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!
- The Real Irish Identity*
- Passionate (enthusiastic)
- Humourous (comedic, witty,)
- Warm and friendly
- Creative and Imaginative
- An Historians’s View**
- A love of nature
- An endless search for God
- A need for solitude with a powerful desire for community
- A dedication for learning and knowledge (a passion for language)
- 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)
- Two pairs of strong shoes
- A warm waterproof overcoat
- Buy new not second-hand clothes
- Eat meals with meat, chicken, fish (or vegetarian equivalent) every second day
- Have a roast joint or its equivalent once a week
- Had to go without heating during the last year through lack of money
- Keep the home adequately warm
- Buy presents for family or friends at least once a year
- Replace any worn out furniture
- Have family or friends for a drink or meal once a month
- 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)
