My dad's family are from Donegal, my mum's from Kerry and despite being brought up in the Irish tradition, there's no escaping the fact that I had the indignity of being born about 300 metres from Newport Pagnell service station!!
I still "feel" Irish ........as does my namesake, who resides near Flagstaff, AZ. I was fortunate to meet up with him on St Patrick's day and was completely amazed at how many people there were in Arizona embracing their Irish heritage!.........and that included a large proportion of the Mexicans and Afro Caribbeans!!
It was after a few beers that I discovered one of his ancestors emigrated to the USA from Cork in about 1830 and on that basis he called himself "Irish" although after I70 odd years, as you could imagine the Irish was a bit watered down.
So what is it about Ireland and the Irish that makes them the coolest bunch of people to be associated with?
I count not only Irish ancestry but also Scottish and Yorkshire, a mix that mirrors my traditional music leanings to a pretty good degree. These influences battle continuously inside me for supremacy, and happily, none of them ever wins for very long.
That said, my paternal grandmother also claimed our family had some Hungarian blood some generations before. Which probably helps explain my fondness for Marta Sebestyn and csardas tunes.
No known Irish relatives, but thankfully, during my country's turbulent history armies of all possible nationalities swept through, leaving their genetic marks all over the place. So far I know about Tartar, Austrian, Hungarian, Lithuanian bloods mixing inside my own;
...
Boy, what a mongrel I am!
Astonishingly, however, my paternal line of descent can be traced back to about the middle of the eighth century. And I am the only one recorded as being conceived and born in wedlock.
So I'm not a b*****d, but I come from a very long line of......
No Irish on my side of the family (it's Welsh + a touch of Cornish), but my wife's Irish (Co Cork), and I've had a lot of Irish influence in my life, education-wise, at work, socially, and now The Music - but I still don't have the accent.
Trevor
Fatherīs family from Sligo, motherīs from Offaly. Iīm from London, I live in Spain and I go to France for my sessions.
The concept of patriality can get very watered down !
I think it was Bernard Shaw (or was it Joe Cooley) who said that the world is made up of two types of people:
(1) The Irish
(2) Those who want to be Irish
One thing is for sure, and itīs been said a million times on this site, you donīt have to be Irish to play the best Irish music.
Matt Molloy is alleged to have said, when he heard a session in The Quiet Man pub in Paris,"Youīd think you were in the west of Ireland"
Mike
I get this question from kindly elderly ladies who're listening in on sessions, only they usually phrase it in a declarative way: "Of course, ye've some of the Irish yerself, do ye not?".
I always deny it (and will leave it unspecified here).
I usta get similar questions when I was the only snowflake in a funk band. I'd refuse to respond there too.
Is this like the Irish national we had as a dance student who told us that she didn't need us to correct her stepdancing because it was in her soul? It was very tempting to tell her that that was all good and well, but we wanted it in her sole more than in her spiritual self... ;) (She was in her forties or fifties too, and should really have known better...)
I'm Japanese in blood. But strangely enough, many Chinese people speak to me in Mandarin, so I guess I look like Zina's son.
While I often visit the areas around Sligo, Galway and west Clare for Bulmers, Jameson and the traditional music, I am not Irish enough yet. First of all, I can't drink Guinness. And what is more important, my playing is much more Scottish, for I started learning the folk music in Edinburgh. Now I'm trying to learn Irish ornamentations here in Yorkshire, but it's really tough for me.
" How Irish are you? "
Born and bred in Ardgaineen.
( Turn left at Currandrum Schoolhouse )
Annaghdown,
Co Galway.
" So what is it about Ireland and the Irish that makes them the coolest bunch of people to be associated with? "
The Irish are cool, because in this post-modern world, ethnicity , diversity..."alternative' is cool.
People are looking back now ( Since the 60's post WWII ) for their inspiration ,
in the absence of universally accepted doctrines , religions, authorities.
ie: The "State" ( Communism, Democracy, Christianity, The Church..... )
none of these previously "authoritative" bodies can really provide people the answers they are looking for.
Irish music is just one culture that people are investigating anew, think South American dance, think India, think African American , think South Africa, think meditation, think marijuana, think minorities, think feminist, think reggae, think punk, think Andy Warhol, think Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement, think folk boom of the 60's, think Vietnam war, think Internet, think Buddhism, think Islam....think anything..., in the new modernity "everything" is cool in that its allowed ( to varying degrees ) to have a voice, to be celebrated, to be represented, to be heard !!! When formally there was only one voice, that of the majority which is always to some degree oppressive.
For decades-centuries there was a stereotype of the drunken, violent Irish man, Colonies like New Zealand ( where I now live ) had movements to prevent Irish people emigrating, ( They wanted to keep it as British as possible, but were forced to accept immigrants from Ireland because the colony needed women especially and labouring men ).
The backdrop, the preamble to this was centuries of oppression in Ireland. Ironically ( it seems to me ) in attempting to surpress Irish culture and the Irish people at home , the English forged an indomitable will, a spirit , in the people that the Irish themselves might never have achieved by themselves ?
( This is an idea , not a fact ).
An external aggressor , served to light a flame in the Irish , to unite them so the language, the music, the songs ( especially the songs ), the poetry, even the spoken language they used, became politicised . You can take everything away from someone, their families, their homes, their land, but you cannot take their soul, their culture.You can starve them and they will die, but the culture will not die. So while some people understandably abandoned their own arts ( Because with a lack of education , people WILL be influenced by what is fashionable ) enough people kept the faith, kept the traditions alive, like a delicate seed in the frozen winter, when spring comes a little green shoot appears, and eventually the ground is covered with flowers.
You cannot make people do something they do not want to do. But you can motivate them to dig their heels in if you try to bully them enough. So in my opinion the English helped forge Irish cultural fervour, and helped create and add to an already enormously rich and deep culture
Finally the Irish display attractive basic human instincts, genuine warmth, ( they'd do anything for you where I come from ), they have village/communal ideals ( which brings with it its own disadvantages ..... ). They are social, "able to relax and have a drink" , always ready to sing ( because for centuries a song/poem was the only safe way to express yourself ) and they appreciate the plight of the under-dog. Thats a recipe for a good time, its attractive to people , because in that setting people can be REAL.
So now ( again , like in 1960's Dublin O'Donaghues, The Dubliners, Sean O'Riada, The Chieftains etc... ) people all over the world are discovering and re-claiming their Irish roots, they are claiming ownership of a part of their own history that because of the social propaganda I've attempted to describe, they formally were less attracted to , or were unaware of.
Even for people with no Irish ancestry , the music in itself ( real music that can be played by real people with real instruments, in the kitchen, with no electricity or gadgets or technology ) is a fascinating and rewarding form of self-expression. Music you can make youreself, what a radical anti-consumerism idea, ( turn off the TV ) its self-actualising. Its a powerful balm for spiritual re-creation, in an ever more frenzied world , what could be finer than to sit round a table, with a pot of tea, swapping a few tunes and talking.
For a few moments, lost in the timelessness of a mediative trance-inducing Co. Clare jig, ( music that has endured in spite of the worst imaginable oppression, music that has soothed, inspired generations of Irish in harsh times, at home and in exile ) you too can find peace, its another world when your in the music.
Of course people are attracted to that,
Thats why Its cool.
There's definitely NOT a bit of Irish in *me* either - there hasn't been for some months now (sorry...I do tend to lower the tone every time I post). Although I am an "ish" with a bit of Polish, Russian-ish and a wee bit of Austrian-ish. Actually it's JEWish. I'm also probably in Bernard Shaw's (or Joe Cooley's) No. 2 category - a wannabee.
That's not strictly true, about being a wannabee I mean; only in-as-much-as I wished I had been born into the music and started at the age of 0 - which might have been a great help to me in playing it.
I do get lots of people at sessions asking me where I'm from. That's always a difficult question to answer. Choosing a county - well, where do you start if you haven't really got your one of your own? I suppose it depends who I'm with - "Up the Banner" goes down well at the Black Horse. So there's another topic for discussion - which county??????
Anyway, I know people at sessions (especially the Irish people I meet) ask me where I'm from because I don't look a bit Irish; I could pass for Spanish (so Galway might do for a county). I can also pass for Italian - both of these I could pass for until I actually open my gob! But the truth outs eventually because *I* know they are asking me because I don't look a bit Irish and I *really* *really* do look Jewish...so I own up to it in the end and we all have a good laugh about it and I have to explain what nice Jewish girl like me is doing in a pub like this etc. and then, how I came to the ITM.
I don't know what my parents make of it really but they've both seen and heard me play with other people and I think they were quite impressed. Mind you, they haven't actually heard The Bothy Band or Altan or Planxty or LUNASA or Martin Hayes & and Dennis or Mary Bergin etc. (do I need to go on?) so perhaps I won't lend them my tapes and they'll never really know how bad I am really !!
xx
PS: Jeremy when can we have the use of italics?
Pat I wish I could agree with you. I don't think the Irish are cool because of diversity being "in". Diversity is definitely not "in", otherwise we wouldn't be seeing cultures dying at such a horrendous rate worldwide. For most people in the English-speaking world, being cool is now about doing what society expects of you - getting a career and making as much money as possible so you can buy "things" to make your life comfortable.
As for "alternative" being cool - well it is to some people, but the people I've met in my life who have been into Irish music are into it because they like the music, not because they want to be trendy and "alternative".
I think the Irish are all-too-frequent victims of stereotyping. There's this false romanticised notion that Irish society is somehow untainted by modern cultural pap, and the idea is perpetuated by Hollywood movies and also people's ignorance and reluctance to travel and learn about other places and cultures first hand. This is particularly true of people in the States (sorry Yanks but you know it's true - I've heard people like Zina moan along similar lines), but also of those in places like Australia to an extent. People with these ideas must be so disappointed when they go on holiday to Ireland and discover that the Irish aren't all going around in horses and carts.
People love the Irish to the extent that they want to prove to others that they are Irish themselves, even if it was only their great great grandparents who were Irish. Of course it's true that the Irish are culturally different, and in general they are a great bunch, but it only goes so far. There are nice Irish people and really really horrible Irish people just like anywhere else. There are Irish rapists and murderers. Sorry but I'd much rather be an English musician than an Irish murderer.
I happen to have had Irish great grandparents but that doesn't make me Irish. I've also got Scottish and continental European blood so I'm a bit of a mixture. But I was born and brought up in England, so I'm English which means I'm also culturally English. I happen to play Irish music, but that's not because I have Irish ancestry, it's because I like the music and its associated culture. I can't pretend to understand the Irish culture fully because I'm English. So please, just be proud of whatever you are, and play the tunes.
First I've heard of Geordies ca'in themselves English. Aren't they just Scotsmen without any brains?
Just the usual wind up , Dow, what else would you expect from me.
I'm not Irish. I had one grandmother whose parents were. All the rest of my lineage is of Scottish Highland blood. I suppose 1500 years ago some people from the northern part of the Island of Ireland came over and subjugated the local Britonic-Celtic-speaking tribes and made them speak Gaelic-Celtic...which probably wasn't too hard back then as long as you minded yer P's and Q's...the insular gaels were q-celts. From this bit of Iron age colonialism many Scots now think they are *exactly* the same as the Irish.
The Irish are as hybrid as anyone else (well, almost)...except along the west coast, where a recent study showed that they possess the most conservative mitochondrial DNA of any caucasian group on the planet...but the rest of 'em inside the pale? Saxons, Norsemen and Normans (French-speaking Vikings) the lota them. Ireland in the ninth and tenth centuries was effectively a battleground between the Norsemen (Norwegians and some Swedes) and the Danes. Think how many of the natives would have been "ethnically cleansed" then, just for taking the wrong side in some battle. By then the mythical days of the Táin were long gone.
But from this mess grew a cultural, then national, identity. I've read a fair bit about this but am too tired to go on.The Music had always played a big part in the shaping of the identity, though. But I don't think it matters nowadays too much. That said I still prefer to use the term IRISH traditional music, as that's most of what is played at yer average session.
My fathers welsh and my mother is Australian - with a name like Bridie Kathleen Burke you'd be right in guessing that ive irish somewhere down the line, doesnt matter one bit tho because I'm going For Wales in The world cup - up the dragons! (dow is going to slap me for that one but its true)
Hey, not all Yanks are closed-minded xenophobes! I mean look who California put into their governor's office today, he's got a wicked foreign accent! He wasn't, even, like born here, & he was, like, Mr. Universe, can't get more inclusive than that! We're totally open-minded..... .... ...... ..............
I'm sure you aren't like that Emin. Anyway, I have to admit, you live in a big country, and you've got everything there, so what's the point in going elsewhere if all you're going to do is sit in a McDonald's in Beijing as opposed to a McDonalds in Phoenix
LOL yeah, like, totally! I reckon that the very fact that you're able to laugh at your own "being an American" proves that you're not like that. BTW Em it's "licence" not "license". "Licence" is the noun and "license" is the verb - it's extremely important to make that distinction for guardians of pure, correct English like what I am. You Yanks have got so lazy with your spelling over the decades - why can't you just conform so that we all spell the same?
Oii Dow, stop calling me Kathleen - its beebs thankyou very much!
PS - I can give him another smack if you like Zina Its Dows going away tonight -he's going to Japan for three months, so I dont fancy his chances of getting me back hahahaaa
Hehehe...sure, give him a good one, Brids, because if he didn't deserve it for something today, I'm sure he'll deserve it for something tomorrow...and Tish, I'm going to want that commission. *grin*
Austrians are not german although, yes, their talking could be accepted and understood as german ...
...but Australians, or Texans are speaking english and wonīt be English at all, am I right? An old joke says the bavarians are the transition from austrians to humans (the germans donīt occur here for obscure reasons). Iīm not irish at all. Iīm german with some belgian and scandinavian roots and live among the bavarians for quite a while. that made me play irish music... I think this is reason enough.
I've never even bothered finding out. And I don't suppose I ever will. I'm with coyotebanjo: "the music's deeper than blood".
But spuds, now .... my gran used to run a fish + chip shop in Manchester (make that the best chippie in Manchester!) and once a week the spud man delivered a yard FULL of spuds, and the smell was fan-tas-tic! and got even more intense when we tossed 'em into the mechanical spud peeler, which just spun 'em round and bashed the skins off. Mmm ....
According to my sister's research, we have a bit of Irish in us from about 4 or 5 generations back, but as has been stated, I play the music because I love music.
I got the Welch name Evans from my father, but I have a mother, too. She is Hungarian.
Like some other people here, my Irish connection is back in the great & great-great grandparents generation. However, I don't feel entirely English. (My Mum's family were from Yorkshire & Lancashire, my Dad is Liverpool Irish). I don't think that thousands of years of family history are dissipated in a couple of generations. Like Jewishness, but differently, I think Irishness trickles on in some form another through cultural transmission. Oh yeah, and genes, nearly forgot! My Dad and my Grandma probably have that West of Ireland mitochondrial DNA, as my Dad's maternal line is from Mayo. I won't have it, of course, since fathers don't transmit it - mine is probably Lancastrian, if such a thing exists.
OK, so the ancient history of ones' lineage is meaningless in real terms, and this sense of connection with one's ancestors is an imaginative construct. Doesn't mean one can't enjoy it or get something from ruminating on that unbroken thread. I've been reading about early hominids lately and *that* gives me a thrilling sense of connection, too. Hey, it's nice to feel like part of the human race, and even the Mammalian Class. (I'm so happy not to be a lamprey...)
In spite of these romantic feelings of continuity, I'm not remotely interested in Nationalism. And where our ancestors have been living for the last few hundred or thousand years is pretty small stuff compared to the big picture. We're all quite closely related, we modern humans...
And I don't think your background is of the least importance when you come to Irish music. I agree with Chris & Dow on that one. Any idea of a racial heirarchy there, is pernicious in the extreme. Though as Ms Sensible Footwear pointed out, those people who are exposed to the music from age 0 are always going to have the advantage, aren't they? And so far, that's mostly meant being Irish. But less so, now and with the next generation.
Needaliver - Irish Full stop??!!- you have obviously never been to Australia or you wouldnt be talking such nonesense
But its always good to have a bit of Welsh thrown in for a nice balance. Actually lads, the only reason I'm harping on about Wales lately is because the Rugby World Cup starts in Sydney today and so I'm getting Hyped up and Patriotic
Helenīs remarks about maternal lines and all made me think about it a bit math-sci-theoretical:
you have a mix of two genes momīs are mixed of two, dads are mixed of two, each of your grandmaīs are mixed of two and each of your granddadīs as well .... an overview over three generations makes your genes mixed from eight people. but your grandmas and granddads each have as well eight ancestors of three generations back - what sums up to 64 bits of different peoples genes mixed for you six generations back
an overview over all your ancestors since the time columbus discovered america makes you a mix of the genes of one million people (exactly 1,048,576 for theoretical estimated 20 generations). a twenty generation review seems to make a bit sense and so everything is fine so far. It definitely turns to become absurd when you go on, but anyway, the figures might make one think about genetic terms of heritage in different ways...
an overview over all your ancestors since the time leif ericson discovered america makes you a mix of the genes of one billion people (that is a 10 digit number ).... at least some of them must have been the same several times because one billion people exceeds the worlds entire population of that time .... but on the other hand it could not have been too much always the same when the result is a physical and mental quite healthy people - and to me the irish seem to bee (despite of some minor characteristics that might be a very special developed genetic defect)
an overlook over all your ancestors since the time saint brendan discovered america theoretically makes you a mix of a billion billions (a 19 digit number) bits of genes ... Iīm sure a few of them have been irish in your case - Iīm not sure there has been none of them irish in my case....
ok - as I said, it is absurd to play this math-sci-theory game too far (and I think that is lets say much more then ten generations). but one thing to me is clear: the tradition is more important than the genes...
Yes, it's fun (and sobering, if that's not a contradiction) to do the maths thing before you get too misty-eyed about your ancestors. Beyond a few generations, their numbers do become quite dizzying. Although of course the theoretical numbers are wildly larger than the real numbers, which will involve huge amounts of duplication. The mitochondrial evidence would seem to show that the West of Ireland population was quite inbred for a long time, and then there was that study in Cheddar, (also of mitochondrial DNA, I think) which proved close kinship between a modern resident of the area (a school teacher, I think he was) and a Stone-Age?/Iron Age? (or at least, pretty ancient) resident of the same area. I guess there have been many times of migration and change but also long periods of stasis, when people didn't move from the place they were born in.
Also I do think the lineage-by-paternal-surname is a misleading tradition, which encourages us to think of our heritage as linear rather than tree-like. It's also a bit rash to choose the paternal line as the more significant; as my Great Grandma used to say, 'Mammy sure, Daddy never'!
I love the following song. it might be somehow superficial on first sight and seems to represent a special kind of "american-irishness" ...
.... it fits perfect the topic of this thread and the intention of superficialness is blown away when you read Cathie Ryanīs comment what the song means to her. (and I give you a link, where the aspect of "american-irishness" is explained better then I might be able to do ... at the end. but first of all: the song lyrics)
From Mother: Grandma's Song
(words and music by Cathie Ryan)
Cathie Sheehy came from Cooga in a place called Doon
She was a very special girl
A tailor named Timmy from the town of Tipperary
Saw her once and his heart was in a whirl
They married and they settled in the little town of Newport
They had a fine family
And I'm a very lucky girl because her son was my father
And that made her a grandmother to me
Grandma liked to sing the old Irish songs
She liked a sweet melody
She liked to play the fiddle in the kitchen by the fireside
But best of all my grandma liked me
Grandma loved to go out walking through the streets of Newport Town
When the morning's work was done
She'd put on her finest sweater and take me along out with her
She had a smile for everyone
She wore her hair up neatly in a little braided bun
'Twas the finest it could be
And every night before bedtime I'd say, "Ah, grandma take it down."
And she'd comb through the long waves for me
Chorus:
On special nights after tea she would play for us
She'd put the devil in the bow
Then she'd put the fiddle back in the little cloth sack
That grandfather sewed so long ago
I'd ask her for a song and she'd sing her favorite one
She'd start the whole family
Then we'd go around the ring and everyone would have to sing
That's the greatest gift that grandma gave to me
Chorus:
Đ 1990. Wake the Neighbors Music, ASCAP
Cathie Ryan: "I wrote this children's song after my last visit with my paternal grandmother. She gave me my name and my love of singing. She died of Alzheimers disease in 1991. On that last visit she didn't know or remember me. She was lost in her own mind . My Aunt Bridie suggested that I sing to her. I knelt at her feet and began singing an old jig that she used to like. Slowly she began to tap her foot and slowly her eyes began to come alive. They were full of the same light she always had when she sang or heard music. For those moments I knew she knew me. For that brief time she was the woman I remembered - all love and music."
completely Irish! mikemcdaid, did your Father come from Milford?
In 1978 I worked in Portsalon and new the McDaid family form Milford or Ramelton. they had a soft drinks factory. Later in Dublin again I shared a flat with Dolores McDaid from that family. Interesting stuff!!!!
Brioc
1783, Belfast...that is as far back I got with the family tree thanks to the internet. Funny thing...my entire life nobody ever pronounces my last name correctly. But, as I was taking my first child back down to the nursery 11 years ago an Irish woman in the elevator said "Oh! McKeough" (Ma Co)....she said it was common. It's not common here in Canada. I was relieved to FINAL:LY hear somebody say it the way I knew it...I was startin' to think the parents were a little mislead....like they didn't pronounce it right.
I can proudly say, however, that I have two Irish cousins once removed. My cousin's partner is Irish, and they now have two boys - who are half Irish by blood, if not birth (they were both born in West Yorkshire).
Both my grandfathers were Irish, both emigrated. However neither bought up their families to think of themselves as Irish, although the grandfather who was still alive when I was born had a strong Irish accent and also played jigs and reels on the fiddle. The physical genes have come through strongly, Ireland is full of women of my age who look like me (and full of men of my brother's age who look like him). Despite this strong genetic inheritance, however, because I have a very English accent, the question I am most frequently asked by Irish traditional musicians is along the lines of: "What made someone like you (sic) start to play ITM?" Hmmm.
Hello. I'm new here, so "hi" to everybody. The name "Jane the Fool" comes from the fact that I'm a court jester. The real thing! I've traveled England, performing at castles and private manor homes, but I also ply my trade here in the states. Anyway, I can trace my Irish ancestors clear back to the 5th century AD on my Dad's side! We've been able to trace the name "McGeough" back to its origin of "Eochaid" (pronounced Oh-kaid) - and these folks date back to the earliest medieval settlements. I'm not ONLY Irish, but I've also got English, Scottish, German, Swedish, and Swiss in my blood. My mother's ancestors were those ruthless (but very SEXY) vikings! No wonder I'm white as a ghost and a natural redhead. When my father grew a beard he looked like he had parked his viking ship somewhere. One of my brothers also sports a bright red beard. I've traveled to Britain many times in search of my Celtic ancestry, and never grow tired of exploring my roots. But, couldn't just ONE of my relatives have
married someone with at least an OLIVE complexion, so I wouldn't have to avoid the sun like I do? (sigh) I love the great outdoors, but don't love the damaging sunburns that plague me each summer. Anyway, I'd love to hear from other Irish folks. We Celtic folks ROCK! Well, a few of us just roll...on the floor. Tamara (Jane the Fool) histor2@mindspring.com
Well I have to admit that me ma is a bit of a Dane with the name "Kenny" But me ole lad is 100% and so was his ole lad and the ole lad after that Ha. me second name "Ni hOigain" i traced the name back to the county Kilkenny where it supposed to have come from. My great grandad was a runner for the I.R.B which is "The Irish Republican Brothers" but he died at 32 with pnemonia from lying in ditch cause he had to hide from the british "Black and Tans".
Meself I'm in the irish army and I'm well proud to be irish because us irish a strong bunch of feckers so we are theres no puttin us down and in reply to "Jane the fool" I also have red facial hair haaa all me mates slafg me over it cause i have dark brown hair.looks weird. Up The celts!!!!!
How Irish are you?
How Irish are you?
My dad's family are from Donegal, my mum's from Kerry and despite being brought up in the Irish tradition, there's no escaping the fact that I had the indignity of being born about 300 metres from Newport Pagnell service station!!
I still "feel" Irish ........as does my namesake, who resides near Flagstaff, AZ. I was fortunate to meet up with him on St Patrick's day and was completely amazed at how many people there were in Arizona embracing their Irish heritage!.........and that included a large proportion of the Mexicans and Afro Caribbeans!!
It was after a few beers that I discovered one of his ancestors emigrated to the USA from Cork in about 1830 and on that basis he called himself "Irish" although after I70 odd years, as you could imagine the Irish was a bit watered down.
So what is it about Ireland and the Irish that makes them the coolest bunch of people to be associated with?
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by mikemcdaid
Re: How Irish are you?
I'm not a speck of Irish. Completely and totally Chinese American. But I'll drink their alcohol. *grin*
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: How Irish are you?
这样希望我
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by mikemcdaid
Ooops sorry Zina I was trying to post a reply in Mandarin, but it wouldn't translate the characters!!!
Mx
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by mikemcdaid
Re: How Irish are you?
hehehe...wondered about that, Mike...I thought it was the beer talking!
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: How Irish are you?
I count not only Irish ancestry but also Scottish and Yorkshire, a mix that mirrors my traditional music leanings to a pretty good degree. These influences battle continuously inside me for supremacy, and happily, none of them ever wins for very long.
That said, my paternal grandmother also claimed our family had some Hungarian blood some generations before. Which probably helps explain my fondness for Marta Sebestyn and csardas tunes.
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by sts
Re: How Irish are you?
No known Irish relatives, but thankfully, during my country's turbulent history armies of all possible nationalities swept through, leaving their genetic marks all over the place. So far I know about Tartar, Austrian, Hungarian, Lithuanian bloods mixing inside my own;
...
Boy, what a mongrel I am!
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by EastPole
Re: How Irish are you?
But on the other hand, do you have to be of Irish blood to be Irish of sorts?
If so, lots of my friends here are going to be truly disappointed
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by EastPole
Re: How Irish are you?
Not at all Irish.
Astonishingly, however, my paternal line of descent can be traced back to about the middle of the eighth century. And I am the only one recorded as being conceived and born in wedlock.
So I'm not a b*****d, but I come from a very long line of......
Dave
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by showaddydadito
Re: How Irish are you?
Like most midwestern Americans, I'm from all over Europe...but mostly Irish and German.
So I want to to conquer the world, but too hung over to manage it.
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Hanley
Re: How Irish are you?
No Irish on my side of the family (it's Welsh + a touch of Cornish), but my wife's Irish (Co Cork), and I've had a lot of Irish influence in my life, education-wise, at work, socially, and now The Music - but I still don't have the accent.
Trevor
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by lazyhound
Re: How Irish are you?
Fatherīs family from Sligo, motherīs from Offaly. Iīm from London, I live in Spain and I go to France for my sessions.
The concept of patriality can get very watered down !
I think it was Bernard Shaw (or was it Joe Cooley) who said that the world is made up of two types of people:
(1) The Irish
(2) Those who want to be Irish
One thing is for sure, and itīs been said a million times on this site, you donīt have to be Irish to play the best Irish music.
Matt Molloy is alleged to have said, when he heard a session in The Quiet Man pub in Paris,"Youīd think you were in the west of Ireland"
Mike
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by murfbox
Re: How Irish are you?
Half Irish, half Scottish - half of me wants to have a great night out, the other half is too mean to pay for it!
Surname historically "Doran", but acquired an "s" somewhere down the line.
Jim
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Worldfiddler
Re: How Irish are you?
I get this question from kindly elderly ladies who're listening in on sessions, only they usually phrase it in a declarative way: "Of course, ye've some of the Irish yerself, do ye not?".
I always deny it (and will leave it unspecified here).
I usta get similar questions when I was the only snowflake in a funk band. I'd refuse to respond there too.
The music is deeper than blood.
chris smith
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by coyotebanjo
Re: How Irish are you?
Is this like the Irish national we had as a dance student who told us that she didn't need us to correct her stepdancing because it was in her soul? It was very tempting to tell her that that was all good and well, but we wanted it in her sole more than in her spiritual self... ;) (She was in her forties or fifties too, and should really have known better...)
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: How Irish are you?
BTW, nobody ever mistakes me for Irish. Something about the eyes. *grin*
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: How Irish are you?
I'm Japanese in blood. But strangely enough, many Chinese people speak to me in Mandarin, so I guess I look like Zina's son.
While I often visit the areas around Sligo, Galway and west Clare for Bulmers, Jameson and the traditional music, I am not Irish enough yet. First of all, I can't drink Guinness. And what is more important, my playing is much more Scottish, for I started learning the folk music in Edinburgh. Now I'm trying to learn Irish ornamentations here in Yorkshire, but it's really tough for me.
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by slainte
Re: How Irish are you?
" How Irish are you? "
Born and bred in Ardgaineen.
( Turn left at Currandrum Schoolhouse )
Annaghdown,
Co Galway.
" So what is it about Ireland and the Irish that makes them the coolest bunch of people to be associated with? "
The Irish are cool, because in this post-modern world, ethnicity , diversity..."alternative' is cool.
People are looking back now ( Since the 60's post WWII ) for their inspiration ,
in the absence of universally accepted doctrines , religions, authorities.
ie: The "State" ( Communism, Democracy, Christianity, The Church..... )
none of these previously "authoritative" bodies can really provide people the answers they are looking for.
Irish music is just one culture that people are investigating anew, think South American dance, think India, think African American , think South Africa, think meditation, think marijuana, think minorities, think feminist, think reggae, think punk, think Andy Warhol, think Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement, think folk boom of the 60's, think Vietnam war, think Internet, think Buddhism, think Islam....think anything..., in the new modernity "everything" is cool in that its allowed ( to varying degrees ) to have a voice, to be celebrated, to be represented, to be heard !!! When formally there was only one voice, that of the majority which is always to some degree oppressive.
For decades-centuries there was a stereotype of the drunken, violent Irish man, Colonies like New Zealand ( where I now live ) had movements to prevent Irish people emigrating, ( They wanted to keep it as British as possible, but were forced to accept immigrants from Ireland because the colony needed women especially and labouring men ).
The backdrop, the preamble to this was centuries of oppression in Ireland. Ironically ( it seems to me ) in attempting to surpress Irish culture and the Irish people at home , the English forged an indomitable will, a spirit , in the people that the Irish themselves might never have achieved by themselves ?
( This is an idea , not a fact ).
An external aggressor , served to light a flame in the Irish , to unite them so the language, the music, the songs ( especially the songs ), the poetry, even the spoken language they used, became politicised . You can take everything away from someone, their families, their homes, their land, but you cannot take their soul, their culture.You can starve them and they will die, but the culture will not die. So while some people understandably abandoned their own arts ( Because with a lack of education , people WILL be influenced by what is fashionable ) enough people kept the faith, kept the traditions alive, like a delicate seed in the frozen winter, when spring comes a little green shoot appears, and eventually the ground is covered with flowers.
You cannot make people do something they do not want to do. But you can motivate them to dig their heels in if you try to bully them enough. So in my opinion the English helped forge Irish cultural fervour, and helped create and add to an already enormously rich and deep culture
Finally the Irish display attractive basic human instincts, genuine warmth, ( they'd do anything for you where I come from ), they have village/communal ideals ( which brings with it its own disadvantages ..... ). They are social, "able to relax and have a drink" , always ready to sing ( because for centuries a song/poem was the only safe way to express yourself ) and they appreciate the plight of the under-dog. Thats a recipe for a good time, its attractive to people , because in that setting people can be REAL.
So now ( again , like in 1960's Dublin O'Donaghues, The Dubliners, Sean O'Riada, The Chieftains etc... ) people all over the world are discovering and re-claiming their Irish roots, they are claiming ownership of a part of their own history that because of the social propaganda I've attempted to describe, they formally were less attracted to , or were unaware of.
Even for people with no Irish ancestry , the music in itself ( real music that can be played by real people with real instruments, in the kitchen, with no electricity or gadgets or technology ) is a fascinating and rewarding form of self-expression. Music you can make youreself, what a radical anti-consumerism idea, ( turn off the TV ) its self-actualising. Its a powerful balm for spiritual re-creation, in an ever more frenzied world , what could be finer than to sit round a table, with a pot of tea, swapping a few tunes and talking.
For a few moments, lost in the timelessness of a mediative trance-inducing Co. Clare jig, ( music that has endured in spite of the worst imaginable oppression, music that has soothed, inspired generations of Irish in harsh times, at home and in exile ) you too can find peace, its another world when your in the music.
Of course people are attracted to that,
Thats why Its cool.
Pat Higgins
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Pat Higgins
Re: How Irish are you?
There's definitely NOT a bit of Irish in *me* either - there hasn't been for some months now (sorry...I do tend to lower the tone every time I post). Although I am an "ish" with a bit of Polish, Russian-ish and a wee bit of Austrian-ish. Actually it's JEWish. I'm also probably in Bernard Shaw's (or Joe Cooley's) No. 2 category - a wannabee.
That's not strictly true, about being a wannabee I mean; only in-as-much-as I wished I had been born into the music and started at the age of 0 - which might have been a great help to me in playing it.
I do get lots of people at sessions asking me where I'm from. That's always a difficult question to answer. Choosing a county - well, where do you start if you haven't really got your one of your own? I suppose it depends who I'm with - "Up the Banner" goes down well at the Black Horse. So there's another topic for discussion - which county??????
Anyway, I know people at sessions (especially the Irish people I meet) ask me where I'm from because I don't look a bit Irish; I could pass for Spanish (so Galway might do for a county). I can also pass for Italian - both of these I could pass for until I actually open my gob! But the truth outs eventually because *I* know they are asking me because I don't look a bit Irish and I *really* *really* do look Jewish...so I own up to it in the end and we all have a good laugh about it and I have to explain what nice Jewish girl like me is doing in a pub like this etc. and then, how I came to the ITM.
I don't know what my parents make of it really but they've both seen and heard me play with other people and I think they were quite impressed. Mind you, they haven't actually heard The Bothy Band or Altan or Planxty or LUNASA or Martin Hayes & and Dennis or Mary Bergin etc. (do I need to go on?) so perhaps I won't lend them my tapes and they'll never really know how bad I am really !!
xx
PS: Jeremy when can we have the use of italics?
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by sensible shoes
Dow having a good old rant about modern society
Pat I wish I could agree with you. I don't think the Irish are cool because of diversity being "in". Diversity is definitely not "in", otherwise we wouldn't be seeing cultures dying at such a horrendous rate worldwide. For most people in the English-speaking world, being cool is now about doing what society expects of you - getting a career and making as much money as possible so you can buy "things" to make your life comfortable.
As for "alternative" being cool - well it is to some people, but the people I've met in my life who have been into Irish music are into it because they like the music, not because they want to be trendy and "alternative".
I think the Irish are all-too-frequent victims of stereotyping. There's this false romanticised notion that Irish society is somehow untainted by modern cultural pap, and the idea is perpetuated by Hollywood movies and also people's ignorance and reluctance to travel and learn about other places and cultures first hand. This is particularly true of people in the States (sorry Yanks but you know it's true - I've heard people like Zina moan along similar lines), but also of those in places like Australia to an extent. People with these ideas must be so disappointed when they go on holiday to Ireland and discover that the Irish aren't all going around in horses and carts.
People love the Irish to the extent that they want to prove to others that they are Irish themselves, even if it was only their great great grandparents who were Irish. Of course it's true that the Irish are culturally different, and in general they are a great bunch, but it only goes so far. There are nice Irish people and really really horrible Irish people just like anywhere else. There are Irish rapists and murderers. Sorry but I'd much rather be an English musician than an Irish murderer.
I happen to have had Irish great grandparents but that doesn't make me Irish. I've also got Scottish and continental European blood so I'm a bit of a mixture. But I was born and brought up in England, so I'm English which means I'm also culturally English. I happen to play Irish music, but that's not because I have Irish ancestry, it's because I like the music and its associated culture. I can't pretend to understand the Irish culture fully because I'm English. So please, just be proud of whatever you are, and play the tunes.
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Dow
Re: How Irish are you?
First I've heard of Geordies ca'in themselves English. Aren't they just Scotsmen without any brains?
Just the usual wind up , Dow, what else would you expect from me.
I'm not Irish. I had one grandmother whose parents were. All the rest of my lineage is of Scottish Highland blood. I suppose 1500 years ago some people from the northern part of the Island of Ireland came over and subjugated the local Britonic-Celtic-speaking tribes and made them speak Gaelic-Celtic...which probably wasn't too hard back then as long as you minded yer P's and Q's...the insular gaels were q-celts. From this bit of Iron age colonialism many Scots now think they are *exactly* the same as the Irish.
The Irish are as hybrid as anyone else (well, almost)...except along the west coast, where a recent study showed that they possess the most conservative mitochondrial DNA of any caucasian group on the planet...but the rest of 'em inside the pale? Saxons, Norsemen and Normans (French-speaking Vikings) the lota them. Ireland in the ninth and tenth centuries was effectively a battleground between the Norsemen (Norwegians and some Swedes) and the Danes. Think how many of the natives would have been "ethnically cleansed" then, just for taking the wrong side in some battle. By then the mythical days of the Táin were long gone.
But from this mess grew a cultural, then national, identity. I've read a fair bit about this but am too tired to go on.The Music had always played a big part in the shaping of the identity, though. But I don't think it matters nowadays too much. That said I still prefer to use the term IRISH traditional music, as that's most of what is played at yer average session.
Danny.
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Key Maniac Lad
Re: How Irish are you?
Dow
I agree with everything you wrote.
Pat
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Pat Higgins
Re: How Irish are you?
I think I was talking about something completely different from you actually. I was just using your post as an excuse to have a moan
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Dow
Re: How Irish are you?
My fathers welsh and my mother is Australian - with a name like Bridie Kathleen Burke you'd be right in guessing that ive irish somewhere down the line, doesnt matter one bit tho because I'm going For Wales in The world cup - up the dragons! (dow is going to slap me for that one but its true)
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by bb
Re: How Irish are you?
Why would I care who you go for, Kathleen? BTW I've never hit a lady and never will, just in case any readers jump to conclusions.
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Dow
Hehehehe I knew your middle name would be either Kath or Kim!
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Dow
Re: How Irish are you?
Hey, not all Yanks are closed-minded xenophobes! I mean look who California put into their governor's office today, he's got a wicked foreign accent! He wasn't, even, like born here, & he was, like, Mr. Universe, can't get more inclusive than that! We're totally open-minded..... .... ...... ..............
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by emily_bmore
Re: How Irish are you?
Where's my passport again....?
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by emily_bmore
Re: How Irish are you?
I'm sure you aren't like that Emin. Anyway, I have to admit, you live in a big country, and you've got everything there, so what's the point in going elsewhere if all you're going to do is sit in a McDonald's in Beijing as opposed to a McDonalds in Phoenix
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Dow
Re: How Irish are you?
Study abroad should be a pre-requisite for license to breed.
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by emily_bmore
Re: How Irish are you?
LOL yeah, like, totally! I reckon that the very fact that you're able to laugh at your own "being an American" proves that you're not like that. BTW Em it's "licence" not "license". "Licence" is the noun and "license" is the verb - it's extremely important to make that distinction for guardians of pure, correct English like what I am. You Yanks have got so lazy with your spelling over the decades - why can't you just conform so that we all spell the same?
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Dow
Re: How Irish are you?
To quote Kevin Kline: "If it weren't for us, you'd all be speaking German."
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by emily_bmore
Oh wait, jesus, the governor-elect of California does speak German!!! Aieeee!!!
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by emily_bmore
Re: How Irish are you?
Shot yourselves in ze foot zere no?
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Dow
Re: How Irish are you?
It's so humiliating....
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by emily_bmore
Re: How Irish are you?
It's so humiliating....
I prefer the word 'Hilarious' in relation to Arnie being govenor - what a scary world we live in
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by bb
Re: How Irish are you?
Dow, if you've never hit a lady, does that mean that Bridie, Emily and I had better look out next time we p*ss you off? *grin*
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: How Irish are you?
haaaeeeeeyyyyyy, Zina!! I'm a lady! very delicate indeed
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by bb
Re: How Irish are you?
LOL -- Oh that's right...Mark said you hit like a girl! *snort*
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: How Irish are you?
I *am* a girl.....
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by bb
Re: How Irish are you?
All right, then, you and Emily can feel safe from Mark, I guess -- any advice about his swing so I can avoid bruises? *grin*
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: How Irish are you?
I hasten to remind you, Zina dear, that you are the only person ever to have inflicted a bruise on me over the internet, by sending it via Kathleen.
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Dow
Re: How Irish are you?
Oii Dow, stop calling me Kathleen - its beebs thankyou very much!
Its Dows going away tonight -he's going to Japan for three months, so I dont fancy his chances of getting me back
hahahaaa
PS - I can give him another smack if you like Zina
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by bb
Re: How Irish are you?
Can I sell tickets?
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Tish
Re: How Irish are you?
Hehehe...sure, give him a good one, Brids, because if he didn't deserve it for something today, I'm sure he'll deserve it for something tomorrow...and Tish, I'm going to want that commission. *grin*
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: How Irish are you?
Born and bred in Oslo. Swedish grandmother. I always liked spuds though.....
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by snorre
Re: How Irish are you?
Austrians are not german although, yes, their talking could be accepted and understood as german ...
...but Australians, or Texans are speaking english and wonīt be English at all, am I right? An old joke says the bavarians are the transition from austrians to humans (the germans donīt occur here for obscure reasons). Iīm not irish at all. Iīm german with some belgian and scandinavian roots and live among the bavarians for quite a while. that made me play irish music... I think this is reason enough.
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by crannog
Re: How Irish are you?
I've never even bothered finding out. And I don't suppose I ever will. I'm with coyotebanjo: "the music's deeper than blood".
But spuds, now .... my gran used to run a fish + chip shop in Manchester (make that the best chippie in Manchester!) and once a week the spud man delivered a yard FULL of spuds, and the smell was fan-tas-tic! and got even more intense when we tossed 'em into the mechanical spud peeler, which just spun 'em round and bashed the skins off. Mmm ....
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by nastyweegirl
Don't the Russians eat a lot of spuds, too?
# Posted on October 8th 2003 by nastyweegirl
Re: How Irish are you?
According to my sister's research, we have a bit of Irish in us from about 4 or 5 generations back, but as has been stated, I play the music because I love music.
I got the Welch name Evans from my father, but I have a mother, too. She is Hungarian.
I guess that makes me wel-hung.
# Posted on October 9th 2003 by tocotodo
Re: How Irish are you?
Well, quite Irish! High percentage of JAMESON'S blood running through my veins! isn't it good enough?
# Posted on October 9th 2003 by Rafa Moreno
Re: How Irish are you?
Like some other people here, my Irish connection is back in the great & great-great grandparents generation. However, I don't feel entirely English. (My Mum's family were from Yorkshire & Lancashire, my Dad is Liverpool Irish). I don't think that thousands of years of family history are dissipated in a couple of generations. Like Jewishness, but differently, I think Irishness trickles on in some form another through cultural transmission. Oh yeah, and genes, nearly forgot! My Dad and my Grandma probably have that West of Ireland mitochondrial DNA, as my Dad's maternal line is from Mayo. I won't have it, of course, since fathers don't transmit it - mine is probably Lancastrian, if such a thing exists.
OK, so the ancient history of ones' lineage is meaningless in real terms, and this sense of connection with one's ancestors is an imaginative construct. Doesn't mean one can't enjoy it or get something from ruminating on that unbroken thread. I've been reading about early hominids lately and *that* gives me a thrilling sense of connection, too. Hey, it's nice to feel like part of the human race, and even the Mammalian Class. (I'm so happy not to be a lamprey...)
In spite of these romantic feelings of continuity, I'm not remotely interested in Nationalism. And where our ancestors have been living for the last few hundred or thousand years is pretty small stuff compared to the big picture. We're all quite closely related, we modern humans...
And I don't think your background is of the least importance when you come to Irish music. I agree with Chris & Dow on that one. Any idea of a racial heirarchy there, is pernicious in the extreme. Though as Ms Sensible Footwear pointed out, those people who are exposed to the music from age 0 are always going to have the advantage, aren't they? And so far, that's mostly meant being Irish. But less so, now and with the next generation.
# Posted on October 9th 2003 by Nell
Re: How Irish are you?
Of course.
If you LOVE the music. Its yours.
Nobody "owns" it.
Its not about where you come from.
Its about what you do with it.
"Share your music"
Pat
# Posted on October 9th 2003 by Pat Higgins
Re: How Irish are you?
Needaliver - Irish Full stop??!!- you have obviously never been to Australia or you wouldnt be talking such nonesense
But its always good to have a bit of Welsh thrown in for a nice balance. Actually lads, the only reason I'm harping on about Wales lately is because the Rugby World Cup starts in Sydney today and so I'm getting Hyped up and Patriotic
# Posted on October 9th 2003 by bb
Re: How Irish are you?
Helenīs remarks about maternal lines and all made me think about it a bit math-sci-theoretical:
you have a mix of two genes momīs are mixed of two, dads are mixed of two, each of your grandmaīs are mixed of two and each of your granddadīs as well .... an overview over three generations makes your genes mixed from eight people. but your grandmas and granddads each have as well eight ancestors of three generations back - what sums up to 64 bits of different peoples genes mixed for you six generations back
an overview over all your ancestors since the time columbus discovered america makes you a mix of the genes of one million people (exactly 1,048,576 for theoretical estimated 20 generations). a twenty generation review seems to make a bit sense and so everything is fine so far. It definitely turns to become absurd when you go on, but anyway, the figures might make one think about genetic terms of heritage in different ways...
an overview over all your ancestors since the time leif ericson discovered america makes you a mix of the genes of one billion people (that is a 10 digit number ).... at least some of them must have been the same several times because one billion people exceeds the worlds entire population of that time .... but on the other hand it could not have been too much always the same when the result is a physical and mental quite healthy people - and to me the irish seem to bee (despite of some minor characteristics that might be a very special developed genetic defect)
an overlook over all your ancestors since the time saint brendan discovered america theoretically makes you a mix of a billion billions (a 19 digit number) bits of genes ... Iīm sure a few of them have been irish in your case - Iīm not sure there has been none of them irish in my case....
ok - as I said, it is absurd to play this math-sci-theory game too far (and I think that is lets say much more then ten generations). but one thing to me is clear: the tradition is more important than the genes...
# Posted on October 9th 2003 by crannog
Re: How Irish are you?
Yes, it's fun (and sobering, if that's not a contradiction) to do the maths thing before you get too misty-eyed about your ancestors. Beyond a few generations, their numbers do become quite dizzying. Although of course the theoretical numbers are wildly larger than the real numbers, which will involve huge amounts of duplication. The mitochondrial evidence would seem to show that the West of Ireland population was quite inbred for a long time, and then there was that study in Cheddar, (also of mitochondrial DNA, I think) which proved close kinship between a modern resident of the area (a school teacher, I think he was) and a Stone-Age?/Iron Age? (or at least, pretty ancient) resident of the same area. I guess there have been many times of migration and change but also long periods of stasis, when people didn't move from the place they were born in.
Also I do think the lineage-by-paternal-surname is a misleading tradition, which encourages us to think of our heritage as linear rather than tree-like. It's also a bit rash to choose the paternal line as the more significant; as my Great Grandma used to say, 'Mammy sure, Daddy never'!
# Posted on October 9th 2003 by Nell
Re: How Irish are you?
Ach, we're all just made out of atums and mollykewels anyway.
# Posted on October 9th 2003 by Key Maniac Lad
Re: How Irish are you?
I love the following song. it might be somehow superficial on first sight and seems to represent a special kind of "american-irishness" ...
.... it fits perfect the topic of this thread and the intention of superficialness is blown away when you read Cathie Ryanīs comment what the song means to her. (and I give you a link, where the aspect of "american-irishness" is explained better then I might be able to do ... at the end. but first of all: the song lyrics)
From Mother: Grandma's Song
(words and music by Cathie Ryan)
Cathie Sheehy came from Cooga in a place called Doon
She was a very special girl
A tailor named Timmy from the town of Tipperary
Saw her once and his heart was in a whirl
They married and they settled in the little town of Newport
They had a fine family
And I'm a very lucky girl because her son was my father
And that made her a grandmother to me
Grandma liked to sing the old Irish songs
She liked a sweet melody
She liked to play the fiddle in the kitchen by the fireside
But best of all my grandma liked me
Grandma loved to go out walking through the streets of Newport Town
When the morning's work was done
She'd put on her finest sweater and take me along out with her
She had a smile for everyone
She wore her hair up neatly in a little braided bun
'Twas the finest it could be
And every night before bedtime I'd say, "Ah, grandma take it down."
And she'd comb through the long waves for me
Chorus:
On special nights after tea she would play for us
She'd put the devil in the bow
Then she'd put the fiddle back in the little cloth sack
That grandfather sewed so long ago
I'd ask her for a song and she'd sing her favorite one
She'd start the whole family
Then we'd go around the ring and everyone would have to sing
That's the greatest gift that grandma gave to me
Chorus:
Đ 1990. Wake the Neighbors Music, ASCAP
Cathie Ryan: "I wrote this children's song after my last visit with my paternal grandmother. She gave me my name and my love of singing. She died of Alzheimers disease in 1991. On that last visit she didn't know or remember me. She was lost in her own mind . My Aunt Bridie suggested that I sing to her. I knelt at her feet and began singing an old jig that she used to like. Slowly she began to tap her foot and slowly her eyes began to come alive. They were full of the same light she always had when she sang or heard music. For those moments I knew she knew me. For that brief time she was the woman I remembered - all love and music."
and hereīs the link:
http://www.nighteaglecafe.org/artists/ryan.html
# Posted on October 9th 2003 by crannog
Mammy sure, daddy never
isn't that why folk invented marriage?
# Posted on October 9th 2003 by nastyweegirl
Re: How Irish are you?
completely Irish! mikemcdaid, did your Father come from Milford?
In 1978 I worked in Portsalon and new the McDaid family form Milford or Ramelton. they had a soft drinks factory. Later in Dublin again I shared a flat with Dolores McDaid from that family. Interesting stuff!!!!
Brioc
# Posted on October 10th 2003 by brioc
Re: How Irish are you?
1783, Belfast...that is as far back I got with the family tree thanks to the internet. Funny thing...my entire life nobody ever pronounces my last name correctly. But, as I was taking my first child back down to the nursery 11 years ago an Irish woman in the elevator said "Oh! McKeough" (Ma Co)....she said it was common. It's not common here in Canada. I was relieved to FINAL:LY hear somebody say it the way I knew it...I was startin' to think the parents were a little mislead....like they didn't pronounce it right.
Dave
# Posted on October 12th 2003 by Vibrolux
Re: How Irish are you?
I'm as Irish as chicken soup.
I can proudly say, however, that I have two Irish cousins once removed. My cousin's partner is Irish, and they now have two boys - who are half Irish by blood, if not birth (they were both born in West Yorkshire).
# Posted on October 12th 2003 by ragaman
Re: How Irish are you?
Both my grandfathers were Irish, both emigrated. However neither bought up their families to think of themselves as Irish, although the grandfather who was still alive when I was born had a strong Irish accent and also played jigs and reels on the fiddle. The physical genes have come through strongly, Ireland is full of women of my age who look like me (and full of men of my brother's age who look like him). Despite this strong genetic inheritance, however, because I have a very English accent, the question I am most frequently asked by Irish traditional musicians is along the lines of: "What made someone like you (sic) start to play ITM?" Hmmm.
# Posted on October 14th 2003 by LW
Re: How Irish are you?
I'm that Irish if ya cut me I'd bleed GREEN, WHITE and GOLD.
# Posted on March 11th 2005 by danny boy
Re: How Irish are you?
Hello. I'm new here, so "hi" to everybody. The name "Jane the Fool" comes from the fact that I'm a court jester. The real thing! I've traveled England, performing at castles and private manor homes, but I also ply my trade here in the states. Anyway, I can trace my Irish ancestors clear back to the 5th century AD on my Dad's side! We've been able to trace the name "McGeough" back to its origin of "Eochaid" (pronounced Oh-kaid) - and these folks date back to the earliest medieval settlements. I'm not ONLY Irish, but I've also got English, Scottish, German, Swedish, and Swiss in my blood. My mother's ancestors were those ruthless (but very SEXY) vikings! No wonder I'm white as a ghost and a natural redhead. When my father grew a beard he looked like he had parked his viking ship somewhere. One of my brothers also sports a bright red beard. I've traveled to Britain many times in search of my Celtic ancestry, and never grow tired of exploring my roots. But, couldn't just ONE of my relatives have
married someone with at least an OLIVE complexion, so I wouldn't have to avoid the sun like I do? (sigh) I love the great outdoors, but don't love the damaging sunburns that plague me each summer. Anyway, I'd love to hear from other Irish folks. We Celtic folks ROCK! Well, a few of us just roll...on the floor. Tamara (Jane the Fool) histor2@mindspring.com
# Posted on March 17th 2005 by Jane the Fool
Re: How Irish are you?
Well I have to admit that me ma is a bit of a Dane with the name "Kenny" But me ole lad is 100% and so was his ole lad and the ole lad after that Ha. me second name "Ni hOigain" i traced the name back to the county Kilkenny where it supposed to have come from. My great grandad was a runner for the I.R.B which is "The Irish Republican Brothers" but he died at 32 with pnemonia from lying in ditch cause he had to hide from the british "Black and Tans".
Meself I'm in the irish army and I'm well proud to be irish because us irish a strong bunch of feckers so we are theres no puttin us down and in reply to "Jane the fool" I also have red facial hair haaa all me mates slafg me over it cause i have dark brown hair.looks weird. Up The celts!!!!!
# Posted on April 11th 2005 by danny boy