Happy St. Patricks Day!

I grew up listening to the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem on account of me Irish mother and her bounty of their albums! Plus we grew up in these sweaters, also pictured below!

One of my favourites follows, to put you in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day!

Now what would St. Patrick's Day be without a pint of that frothy Guinness beer?

Did you know that Guinness is actually healthy for you and less calories than other beers?

That's why they came up with the slogan "Guiness is Good for You".

Sláinte

(to your health)

I will be havin' a pint or two tonight meself when we head over to our church for an Irish Ceili with Irish Stew, Irish Dancers, music and dancing.
This will be my first one that I've attended since me Mum died.
Tomorrow would have been her 75th birthday!

What Shall I Say About the Irish?

The utterly impractical, never predictable,
Sometimes irascible, quite inexplicable, Irish.

Strange blend of shyness,
pride and conceit,
And stubborn refusal to bow in defeat.
He's spoiling and ready to argue and fight,
Yet the smile of a child
fills his soul with delight.
His eyes are the quickest to well up with tears,
Yet his strength is the strongest
to banish your fears.
His hate is as fierce as his devotion is grand,
And there is no middle ground
on which he will stand.
He's wild and he's gentle,
he's good and he's bad.
He's proud and he's humble,
he's happy and sad.
He's in love with the ocean,
the earth and the skies,
He's enamoured with beauty wherever it lies.
He's victor and victim, a star and a clod,
But mostly he's Irish—
in love with his God.

And a very Happy St. Patricks Day to all me fine Internets!

I leave you all wit'

An Old Irish Blessing
May love and laughter light your days,

and warm your heart and home.

May good and faithful friends be yours,

wherever you may roam.

May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures.

May all life's passing seasons bring the best to you and yours!

Irish Church Lady
(ICL)
Irish

More of me favourite Irish jokes over at ICL Plays

Also a U2 Video playing at ICL Videos

Saturday Photo Hunt at ICL is at Home!
(The word for this week is DRINK hee hee!!)

Seven Drunken Nights

Thursday Thirteen is at ICL is at Home this week.

This song originally heralds from The Dubliners.

The last couple of verses are not normally sung because they are so crude so I've given you the words below.

As I went home on Monday night as drunk as drunk could be
I saw a horse outside the door where my old horse should be
Well, I called me wife and I said to her: Will you kindly tell to me
Who owns that horse outside the door where my old horse should be?

Ah, you're drunk,
you're drunk you silly old fool,
still you can not see
That's a lovely sow that me mother sent to me
Well, it's many a day I've travelled a hundred miles or more
But a saddle on a sow sure I never saw before

And as I went home on Tuesday night as drunk as drunk could be
I saw a coat behind the door where my old coat should be
Well, I called me wife and I said to her: Will you kindly tell to me
Who owns that coat behind the door where my old coat should be

Ah, you're drunk,
you're drunk you silly old fool,
still you can not see
That's a woollen blanket that me mother sent to me
Well, it's many a day I've travelled a hundred miles or more
But buttons in a blanket sure I never saw before

And as I went home on Wednesday night as drunk as drunk could be
I saw a pipe up on the chair where my old pipe should be
Well, I called me wife and I said to her: Will you kindly tell to me
Who owns that pipe up on the chair where my old pipe should be

Ah, you're drunk,
you're drunk you silly old fool,
still you can not see
That's a lovely tin whistle that me mother sent to me
Well, it's many a day I've travelled a hundred miles or more
But tobacco in a tin whistle sure I never saw before

And as I went home on Thursday night as drunk as drunk could be
I saw two boots beneath the bed where my old boots should be
Well, I called me wife and I said to her: Will you kindly tell to me
Who owns them boots beneath the bed where my old boots should be

Ah, you're drunk,
you're drunk you silly old fool,
still you can not see
They're two lovely Geranium pots me mother sent to me
Well, it's many a day I've travelled a hundred miles or more
But laces in Geranium pots I never saw before

And as I went home on Friday night as drunk as drunk could be
I saw a head upon the bed where my old head should be
Well, I called me wife and I said to her: Will you kindly tell to me
Who owns that head upon the bed where my old head should be

Ah, you're drunk,
you're drunk you silly old fool,
still you can not see
That's a baby boy that me mother sent to me
Well, it's many a day I've travelled a hundred miles or more
But a baby boy with his whiskers on sure I never saw before

And as I went home on Saturday night as drunk as drunk could be
I saw two hands upon her breasts where my old hands should be
Well, I called me wife and I said to her: Will you kindly tell to me
Who owns them hands upon your breasts where my old hands should be

Ah, you're drunk,
you're drunk you silly old fool,
still you can not see
That's a lovely night gown that me mother sent to me
Well, it's many a day I've travelled a hundred miles or more
But fingers in a night gown sure I never saw before

As I went home on Sunday night as drunk as drunk could be
I saw a thing in her thing where my old thing should be
Well, I called me wife and I said to her: Will you kindly tell to me
Who owns that thing in your thing where my old thing should be

Ah, you're drunk,
you're drunk you silly old fool,
still you can not see
That's a lovely tin whistle that me mother sent to me
Well, it's many a day I've travelled a hundred miles or more
But hair on a tin whistle sure I never saw before

Irish Church Lady (ICL)
Irish

P.S. Christie at the Mis-Adventures of Captain Poopy has a funny post for all you fans of American Idol. Christie ~ this is me as an M&M.


http://www.trippytext.com/
http://www.makeyourspace.com/

P.S. Mrs Lifecruiser is having a V-cruise starting on Friday March 16. What's a V-cruise you ask? A virtual cruise!! Some call it a Cyber Cruise. Read all about it here and here.

Yours truly is hosting it on March 20th at a surprise destination port! Mysteries abound!

Dead People Not Allowed to Enter Here

Pam found me some great information on the castle in my last post. It's called Lemenagh Castle (albeit there's a number of different spellings for Leimaneh) and is located in County Clare near the town of Kilfenora. Here's another picture and a funny story to go with it. Well at least I think it's funny and typically Irish!

The castle was owned by the O'Brien clan and saw varied usage and owners. At one
point it was owned by Conor O’Brien who was married to Maura Rua or Red Mary. He returned from battle in a state of extreme disrepair, she refuse him admittance
on the grounds that he was dead. Disproving this assumption, he was allowed in and subsequently died shortly thereafter. Red Mary remarried to improve her position, but all was for naught as thing rapidly fell apart leaving the castle in the current state of decomposition.

Irish Church Lady (ICL)
Irish

The Town I Loved So Well

Saturday Photo Hunt ~ Architecture is here at ICL is at Home.

I had fun with this one this week!

One week to St. Patrick's Day!

Ha ha ha, I guess the photo above coulda been used for SPH ~ Architecture too!

Anywees, Trish, Pam and someone else I saw but can't remember who are gettin' me into the spirit leading up to St. Patrick's Day.

Now I must tell you why the days around St. Pat's mean so much to me.

March 18 is me Mum's birthday

March 17 - St. Patrick's Day, a course

March 16 - me youngest sister's birthday

March 15 - the day my Auntie passed away

So now to share with you one of me favourite Irish songs. Kind of sad but very poignant. This version is performed by Paddy Reilly of The Dubliners. It was actually written by Phil Coulter and he does a good performance also. It's also been performed by Luke Kelly and Ronnie Drew but I like Paddy's version best. See excerpts of the above performers here.

The Town I Loved So Well (incl lyrics)

Just for Pam ~ the picture at the top is of the same castle that you have on your blog. Another shot from a different angle here.

Irish Church Lady
(ICL)
Irish

Textured

I need your help. I've narrowed down my pictures that symbolize "TEXTURED" to me in the following slide show. Textured is this weeks word for Photo Friday.

Which photo(s) most shows TEXTURED to you?

All images are from IRELAND
Irish Church Lady
(ICL)
Irish

Please vote below:

Free polls from Pollhost.com

What photo best represents TEXTURED?

When the Fog Creeps Over the Mountain Bedroom Window Fences Roses in Rain Gathering the Sheep Below History Lesson Mosaic No cares Two Sheep and a Man Lying Down Potato Famine House Castle Wet Surf Rock Fences Make Great Neighbours Roughage Two Gulls and a Man Lying Down Siesta The Road Less Travelled Three Castle Front Property

Saturday Photo Hunt - SAFE

This weeks theme is
SAFE
Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Grab the Scavenger Hunt code.
~Brought to us by TNChick ~

John 10:14, originally uploaded by irish_church_lady.

This is a house on the hillside of the area of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. Notice the fog hanging over the hill. You can see it almost touching the ground to the left of the house.

I've often wondered if this is an old abandoned house from the Potato Famine Days starting in 1845 to 1851. It's a quite a stark contrast to the word SAFE. World disasters, whether long ago or recent are difficult to fathom if you believe in a loving God.

I do, and I have faith that I may know the full story some day. It is something that my human mind cannot comprehend, but thankfully my spiritual being is enough to sustain my faith.

I do pray for guidance and strength for the Lord to help me and others, in any time of darkness, so that we may live in his light once again.

The History Place - Irish Potato Famine

News Stories from the Cork Examiner

An excerpt

November 23, 1846 - DEATHS FROM HUNGER

An inquest was held on Monday last, before Francis Twiss, Esq., Coroner, on the body of a poor labouring man, named John Botend, of Ballireanig, to the west of Dingle, who fell on the new road there making, and expired immediately after being carried to his residence. The verdict was "he came by his death from hunger and cold."

On Tuesday, the following day, an inquest was also held on the body of John Browne, Kilquane, who died on the road from Tralee through Littlerough to Dingle on Monday last, as he was on his way from the Workhouse at Tralee to Dingle-- fell on the road and was taken into a farmer's house at Kiloummen-- and expired in a few hours after. The Verdict was "that John Browne, being in the Union Workhouse and making his way home to Dingle, a distance of over 30 miles, died of fatigue and weakness." --Kerry Examiner.

Next week: Windows

Saturday Photo Hunt

Tagged

I've Been Tagged

I've been tagged by Fleur de Lisa to:
1. Do the following WITHOUT complaint.
2. Choose five people to do this after you’ve completed yours.
3. Leave a tag on the person’s tagboard to say he/she has been tagged.
4. Start your post with I have been tagged! Then do this. (copy and paste!)

So I wrote most of this in the a.m. but posted it when I got home from work.

Favourites:
Favourite Colour: right now, lime green / chartreuse, my favourite colour changes, over the years it has been orange, yellow, teal.
Favourite Food: I think I've answered this in another meme, but I can't remember what I said. Right now I'm gonna say nachos.
Favourite Movie: So I Married an Axe Murderer
Favourite Sport: running or biking - don't make me decide
Favourite Day of the Week: Saturday
Favourite Season: tough one 'cause I always enjoy the one I'm in so now I'll say Summer
Favourite Ice Cream: Anything with chocolate - not chocolate on it's own - mocha chocolate, peanut butter and chocolate, Rolo, you get the picture.

Currents:
Current Mood: waking up ... is that a mood?
Current Clothes: red nightie
Current Desktop: Ardfert Abbey - see pic here
Current Time: 7:12 am
Current Surroundings: me bed, coffee at my side, fan blowing on me, The Doodle sleeping beside me .
Current Annoyances: the situation in the Middle East
Current Thoughts: Damn, gotta go to work.

First:
First Best Friend: Sonja my neighbor from down the street I was 4 or 5. We're still friends today.

Last:
Last Drink: Margarita, last night
Last Car Ride: yesterday to church
Last Crush: Mel Gibson - gone! Can't wait to see his mug shot if it's ever released!
Last Phone Call: My Dad
Last CD played: Music for Small rooms

Have you ever:
Have you ever dated one of your best friends: no
Have you ever broken the law: yes, stoled a street sign in college
Have you ever been arrested: no
Have you ever been on TV: yes
Have you ever kissed someone you dont know: passionately, no

Things:
5 things you are good at: rolling through stop signs on my bike, procrastinating, wiggling my ears, finding typos, my job.
4 things you have done today: peed, put a load of laundry on, drank coffee, blogged.
3 things you can hear right now: fan, radio, Pool Boy knocking around downstairs

I've tagged Mat, Gracie, AlRo, Charmed1 and Viamarie ~Thanks guys!