with us Awards & Testimonials
|
 Mother's Day in Irelandby Bridget Haggerty In Ireland and the UK, Mothering Sunday or Mother's Day is always on the fourth Sunday of Lent. In the USA and other countries, it is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Whenever you honor the matriarch of your family, the origins and customs of her special day are fascinating.  Poems & Lyrics in honour of Irish MothersCompiled by Bridget Haggerty I well remember listening to my dad sing Mother Machree. I thought it was the mother’s last name. It wasn’t until I started learning a little bit of the Irish decades later that I discovered ma cree (mochrói) meant my heart. Certainly, it’s a far better fit! But, regardless of the meaning, it has remained a favourite, joined along the way with other poems and tributes to Irish mothers. Herewith, just a sampling.  A Powerful Woman by Bridget Haggerty She stood about five nothing and never weighed more than 100lbs her entire life. My father, at just 5'9", towered above her and worshipped the ground she walked upon.  The Bright Flames of Mayby Cormac MacConnell It was a May Day that I remember well, a long time ago now, and I was wearing a pair of short trousers and the warm wood of the First Class desk was warm against the backs of my thighs and the Mahon twins were standing in front of the teacher, Miss Rooney. Oona was in floods of tears. Hughie was defiant, arms folded across his small gansied chest, but the tears were not too far away either. In between huge sucking kind of sobs Oona was looking deeply into her mother’s cloth shopping bag.  Marry in May and Rue the Dayby Bridget Haggerty When I told our daughter about this old Irish verse, she changed her wedding date from May to April: Marry in April if you can, joy for maiden and for man. I am convinced that if couples make the effort, they can have a totally Irish celebration from beginning to end - even to the pre-wedding parties. There's one quaint custom where the groom was invited to the bride's house right before the wedding and they cooked a goose in his honor. It was called Aitin' the gander and it has to be where we get the expression "his goose is cooked!" We threw one of these dinner parties for our daughter and everyone had a great time. (The apple-potato stuffing has become a family favorite!).  Who was Behind The Doors of Dublin?by Bridget Haggerty It was 1970 around St. Patrick’s Day that a colourful collage of Dublin doors appeared in the window of the irish Tourism offices on Fifth Avenue in New York City. People on their way to watch the parade were stopped in their tracks by what they saw. Drawn by the uniqueness of the image, many of them went inside to find out where they could get a copy. There were so many requests that Joe Malone, North American Manager of Bord Fáilte at the time, commissioned the poster that has since become an icon of Ireland.  Bantry Bay in May...by Bridget Haggerty Bantry Bay's shores are washed by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. The bay itself is one of the world's deepest and it's also the largest of the long marine inlets in south-west Ireland.  Basic Irish: Mothering SundayAccording to our native speaker, Aideen, a special day for mothers has become just as commercialized in Ireland as it has in other countries - whether you celebrate it in Ireland on the third Sunday before Easter, or elsewhere on the second Sunday in May. It's also a relatively new holiday, and while the history books do show that mothers were honored in special ways at a certain time of year, the concept of saying "Happy Mother's Day" is a contemporary custom. For that reason, Aideen cautions us that the following Mother's Day phrases have been translated into literal Irish; they aren't in common usage among native Irish speakers. So, while this isn't exactly an "authentic" Irish lesson, the value lies more in seeing how Irish words and phrases are put together and in learning how they are pronounced.  The Young KingBy Oscar Wilde Edited and adapted by Bridget Haggerty* Note: Why did we edit it? Oscar, as we all know, was a master of the language and had an enormous vocabulary. To help the parents reading this story to their children we felt it was necessary to simplify some of Oscar's writing. This avoids the need to run for the dictionary every few minutes (also, it's pretty scary as Oscar did it).  Letter of the Month - FebruaryWe receive many lovely letters from visitors to our web site and subscribers to our newsletter. As we’re fond of saying, your feedback helps to make all of the time and effort worth while. While we have a Readers Write Page where we post comments from time to time, we’ve decided to also select a Letter of the Month - one that, for whatever reason, tickled our fancy.  Dear Bridget & Russ,
thanks a lot for these wonderful e-mails. I'm Hungarian without any Irish relations, but I love this place and would fancy to go there one day. Your mails are simply fascinating and I really look up to you for putting so much effort into this work. It's a real cultural treasure on the web! Best wishes, Photo Credit: Keewi Photography/Irish Corner |
 Irish Furze Called whin in the north and gorse in the east, furze was once a symbol of wealth and fertility of land as is emphasized by the saying: "gold under furze, silver under rushes and famine under heather."
|
