I don't claim this, usually. As Tommy Tiernan says, "Everyone wants to be Irish, but they can't tell you why."
So I try not to. I honestly do.
I know that people seem to think that the Irish all immigrated to Massachusetts and New York and places such as that, but honestly Dixie was heavily populated by Celts. Where I come from everyone is Scotch-Irish, which is a mythical race created on the spot when Irish came into the Deep South and wanted to avoid anti-Catholic bias and bigotry. Suddenly the auld sod be damned, we're Scotch-Irish.
Yeah.
Occasionally, from out the bloody blue, and often as October approaches, I get the strange urge to listen to Celtic folk music and drinking songs and tangential bands like Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys and the Pogues. I consider this part of the Halloween tradition, I mean, it is a Celtic holiday after all.
That completely goes against my argument that Halloween is THE most American of all holidays. More even than the 4th of July.
Now this usually does not happen around Saint Patrick's Day. Draw your own conclusions.
Today's Playlist was (in no particular order):
Kiss Me I'm Shitfaced (DM)
Float (FM)
Salty Dog (FM)
Limerick Rake (Pogues)
Rake (Irish Rovers)
Gordon Lightfoot (I know he is a Canadian, but it was a palate cleanser, and anyway it was a good song so feck it)
Mick Maguire (first Clancy Bros, then Irish Rovers)
Limerick Rake (again, but it was the Dubliners)
(which led to) Dingle Puck Goat
(then) Wolfe Tones (for a bit)
And some more Pogues with the Dubliners
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| I NEVER get tired of posting this picture...as insulting as it may be |
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| Gratuitous Celtic Pumpkin |
Keep your turnips lit.
Hmmm...well I'm 'Scotch-Irish' too...ha! Well, Scotch-Irish and Norwegian on the other side. At least I thought I was...that's what the grandparents always said. But I just figured the Scotch - Irish part meant that me grandparents or great great grandparents....were one of each ya know? Like one was Scottish and the other was Irish....hence the term Scott-Irish. I do know we have the red haired gene in the family...some more than others. Me less....my brother and niece more so! And I know that my Father, Brother and Niece do like to drink. And I believe in Leprechauns....so I figure that's close enough...ha! But now you got me to ponderin' on whether my Grandmother just made it all up. :o)
ReplyDeleteGrandmother's never make things up, they just creatively remember the past.
ReplyDeleteMy wife spent years believe her mother's family was Irish (what with the red hair and being told they were) until she was in a conversation with a Brit and found out that her mother's maiden name is Welsh. So now she's Welsh and some other things. If I do the genealogy bit out it goes something like English (stretched far enough back to Germany), Irish, French, French, Criminal.
Ha!
ReplyDelete"Creatively remembering" is probably true. My Mom was adopted as a baby by my Grandparents. So as such, she was never allowed to know who her 'birth parents' were. But my Grandmother told her she was of Scotch-Irish decent. But who really knows.
And on my Dad's side, our surname is decidedly Engish (Griffin), yet his side of the family did this whole geneology search going way, way back....and discovered that our 'Norwegian' ancestors were Vikings. Huh? I suppose they have the proof...and I know there were some migrations of surnames into different countries. But I'm still not convinced that my Dad just didn't fancy the notion that he descended from some big bad Viking....ha! Yep...creatively remembering the past! That's probably the truth of it right there!
And as long as we are doing that....I'm going with myself having a past life as a Wise Witch from Ireland or Wales (maybe around the time of King Arthur)....I think that suits me well! :o)
Well said.
ReplyDeleteMy wife descends from Space Aliens.