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The River Lagan The River Lagan
  • The Story
  • The Team
    • Sheelagh Manheim
    • Frank M Addington
  • The Forum
    • 400 Words
    • Quotes on the Fridge
    • Songs of Life
  • The Marketplace
Mar 16

Saint Patrick’s Day

  • March 16, 2018
  • The River Lagan
  • 400 Words

Good Morning! So, this is the day you wear your green hat and shamrock, grab a pint of your favourite Irish beverage, and dance a little Irish jig as you watch the parade go by.

Before you party on, my friend could you spare a few moments to consider other attributes you might don on this day of celebrating the Irish in us all? Just bullets – all you have to do is scan a few bullets. Okay? Ready!

  1. The Real Irish Identity*
    1. Passionate (enthusiastic)
    2. Humourous (comedic, witty,)
    3. Warm and friendly
    4. Creative and Imaginative
  2. An Historians’s View**
    1. A love of nature
    2. An endless search for God
    3. A need for solitude with a powerful desire for community
    4. A dedication for learning and knowledge (a passion for language)
  3. Irish Definition of poverty***
    A person who lacks two or more of the following items is defined as living in consistent poverty (less than 60% of the median income is the financial definition)
  1. Two pairs of strong shoes
  2. A warm waterproof overcoat
  3. Buy new not second-hand clothes
  4. Eat meals with meat, chicken, fish (or vegetarian equivalent) every second day
  5. Have a roast joint or its equivalent once a week
  6. Had to go without heating during the last year through lack of money
  7. Keep the home adequately warm
  8. Buy presents for family or friends at least once a year
  9. Replace any worn out furniture
  10. Have family or friends for a drink or meal once a month
  11. Have a morning, afternoon or evening out in the last fortnight, for entertainment

Where’s the tech? Where’s the car? Where’s the radio or telly?
What’s important here are human necessities: warmth, a roof over one’s head, enough food. Also, for the Irish, there are social necessities: sharing a meal and drink with friends, giving gifts once a year to family and friends, money for entertainment, and pride in one’s home and appearance.

How about trying out these other aspects of Irish identity: tell a joke, write a poem, kiss a tree, light a candle, – then grab your friends and head for the neighborhood pub.

PS. Before next year’s St. Paddy’s Day, do yourself a favour – become Irish proud by reading How the Irish Saved Civilization, by Thomas Cahill. It reads like a novel – an exciting, passionate story with key dates to keep you in line.

*The Irish Times, March 15, 2014
** from an on-line lecture
***The Official Irish Government definition of consistent poverty (2007)

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