Despite the World's Covid 19 Suffering, Happy Saint Patrick's Day to You All

It's been months since I've had time to write a post. I'm currently working on a novel, which is taking an inordinate amount of time. However, the present global situation calls for some thoughts.

Like many countries across the world, Ireland is also coming to a standstill. While this day, the 17th of March, is Saint Patrick's Day, the pubs are empty. Parades have been cancelled. The spread of this virus continues, with almost 250 people in Ireland now diagnosed with this horrible illness.

But Life Continues

Yet, it is still Saint Patrick's Day. To that end, let's celebrate the day of our national saint first with a little song, some Saint Patrick's Day Music to let you jig a bit.  If you're stuck in the house like I am, I hope this compilation adds a little joy. Wherever you are, I hope you and your family are safe. At the same time, I hope you can raise a glass to friendship and those you love, and perhaps toast all those things that are Irish. As my friends say, this too shall pass, and when it does Ireland will still be here.

2020 Edition of A Survivor's Guide to Ireland

Too, it being Saint Patrick's Day, and knowing the world must keep spinning 'round, you should know that the 2020 Edition of A Survivor's Guide to Living in Ireland is now available.

If you're thinking of moving to Ireland like this Yank, this little tome might help. And though any plans you may have will have to be delayed, I pray your dreams will be intact when the crisis passes. To have a look at this Kindle version, visit the 2020 Edition webpage.

Stay safe. Bless you all. And a Happy Saint Patrick's Day wherever you might be.

Tom

Drowning the Shamrock on St. Paddy's Day

For those of you not in the know, St. Patrick's Day is Ireland's equivalent of July 4th. Only without the national anthem or the nationalism. In Ireland, we don't get all soppy when waving the flag. We don't sing the Irish National Anthem in the middle of a parade. In fact the Irish Anthem, "Amhran na bhFiann" (go to YouTube for a great version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV7lGmgFovM) isn't exactly conducive for such use. 

Unlike the US or UK national anthems, with their bold scoring and  rousing lyrics, the Irish Anthem is - well - gentle.

Play the Irish Anthem in a parade and the soft heart of its music and lyrics will be lost in the coughing roar of rusting tractors used to pull tiny floats created by locals for tuppence and flouting the benefits of the town's insurance company, or the raucous out-of-tune pipe and drum band that never quite gets the beat right, or the reams of kids crying to go home because it's cold and lashing rain and why would anyone in their right minds want to stand watching a boring old St Patrick's Day parade in the roaring rain anyway?

You see, it is always cold and rainy on St Patrick's Day. We count on that. The March sun might be blazing in the morning, but by the time the parade starts and as entire communities  throughout Ireland pour down main streets to attend their local parade, dark thunderous clouds will have rolled in. The temperatures will plummet, the sleeting rain will set in, and we'll all be miserable. Kids' smiles will turn to tears and parents will desperately try to rescue the situation with a little gentle coaching as in, "Ah fer feck sake, Johnny. We came all the way down here to watch the parade. Now watch it or we're going home and you won't be allowed any Telly tonight." Which only results in the kids crying even harder.

The Hardship of Lent

Ah St. Patrick's Day. Honestly, you'd think it to be a time of misery. We've the weather to contend with, of course, but then there's the matter of Lent which contributes to everyone's general distress. If you're not Catholic, you might not know what Lent is. Most have possibly heard of Fat Tuesday made popular by the Mardi Gras. That day is one of feasting, knowing that we're going to be deprived of something or other for the next forty days. On Fat Tuesday in Ireland, everyone eats pancakes. Now these are not U.S. pancakes. Rather, they're Irish pancakes - skinny little things that might look a bit like crepes only they're not. The shops sell plastic bottles of inadequate Pancake Batter in the weeks coming up to Fat Tuesday. When poured, it turns out to be a watery mixture that doesn't come close to the hearty pancakes that my mother used to make.

The Irish pour all sorts of stuff over them: jam, lemon juice, some sort of maple stuff that aspires to be maple syrup but isn't. Then they hoist them to their gobs, often hating the damned things, but it's tradition so what the heck and at least their stomachs are full.

Thee next day being Ash Wednesday, everyone troops down to the Church for Mass. They emerge an hour later with dark ashes in the shape of a cross dobbed onto their foreheads. It might be a blessing, but it's a desperate one because we all know that we're now staring 40 more days of penury in the face.

Penury is, of course, what you make of it. It's not like the old days when people had nothing to give up but were taunted by the Church to give up even more. Today, it's more of a reminder: Jesus suffered 40 days in the desert. So now it's your turn. The Church hands out cardboard Trocara boxes. These sit on coffee tables throughout the country. Irish folks everywhere throw spare change into them - change that many might ill afford - and at the end of Lent the money is sent overseas to help those even less fortunate. We're also encouraged by the Church and tradition to give up something. Many give up their mother-in-law. Some give up cigarettes. But many more throw caution to the wind and give up what they hold most dear:

The dreaded drink.

Drowning the Shamrock

So is it any wonder that parents across the country are so dour during the St Patrick's Day parade? Many are probably still suffering from the DTs and are close to madness due to Lent and abstinence.

BUT, and here's the thing. They're also cross due to anticipation. And what do they anticipate? Why Drowning the Shamrock on St Patrick's Day, of course. And here's how it works.

After the parade, everyone troops home. There, they'll sit down to dinner which consists of mashed potatoes with bacon and cabbage (another time honored St Paddy's tradition) that's been on the boil for the past 20 hours and sits on the plate like some sort of appalling sludge. Then, with bellies full, and while it might be only 2 in the afternoon or so, they'll walk out the door and make their way to the local pub.

For reasons I have never understood, Lent's fastings are shelved on St Paddy's Day. So it's no breach of abstinence to have a good few pints on the day. Which makes the day even more fun because we all behave rather like kids mitching from school for a free day off: we're all getting away with something. We take this break from dourness to make sure we don't all go around the twist before the real end of Lent some three weeks hence.

So we'll walk through the rain to the Local and there we'll sit back and join in the revelry. We'll have a pint or two. A hot whiskey or maybe three. An Irish Coffee or maybe five. We'll sing songs and laugh and enjoy each other's company. And for a moment, we'll forget about being soaked to the skin at the parade, and of the Lenten fast that we've all endured, and the fact that it's still raining buckets outside and Spring isn't set to truly start for a good few weeks yet.

And having drunk what we've drunk, and at the end of the night, someone might yet break into a soft gentle version of the Irish Anthem. In the quiet warmth of the local, you can hear the warming words sung by Irish everywhere. Words that only now, on this day of nation's pride, can be fully appreciated.

Happy St Patrick's Day. And do yourself a favor: drown the Shamrock this coming 17th March, will ya? Before ya drive everyone around ya completely around the twist.

2018 Edition: A SURVIVOR'S GUIDE TO LIVING IN IRELAND NOW AVAILABLE!
A Perfect Gift for Saint Patrick's Day.

If this blog interests you and you want to learn more about Ireland why not consider purchasing A SURVIVOR'S GUIDE TO LIVING IN IRELAND 2018 EDITION.

Are you thinking about living and working in Ireland? Would you like to move to Ireland? Do you want to know how to get an Irish Work Visa? 

Do you need to know how Brexit and Trump policies may affect your plans? If so, consider purchasing the 2018 EDITION OF A SURVIVOR'S GUIDE TO LIVING IN IRELAND by Tom Richards. 

Now almost 90,000 words long, this book could make the perfect gift for  those interested in this wonderful country. Over 14,000 people have now learned how to live, laugh, and drink like the Irish by reading this Kindle ebook. I hope you enjoy, and my very best - Tom

Saint Patrick's Day - What the Irish Get Up To and What They Don't

It's the day after St. Patrick's Day and over the course of the last 24 hours I've been scanning how people around the world (particularly in the United States) celebrate the day.

It still quite amazes me that a country the size of Ireland has managed to influence the world to Go Green once a year. It's sort of baffling, actually. I mean: the world doesn't have a day devoted to Italy once a year, does it? We don't all tank up on Spaghetti and pitchers full of Chianti and raise a glass to some Italian saint none of us have heard of, do we?

The world doesn't celebrate George Washington Day once a year nor toast the good health of King Richard III or become teary-eyed when reminiscing the French Saint Albaud of Toul. Nor do governments insist on the once a year display of their favourite monuments in garish yellow lights to commemorate a complete foreigner. As I say, the global breadth of Saint Patrick on March 17 every year still baffles me. It is unique and therefore somehow thrilling.

But...what I find even more baffling are the various ways some of my American friends and acquaintances celebrate the day. Based on what they say, they truly believe their celebratory adventures are in keeping with the traditions of Ireland. And while I don't mean to burst anyone's bubble many of these practices are completely foreign to the Irish.

So I thought a short list was in order: things that most Irish simply will not do on Saint Patrick's Day...and what they actually get up to.

What Most Irish Will Not Do on St. Patrick's Day

1. It is St. Patrick's Day, not Patty's Day - oh how many times have I heard folks name the day after a Patricia I've never heard of? It's PATRICK'S Day. Not Paddy's Day or Patty's Day or anything in between.
2. Drink Green Beer - which is an absolute sacrilege. Most beer drunk in Ireland on this day of days is black. It's called Guinness. Drinking green beer is heretical. The Irish have died for less.
3. Drink Beer in Pitchers - pitchers do not exist in Ireland. Beer comes in pint glasses. It also comes in 'a glass' - that is, when you want a 1/2 pint of beer over here, you order a Glass of beer. Good beer also comes in tins (cans) but it is drunk that way in the summer months only and out in the back garden. On St Patrick's Day, beer is drunk by the pint and nothing less will quite do.
4. Eat Anything Unnaturally Green - in Ireland on St Patrick's Day we are not allowed to buy and eat Green Bagels. We don't eat: green potatoes, green biscuits (cookies), or green ice cream (other than Mint which is perfectly acceptable). The Irish do eat green cabbage but that's because it comes that way.
5. Dye Rivers Green - on St Patrick's Day the Irish do not Dye the Shannon River green. Nor the Liffey River, though  the Liffey often looks green anyway. Nor any other inland waterway. If it's not naturally green - if a body of water is pink for instance - it's just going to have to stay that way over the Patrick's Day week.
6. Dye Bits and Pieces of Their Bodies Green - though some here may embrace this practice, most don't. Hair or other body parts are not dyed green. Period.
7. Eat Corned Beef and Cabbage for Dinner - in all my years here I don't think I've ever heard of an Irish person eating Corned Beef for dinner. On St Patrick's Day, many will have Bacon and Cabbage, but do not confuse 'Bacon' with fried bacon strips which many Americans  have for breakfast. Here, Bacon is a cut of pork, a fine lump of meat much like ham. Boil it up for hours, serve with boiled cabbage and boiled spuds, and voila! But on St Patrick's Day the Irish may also eat: duck, beef, Chinese Take-Away, lamb and many other items. Ideally, these are all washed down with vast quantities of Guinness.
8. Dress Their Children Up Like Leprechauns - here we don't need to dress our kids up like wee little people. Leprechauns can be found in glens and forests. We prefer the real kind and don't want to mislead our children into thinking they can spin beer into pots of Gold.

What Most Irish Do on St. Patrick's Day

1. Go to Mass - it's a Saint's Day, right? It's our day of national celebration, also correct? Which means many of us go to a Mass of thanksgiving on this day. Particularly because in Ireland it's a holy day of obligation and we'll be damned for all time if we don't go.
2. Drown the Shamrock - many Irish give up the dreaded drink for the 40 days of Lent. But: Lent ends only at Easter. On the 17 of March, Easter is still weeks away which means technically those of us who have promised to abstain still should. But - we have a secret weapon. On St Patrick's Day the Irish embrace an unauthorised day of absolution. Which means Lent or no Lent, many will drink like fishes.
3. Attend the Parade - on St. Patrick's Day, it seems every little town and village has their very own St Patrick's Day Parade. These are small, often rural, affairs. Parades are often created from: tractors, ambulances, the local Garda Siochana, children dressed in all sorts of bright attire, local school bands whether they can play or not, the local landed gentry riding large horses, and the drunken rabble who pour out of local pubs to watch. Invariably it rains on St Patrick's Day which means we all clutch hot whiskey's in our mits while trying not to look miserable.
4. Wear Shamrock - shamrock is real. It's a wee little 3-leafed plant that is absolutely glorious. Only 2 days ago, our great Taoiseach (Prime Minister) gave a bowl of this magical stuff to the current President of the United States who apparently didn't understand the significance of it all and possibly tossed it down the toilet. The Irish don't get bowls of Shamrock. Instead, we pick it and pin it to our clothing. Within an hour or two the greenery dries up and dies but it is wonderful while it lasts. 
5. Go  to the Local Pub - related to Drowning the Shamrock (above), going to the Local is a tried and tested tradition. What's more: all are welcome. Whole families show up including crying children, bored teenagers, and parents intent on enjoying themselves despite the wails of their infants. Going to the Local Pub is obligatory on St Patrick's Day.
6. Go Back to the Local Pub - I should explain that many make an initial trip to the Local following Mass or the Parade, with families in tow. After that, most retire home for dinner (see comments on Bacon and Cabbage above). After that, and perhaps after an hour's nap if one is so lucky, some sneak back out to enjoy themselves at the Local until the wee hours.
7. Sing and Dance - if you're lucky, your Local will also have brought in a Traditional Group. Often consisting of a fiddler, Bodhran player, pipes if you're fortunate, accordion or squeeze box player, a fellow on guitar, and a man or woman with a lusty voice, drunken local folk will sing along until the band stops playing - or even longer than that. 

And there you have it. What's done and not done in Ireland on our National Saint's Day. Which means, if you're living elsewhere and want to practice a traditional Irish St Patrick's Day in future, all you need to do is:

• Go to Mass even if you're not Catholic
• Attend a Parade even if you have to go to the other side of the country to find one
• Eat Bacon and Cabbage, not Corned Beef and Cabbage
• Refuse to eat anything unnaturally green
• Find your local pub and stay there
• Sing and dance until you're simply not able to anymore

Or - climb on a plane and come here to experience a real Irish St Patrick's Day yourself. Happy St Patrick's Day everyone - even if it's a day late.

A Survivor's Guide to Living in Ireland 2017 Kindle Edition Now Available!

If this blog interests you and you want to learn more about Ireland why not consider purchasing A Survivor's Guide to Living in Ireland 2017 Edition. Are you thinking about living and working in Ireland? Would you like to move to Ireland? Do you want to know how to get an Irish work visa in this country? Do you need to know how Brexit and Trump policies may affect your plans? If so, consider purchasing the 2017 edition of A Survivor's Guide to Living in Ireland by Tom Richards. Now almost 90,000 words long, this book could make the perfect gift for  those interested in this wonderful country. Over 14,000 people have now learned how to live, laugh, and drink like the Irish by reading this Kindle ebook. I hope you enjoy, and my very best - Tom