With St. Patrick's Day celebrations well under way today's feature is the great mother country of Ireland. Having the last name Quinn I have always considered my ancestry to be solely Irish forgetting all of the other influences in my lineage. Images of pale, freckled faced children with curly red hair frolicking in endless green pastures while their bearded fathers were in pubs singing tunes over pints of beer are primarily what come to mind. Lots of knee slapping and pints 'o sloshing is mixed in as well, and somehow the accent has a bit of pirate tone. While I like to daydream that my ancestors lived on a vast estate complete with large flocks of sheep and a castle overlooking the rugged coastline, I know that they more than likely fled to America as a result of the Potato Famine.
No one can dispute the influence the early Irish settlers have had on America. The most widely recognized is St. Patrick's Day. The Irish have celebrated this cultural and religious holiday, which commemorates St. Patrick bringing Christianity to Ireland and the anniversary of his death, for over 1,000 years . Since it falls during Lent, families would attend church in the morning and celebrate during the afternoon. Lenten restrictions would be lifted on the consumption of meat and alcohol so people would dance, drink and feast on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.
One day I wish to visit this beautiful country and experience all of its finer things.......
Sybil Head, Dingle Peninsula
Newgrange- built around 3200BC making it older than Stonehenge AND the great pyramids
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