Custom Search

Site Index | Kids | Kitchen | Shopping | Poetry | Weddings | Travel | Basic Irish | Quotes | Books | Music | Movies | Trivia | Blessings | Jokes | Links |

 


History Page
Traditions, folklore, history and more. If it's Irish, it's here. Or will be!

"People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors."
-Edmund Burke

Home Page

Index


Kids Page

Kitchen Recipe Page


Quotes

Library: Books, Movies, Music

Prints & Photos

Poetry

Jokes


Irish Wedding



Shops Ireland


Bunús na Gaeilge
(Basic Irish)


Circle of Prayer

Blessings



Did You Know?


Himself/Herself

Write to Us

Readers Write..

Links/Link to Us

Advertise with us

Awards & Testimonials

Submissions Guide






   

Anam Cara
by Gayla Templeton

As we grow older, we cherish our friends more and more. And we also realize how few stay friends for life. Although we swore to be friends forever with all our high school chums, most of us can think of only one or two special people who fit the description of a friend for life. No matter how many miles separate us, or how long it has been since we have seen one another, when we are together, it is as if we have never parted. We can take up a conversation right where we were when we parted and within minutes are laughing again about something so funny the rest of the world will never get the joke.

The Irish have a phrase that describes that kind of friendship. Anam Cara in Gaelic means Soul Friend. It is believed that we are kindred spirits who have known and loved one another before time began. The Irish believe our souls form an aura, or halo around us. Our souls literally ebb and flow through time, coming together with recognition each time we meet. Once our souls are joined we will always recognize one another.

I have been fortunate enough to have two Anam Cara in my life and not surprisingly, both Irish. Even the patterns of our lives have been so similar that we enjoy the same music, have similar religious convictions and married the same kind of person.

When my friend Katheleen was taken at thirty seven by breast cancer, I didn't think I would ever find another friend that I would feel such a kinship with. It did take several years but then I realized a friend who had drifted in and out of my life was really an Anam Cara. She is the kind of friend that will always know what I mean when I can't get the words right, show up just when I need a shoulder to cry on and tell me when I am letting my life get out of balance.

I believe husbands and lovers can be Anam Cara but unfortunately, some are not. Perhaps we didn't wait for our soul friend to come to us. We actually need that special person to make our own soul complete. The Irish believe each of us has a soul friend but you may have to slow down and let your souls reconnect.

Everyone needs a good Irish blessing and mine is that your Anam Cara will walk with you today.

'Gather friends like flowers for they are an enchanting garden of magic and wonder.'


Images: Special Place by Gail Goodwin from All Posters and Prints.

Gayla says up above that husbands can be Anam Cara. I can't say what Bridget thought but I know she was my Anam Cara and, of course, I hope she believed I was hers. If it's a sign, we often laughed hard enough to cry at things that no one else would have understood.

—Russ

 

Thu, Feb 29, 2024

St Patrick's Cathedral

The National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St. Patrick is the full official name and, according to tradition, St Patrick baptised several converts at a well in what is now a park adjacent to the cathedral. To commemorate this event, a small wooden church was built. In 1901, the well was rediscovered and an ancient granite stone, marked with a Celtic cross which covered the well, was moved into the cathedral. The parish church on this site was one of four Celtic churches in Dublin and was known as St Patrick's in Insula - on the island - as it was built on an island between two branches of the River Poddle which still flows under the cathedral.
Image: StPatrick's Cathedral.ie

Click for More Culture Corner.




Anam Cara - A Book of Celtic Wisdom

"Once the soul awakens, the search begins and you can never go back." Quoted from this lyrical, literary gem written by Fr. John O'Donohue.
Click for Anam Cara


 

Site Index | Kids | Kitchen | Shopping | Poetry | Weddings | Travel | Basic Irish
Quotes |
Books | Music | Movies | Trivia | Blessings | Jokes | Links |

  All contents copyright © 2001 through 2011 inclusive - all rights reserved.
March 4, 2011
   
Rollover button Images:
Wedding LaRose, Kids Reading & Kitchen Apples and Tea from All Posters prints.
The information provided on this site is offered as-is, without warranty. This site's owners, operators, authors and partners disclaim any and all liability from the information provided herein.
Any trademarks or registered trademarks on this site are the property of their respective owners.
 

This Web Site Bashed, Kicked & Glued together by Russ Haggerty.