Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

~~~

General John Kelly: "He said that, in his opinion, Mr. Trump met the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator if allowed, and had no understanding of the Constitution or the concept of rule of law."

Monday, March 17, 2014

Seán Ó Riordáin, great Irish poet from Cork












To all the Cork men out there (and all who love the Irish):  


sona ú. lá patrick ar


6 comments:

FreeThinke said...

__________ On St. Paddy’s Day __________

On city streets and hills and village squares
Neighbors celebrate with ethnic pride
Something ancient –– veiled in mist –– with airs
That sound like merry mourning countrywide.

Pipes of clay so white and pints of brew
Abound among the throngs that flood the pubs ––
Declaiming Emerald the sacred hue ––
Decrying England’s cruel historic snubs.

Yet, maudlin sentiment soon drowns the ire.
‘Tis nostalgia that’s the order of the day ––
Sweet dreams of something mythic –– far away ––
Dissolve with drink the potency of fire.

A nation’s wounded pride may fill its heart,
Yet give no strength save that which tears apart.


~ FreeThinke - The Sandpiper, Spring 1997

okjimm said...

Billy stops Paddy in Dublin and asks for the quickest way to Cork.
Paddy says, "Are you on foot or in the car?"
Billy says, "In the car."
Paddy says, "That's the quickest way."

okjimm said...

An Irishman was flustered not being able to find a parking space in a large mall's parking lot.

"Lord,"he prayed,"I can't stand this.If you open a space up for me,I swear I'll give up drinking me whiskey, and I promise to go to church every Sunday."

Suddenly, the clouds parted and the sun shone on an empty parking spot. Without hesitation, the man said,"Never mind,I found one on me own."

okjimm said...

ohohoh have a little Irish from Wisco

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFxQQbCZEj4


...and... a good day

FreeThinke said...

Curious language! It bears little or no resemblance to the Romance, Greek and Teutonic tongues we're used to, and yet it sounds a lot like Chaucer recited in its original Middle English.

Something ancient and mysterious. It carries with it the aura of antiquity. Do the Irish today really speak this ancient tongue, or is it just a few diehard traditionalists, scholars, and agenda-driven separatist activists?

I imagine the situation in Ireland is very similar to the problems involved in the attempt to keep Welsh alive and well.

One wonders how many different languages have come and gone over the past hundred-thousand years or so?

Shaw Kenawe said...

To answer your question about the Irish language:

"Irish (Gaeilge), also known as Irish Gaelic or Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is spoken as a first language by a small minority of Irish people, and as a second language by a rather larger group.

Irish enjoys constitutional status as the national and first official language of the Republic of Ireland. It is an official language of the European Union and an officially recognised minority language in Northern Ireland.

Irish was the predominant language of the Irish people for most of their recorded history, and they brought it with them to other countries, notably Scotland and the Isle of Man, where it gave rise to Scottish Gaelic and Manx.


It has the oldest vernacular literature in Western Europe."