Ireland History
Every place has a unique history which contributes to the magic of the location and the people, and Ireland is no different. You can see Irish history all around you, and also in the many museums in Ireland, too.
The Wren Boys
It was the evening of the day after our first Christmas in Ireland when the phone rang.
“Seán,”it was the voice of hacky, a local musician and good friend of mine. “Get that bodhrán out and put on the strangest clothes you have.
“What? What’s this all about?”
“Seriously, Seánie, get that goatskin and put on a hat and a shirt backward or some such nonsense, you know what I’m gettin’ at - wear something so folks won’t know you to see you and I’ll be there to pick you up in 10 minutes.”
What could I do but comply?
Ten minutes later, with three mismatched ties around my neck, a ridiculous hat and a bright yellow shirt worn over a puffy vest I stood outside as a small blue van pulled up out front. The back gate burst open and someone in a plastic clown mask with straw sticking out of their hatbrim leaned out,
“Get in!”
Date: December 26th, 2006 |
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Culinary Confusion
So there is one thing here in Ireland that, until today, I have been quite confused about: the names for meals.
Don’t get me wrong, the terms breakfast, lunch and dinner are used here, but so is “tea” (to refer to a meal). And what about “supper,” the term I grew up using interchangeably with “dinner?”
So what means what?
Well, today a coworker of mine asked me if a local cafe served dinner. I told her that I was certain they closed around 5pm; she was out of luck. She frowned at me, obviously confused by my answer. She passed that confusion back to me when she explained that she was looking for her afternoon meal at the cafe. Thus began a protracted conversation about the terms used for meals in Ireland.
Date: December 1st, 2006 |
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Turnip carving
What you see there to your left is the final result of my experiment in reviving an ancient Irish tradition: the carving of a turnip into a jack-o-lantern.
Yes, the original jack-o-lantern was a turnip and not a pumpkin. I have to admit that I had my doubts when I purchased the turnip a few days ago. Accustomed as I am to carving our lovely soft, naturally hollow pumpkin gourds, the dense firm turnip flesh seemed a difficult proposition: less giving a face to a lantern and more like carving a statue from a chunk of marble.
Date: October 21st, 2006 |
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Samhain
I’ve discussed jack-o-laterns here yesterday, but the whole turnip/pumpkin thing isn’t the only difference between celebrations in the states and in Ireland this time of year.
So, what do the Irish do for Halloween? Well, first off, it’s called samhain (pronounced “sahwn”) here and the Irish light fires.
Seriously.
Big ones.
Massive bonfires flare up all over the countryside around Halloween. It’s a throwback to some ancient seriously pagan stuff, folks. Samhain is the night when the borders between the world of the living and the dead grow thin and people need some luminent marker to make sure they don’t go wandering off to the wrong side . . . whichever side they happen to be wandering from. *insert demonic laughter here*
Last year the wifey and I were driving down through County Offaly on our way to a gig. It was foggy and dark and we were on country roads. We were running late, so of course we missed some obvious landmark in the mist and got ourselves a wee bit lost. Driving around on the twisting, abandoned country roads we passed about 3 massive bonfires the size of houses. There was noone around any of them, they were just burning solitary like some ancient Viking funeral pyre in the night.
I think when we rounded a corner and were caught offguard by the first one, wifey screamed . . . but she’ll probably deny it.
Date: October 15th, 2006 |
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Ballinasloe Horse Fair
The 2006 Ballinasloe horse fair ended Sunday with the dramatic annual tug-of-war competitions filling the weekend. The streets are blocked off for the evening and local businesses and groups compete against each other under the streetlamps to the cheering of the crowds.
Personally, my weekend was chock-a-block; hardly was I back from Kinsale but I was in doing sound for the Bill Coleman concert, leaving Sunday to be a well-deserved day of rest (with a few tunes down in Sean’s Bar, or course).
Date: October 10th, 2006 |
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Luker’s Pub
Obsessed with antiquity? Seeking out the Ireland of days gone by?
Well, you would be fascinated by this little pub in Shannonbridge, County Offaly; Luker’s Pub.
The old part of this bar is almost untouched from how it was when it opened back in the 1750’s. Seriously. Even the decrepit lightswitches look like a new addition.
Date: December 16th, 2006 |
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Turnip carving video
Can I tell you a secret?
Once a year I carry a camera with me for 24 hours and then edit it down to about 15 minutes. I call this ongoing project “Day in the Life” and I’ve been doing it now for 10 years. Anyway, this last Friday (the evening of the halloween party) I decided would be the day for this year’s day in the life video. Now, it usually takes me a couple of months to get around to editing it, but I thought I’d pull out this little tidbit where I carve the turnip, since we’ve been …
Date: October 23rd, 2006 |
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High sky or low sky?
So there I was in Tesco and ringing one of the co-hosts of tomorrow night’s party to see could I get anything that had been missed when he put onto me the purchasing of five more pumpkins. This brings the total up to a mighty 20 pumpkins in our house and many of the guests have told me they’re bringing their own.
Oh, the slaughter we’ll witness.
In any case, I was bringing my bits and bobs up to the checkout and got to chatting with the clerk.
“Ye Americans are great for putting the effort in,” she said, laughing at all my pumpkins,”I’ve never got a pumpkin myself.”
“Well,” says I, “The carving of vegetables doesn’t seem to be a midlands thing all right, but I’ve heard folks from Donegal and Kerry tell me they would have carved turnips for halloween.”
“I’ve heard that, all right.” she replied.
I went on to explain that the story of Jack-o-lantern isn’t an american tradition, but an Irish one. To which she asked,
“Have you ever heard of the púca?” I told her I had not.
Date: October 19th, 2006 |
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Carving Pumpkins in Ireland
Our flat is now decorated for Halloween.
I wish I could stick some pictures up here, but the upload pictures function on my blog isn’t currently working. Sorry, folks!
Here in Ireland, the celebrating of Halloween is something entirely different to what I grew up with in the states. For starters, most folks here in the midlands have NEVER carved a pumpkin. The first year we arrived, we looked in vain for pumpkins. When we asked about it, people scowled and shook their heads,
“That’s an awful American thing to do, we wouldn’t do that here.”
Funny enough, the last two years have seen the local shops filled with pumpkins. The first year they were close to €10 each. Last year it was €4-7. This year they have appeared in the shops for as low as €2! Hooray!
One thing I have discovered: jack-o-lanterns are an Irish tradition. It’s just that pumpkins are not.
While my friends here in the midlands seem to think that the whole mutilating of vegetables on this occasion to turn them into laterns is an entirely american thing, it would seem that, from what I’ve read, it did start in Ireland. I’ve heard a couple of versions of the story behind the Jack-o-lantern at this stage, but they all involve a fella called Jack and his dealings with the devil. Eventually a lantern is needed and Jack makes one out of a turnip and a piece of coal.
That’s right, it was turnips the Irish used to carve, not pumpkins.
Date: October 14th, 2006 |
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Ballinasloe Horse Fair
Every year there is a huge horse fair in Ballinasloe. Midland balladeer Brendan Shine wrote a song about it about, oh, a million years ago. If you think that’s old, just think: this Irish festival is older.
As Brendan says, the king of the fair used to be chosen by fistfight. Now the king is
Date: October 2nd, 2006 |
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