Yes, it is St. Paddy’s Day once more. The green beer will doubtless be flowing in pubs around the world. Having seen what passes for “Irishness” in Australia and America, I’m rather relieved that St. David’s Day doesn’t get the same treatment. However, not everyone goes in for the Celtic Cuteness thing. John Scalzi does a pretty good job of representing Irish culture. In a similar but related vein, here are a few things he missed.
B is for Brian O’Driscoll, who might be a bit past his best but is still seriously cute and was sorely missed at Twickenham on Saturday.
C is for Cornwall, a Celtic country that Scalzi managed to miss off his list.
D is for Dustin the Turkey, Ireland’s latest signing star.
E is for England and Enemy.
G is for Guinness, which really does taste much better in Dublin than anywhere else.
H is for Horslips, Ireland’s greatest ever rock band (sorry Bono) and another omission from the Scalzi list.
M is for the Morrigan, not because I’m trying to summon her, but because she might be upset at being left out and having her upset is really not a good idea.
O is for Octocon, which sadly I haven’t been to for ages.
Q is for Q-Celtic. Irish might not have a letter Q in the alphabet, but the Latin alphabet doesn’t work very well for Celtic languages, which is why our words get spelled so strangely. There are two main families of Celtic languages, often known as P-Celtic (of which Welsh is an example) and Q-Celtic (of which Irish is an example) because words using p-like sounds in the one group use q-like sounds in the other.
R is for Rugby, a friendly, relaxing game that the Irish play when they want a rest from the serious violence of Gaelic Football and Hurling.
S is for Shane Williams whose salmon leap is a credit to any Celtic warrior and whose heroics on the field of Croke Park were instrumental in getting Wales through their toughest match of the tournament.
and T for for Toast to Life, a wonderful Irish idea.
Don’t forget M is for Michael Davitt, whom my wife is related to in some way.
I am glad I’m not the only one who is disgusted by the whole St. Patrick’s Day crap going on the US. It seems that everyone is Irish this day, even though they don’t know what Erin’s green shore even looks like.
Or what a terrible time the Irish has had up until recently in the states.
Its weird, but because of St Patty’s day I understand why the Native Americans are upset over the Cleveland Indians. Having your culture mocked and then assimiliated into some sort of crass commercialism is a slap to the face.
I had my eyes opened when I was in Melbourne over St. Patrick’s Day and was sharing an apartment with an Irishman.
Disgusted is perhaps too strong a word, because most of them actually mean well, but I do have a habit of rolling my eyes when I see Americans describe the works of Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull as “Celtic music”. (Not that they didn’t all have some Celtic influences, but really…)
Heh- it’s hard to call Jazz Flute over heavy metal Celtic 🙂
Well, my grandmother is Irish all the way, so I’ve had a very strong Irish up bringing (my great Uncle John used to try and teach me Gaelic- I wish I would’ve actually payed him attention, before he died. Of course, he did teach me to a jig of happyness, so all is not lost!)
Yes, the people do mean well. But at the same time, it leaves a very sour taste in my mouth. Esp when I was flipping around the channels last night, and the only thing Irish that was on was the Leprachaun movies and Nick movie called “Luck of the Irish”, which was about as offensive sounding as it could get (didn’t watch it, needless to say).
‘Tis true – EVERYONE is Irish on St. Pat’s Day, especially here in San Francisco!! Royal Exchange and Harrington’s have the street blocked off, there’s music, green beads from Mardi Gras being flung about, a contingent of bankers with green hair, a woman with a balloon hat of Spongebob as a leprechaun (it’s 2 feet high, amazing!) and a whole lot of drunk folks. One thing everyone forgets is that a little Guinness and Jameson’s goes a long way…
And what is it with the Danny Boy thing? You never hear anyone belting out Whiskey in the Jar, or the Girl with the Black Velvet Band…no it’s all Danny Boy, with an occasional fainthearted When Irish Eyes Are Smiling echoing down California Street. I’d give anything for a good rousing chorus of Arthur McBride, or Star of the County Down, meself.
For me, it’s the one day a year I proudly wear my Star of David with the shamrock in the middle, from Dublin’s Grand Synagogue. Now, if only I knew how to say ‘Éirinn go Brágh’ in Hebrew!
You have no idea how honoured I am for the entry under T – Toast To Life. I was speechless – and those that know me will tell you that is no mean feat.
But you left out P for P-Con – which I run – would you like to come over for that sometime? Octocon is still running strong as well by the way.
Again, thank you.
Frank: My pleasure, sir. Toast to Life is a wonderful idea.
As for P-Con, it is definitely a possibility, but as with all things in my life it depends on timing and finances.