STILLMAN: For the love of the Irish
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Top o' the column to ya', faith and begorra, Erin go bragh and other trite Irishisms! I was going to dedicate this week's column to condemning just that kind of dreadful paddy-come-lately behavior. Ultimately, though, there's too much good St. Patrick's Day news to get to, so let's get right to it.
First, the Roman Catholic Church has moved up St. Patrick's Day to March 14 to avoid a conflict with Holy Week. That won't do much to change the plans of us most rabid plastic paddies, but fellow Catholics be aware. We need to go to church on Friday.
Next, Guinness is currently circulating a petition at proposition317.com to make St. Pat's a national holiday. Give it your support. It's the least we can do to win back our holiday from the blinking shamrock and green beer crowd.
Finally, rather than rail against Americans' often-insulting St. Patrick's Day behavior, I have decided to try to remind us why we need a whole day to recognize the country one in six Americans claims to have descended from. So, without any further ado, here are eight things you should know, but might not, about the Emerald Isle.
Gaeilge
"Irish" is more than speaking English with a silly accent. Gaeilge, the Irish language, is one of the oldest European languages and is studied by linguists as a close cousin of proto-indo-European. It's also a spoken language of such inherent beauty that it makes the French sound like sailors at a truck stop.
These days only a small portion of Irish people can speak the language fluently, but Gaeilge is still used along with English in all government documents and taught in every Irish public school. In certain areas along the west coast, called Gaeilgtachts, Irish is used as the primary language of everyday speech.
Irish is not "Gaelic"; it is, however, a Gaelic language. That means it is related to Scottish, Welsh, Breton and other languages spoken by the Celtic peoples that were among the earliest settlers of the British Isles.
Gaelige is also probably the only language who's words for "Frenchman" and "rat" are exactly the same. That is just one reason Irish speakers say, "Is fearr Gaeilge briste na bearla cliste," or, "Broken Irish is better than clever English."
The Easter Rising
Ireland's long road to independence from Great Britain began in earnest during Easter week in 1916. That was when insurgent members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a precursor to the Irish Republican Army, seized several buildings in Dublin, asserting their independence from England.
The rebellion was crushed after just six days, but the cause was not forgotten. The IRB had already printed a proclamation declaring Ireland's independence. In the struggle that followed, Irish "republicans" ignored the legitimacy of Britain, and the IRA fought as the official military branch of the Irish Republic.
In 1921, a treaty created an Irish Free State, which granted Ireland its own parliament but required members to swear allegiance to the English Crown. Debate over the treaty erupted into an Irish civil war, and full Irish Independence wasn't achieved until 1949.
Hurling
Ireland's national sport has nothing to do with revisiting your lunch. Hurling is a field sport that dates back to the 11th century and has been described as "the world's fastest game" and "a cross between ice hockey and murder."
All 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland and six counties of Northern Ireland compete annually for bragging rights in this ancient game. Hitting the ball, called a sliotar, over the crossbar of the goal is worth one point, hitting it under the crossbar is worth three points, and that's where the rules appear to end. Body checking is just fine. Running with the sliotar in your hand is fine, and blocking someone's hurley - a three-foot ash-wood club - with your wildly flailing hurley is completely, perfectly fine.
Did I mention they play this very physical game with 15 players to a side, minimal pads and often no helmets? No wonder the dream of every Irish boy and girl is to represent their county in professional play.
Michael Collins
More than any other man, Michael Collins is credited with achieving Irish independence. As IRA Chief of Intelligence following the Easter Rising, he orchestrated a guerilla war that inspired revolutionaries around the world.
Popularly remembered as affable by nature and ruthless by necessity, Collins' campaign finally brought the British to the negotiating table in 1921. Hoping to finally take violence out of Irish politics, he supported the Irish Free State as a necessary step to full independence. Unfortunately, many of his allies, including future Irish President Eamon DaVelra, didn't share his pragmatic approach.
Collins was assassinated in 1922 during a visit to County Cork, possibly by anti-treaty forces. Later, DaValera would say that not supporting Collins and the treaty was his greatest political mistake. There are hundreds of brands of whiskey produced in Ireland; Michael Collins is the only non-distiller to have one named after him.
Qui-Gon Jinn
That's right, Master Qui-Gon is Irish - at least Liam Neeson is. He was born in Country Antrim in Northern Ireland and has been movies from "Schindler's List" to "Love Actually." He even played Michael Collins himself.
This is all nothing new, of course. Irish people have been leaders in the arts for hundreds of years. Poets and authors from James Joyce to Seamus Heaney have turned the trials and joys of Irish life into works of art.
Want to know how influential Irish artists are? Well, between Neeson and Cork native Cillian Murphy, Irishmen portrayed both major villains in "Batman Begins." But for the most graphic proof, go to Paris and check out the headstone of Oscar Wilde. It's aflame with lipstick marks from a thousand postmortem lady callers.
Fionn mac Cumhaill
Sometimes he's the commander of Ireland's first standing army; sometimes he's the leader of a band roving outlaws. You can't expect perfect continuity out of ancient folk tale.
Ireland's mythical history is full of bigger-than-life characters, and Fionn - often just "Finn" or "Finn McCool" - is no small player among them. Not many mythical heroes can trace the source of their powers to a cooking accident, but Fionn is an exception. He burnt his thumb cooking the Salmon of Knowledge and instinctively popped it in his mouth, thus gaining all the fish's wisdom. Thereafter Fionn could learn anything he needed to know simply by sucking the burnt thumb.
Irish revolutionaries also considered themselves "Fenians" because their nationalism was partially inspired by tales of Fionn's exploits. Fionn himself may not yet have had his final say on the fate of the country. One legend has it that he is merely asleep waiting to wake again at Ireland's hour of greatest need. Not bad for a guy whose name means "bald, son of a slave girl."
Northern Ireland
Also known as The Six Counties, Ulster, or by its traditional symbol, The Red Hand, Northern Ireland is the reason you can go to Dublin and buy a bottle of Bailey's that says both "Product of Ireland" and "Imported."
Sectarian feuds between Protestants and Catholics have waxed and waned, obscuring much of the history of Ulster, but are far from Northern Ireland's only claim to fame. Ulster has its own cycle of historical mythology. This includes the national epic, "The Cattle Raid of Cooley," a story about the fallout from a royal marriage and a case of cattle rustling.
The north is also home to some of the most scenic landscapes in the whole of Ireland, not to mention the Bushmills distillery, the oldest whiskey distiller in the country. If you're into something a bit more social, the annual Halloween Carnival in Derry features huge parties and stilt-walking druids.
Brown bread
I won't claim to be able to describe how something tastes on paper, but brown bread is delicious, and the Irish eat it with everything. Brown bread, or soda bread, is bread baked with baking soda instead of yeast, and the CO2 trapped inside gives it a special kick.
Irish cuisine doesn't end there. The traditional Irish breakfast or "fry-up" is made up of eggs, bacon, sausage, white meat-pudding, black meat-pudding, toast, potatoes, sautéed mushrooms and a slice of tomato. It's an artery-clogger, to be sure, but it's so, so good.
Speaking of good reasons to die early, the Irish also have the best fish 'n' chips shops in the world. You can order up a portion of fish and potatoes drenched in salt and vinegar, but the Irish don't. They usually order a burger.
- Kevin Stillman is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Emmetsburg.
First, the Roman Catholic Church has moved up St. Patrick's Day to March 14 to avoid a conflict with Holy Week. That won't do much to change the plans of us most rabid plastic paddies, but fellow Catholics be aware. We need to go to church on Friday.
Next, Guinness is currently circulating a petition at proposition317.com to make St. Pat's a national holiday. Give it your support. It's the least we can do to win back our holiday from the blinking shamrock and green beer crowd.
Finally, rather than rail against Americans' often-insulting St. Patrick's Day behavior, I have decided to try to remind us why we need a whole day to recognize the country one in six Americans claims to have descended from. So, without any further ado, here are eight things you should know, but might not, about the Emerald Isle.
Gaeilge
"Irish" is more than speaking English with a silly accent. Gaeilge, the Irish language, is one of the oldest European languages and is studied by linguists as a close cousin of proto-indo-European. It's also a spoken language of such inherent beauty that it makes the French sound like sailors at a truck stop.
These days only a small portion of Irish people can speak the language fluently, but Gaeilge is still used along with English in all government documents and taught in every Irish public school. In certain areas along the west coast, called Gaeilgtachts, Irish is used as the primary language of everyday speech.
Irish is not "Gaelic"; it is, however, a Gaelic language. That means it is related to Scottish, Welsh, Breton and other languages spoken by the Celtic peoples that were among the earliest settlers of the British Isles.
Gaelige is also probably the only language who's words for "Frenchman" and "rat" are exactly the same. That is just one reason Irish speakers say, "Is fearr Gaeilge briste na bearla cliste," or, "Broken Irish is better than clever English."
The Easter Rising
Ireland's long road to independence from Great Britain began in earnest during Easter week in 1916. That was when insurgent members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a precursor to the Irish Republican Army, seized several buildings in Dublin, asserting their independence from England.
The rebellion was crushed after just six days, but the cause was not forgotten. The IRB had already printed a proclamation declaring Ireland's independence. In the struggle that followed, Irish "republicans" ignored the legitimacy of Britain, and the IRA fought as the official military branch of the Irish Republic.
In 1921, a treaty created an Irish Free State, which granted Ireland its own parliament but required members to swear allegiance to the English Crown. Debate over the treaty erupted into an Irish civil war, and full Irish Independence wasn't achieved until 1949.
Hurling
Ireland's national sport has nothing to do with revisiting your lunch. Hurling is a field sport that dates back to the 11th century and has been described as "the world's fastest game" and "a cross between ice hockey and murder."
All 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland and six counties of Northern Ireland compete annually for bragging rights in this ancient game. Hitting the ball, called a sliotar, over the crossbar of the goal is worth one point, hitting it under the crossbar is worth three points, and that's where the rules appear to end. Body checking is just fine. Running with the sliotar in your hand is fine, and blocking someone's hurley - a three-foot ash-wood club - with your wildly flailing hurley is completely, perfectly fine.
Did I mention they play this very physical game with 15 players to a side, minimal pads and often no helmets? No wonder the dream of every Irish boy and girl is to represent their county in professional play.
Michael Collins
More than any other man, Michael Collins is credited with achieving Irish independence. As IRA Chief of Intelligence following the Easter Rising, he orchestrated a guerilla war that inspired revolutionaries around the world.
Popularly remembered as affable by nature and ruthless by necessity, Collins' campaign finally brought the British to the negotiating table in 1921. Hoping to finally take violence out of Irish politics, he supported the Irish Free State as a necessary step to full independence. Unfortunately, many of his allies, including future Irish President Eamon DaVelra, didn't share his pragmatic approach.
Collins was assassinated in 1922 during a visit to County Cork, possibly by anti-treaty forces. Later, DaValera would say that not supporting Collins and the treaty was his greatest political mistake. There are hundreds of brands of whiskey produced in Ireland; Michael Collins is the only non-distiller to have one named after him.
Qui-Gon Jinn
That's right, Master Qui-Gon is Irish - at least Liam Neeson is. He was born in Country Antrim in Northern Ireland and has been movies from "Schindler's List" to "Love Actually." He even played Michael Collins himself.
This is all nothing new, of course. Irish people have been leaders in the arts for hundreds of years. Poets and authors from James Joyce to Seamus Heaney have turned the trials and joys of Irish life into works of art.
Want to know how influential Irish artists are? Well, between Neeson and Cork native Cillian Murphy, Irishmen portrayed both major villains in "Batman Begins." But for the most graphic proof, go to Paris and check out the headstone of Oscar Wilde. It's aflame with lipstick marks from a thousand postmortem lady callers.
Fionn mac Cumhaill
Sometimes he's the commander of Ireland's first standing army; sometimes he's the leader of a band roving outlaws. You can't expect perfect continuity out of ancient folk tale.
Ireland's mythical history is full of bigger-than-life characters, and Fionn - often just "Finn" or "Finn McCool" - is no small player among them. Not many mythical heroes can trace the source of their powers to a cooking accident, but Fionn is an exception. He burnt his thumb cooking the Salmon of Knowledge and instinctively popped it in his mouth, thus gaining all the fish's wisdom. Thereafter Fionn could learn anything he needed to know simply by sucking the burnt thumb.
Irish revolutionaries also considered themselves "Fenians" because their nationalism was partially inspired by tales of Fionn's exploits. Fionn himself may not yet have had his final say on the fate of the country. One legend has it that he is merely asleep waiting to wake again at Ireland's hour of greatest need. Not bad for a guy whose name means "bald, son of a slave girl."
Northern Ireland
Also known as The Six Counties, Ulster, or by its traditional symbol, The Red Hand, Northern Ireland is the reason you can go to Dublin and buy a bottle of Bailey's that says both "Product of Ireland" and "Imported."
Sectarian feuds between Protestants and Catholics have waxed and waned, obscuring much of the history of Ulster, but are far from Northern Ireland's only claim to fame. Ulster has its own cycle of historical mythology. This includes the national epic, "The Cattle Raid of Cooley," a story about the fallout from a royal marriage and a case of cattle rustling.
The north is also home to some of the most scenic landscapes in the whole of Ireland, not to mention the Bushmills distillery, the oldest whiskey distiller in the country. If you're into something a bit more social, the annual Halloween Carnival in Derry features huge parties and stilt-walking druids.
Brown bread
I won't claim to be able to describe how something tastes on paper, but brown bread is delicious, and the Irish eat it with everything. Brown bread, or soda bread, is bread baked with baking soda instead of yeast, and the CO2 trapped inside gives it a special kick.
Irish cuisine doesn't end there. The traditional Irish breakfast or "fry-up" is made up of eggs, bacon, sausage, white meat-pudding, black meat-pudding, toast, potatoes, sautéed mushrooms and a slice of tomato. It's an artery-clogger, to be sure, but it's so, so good.
Speaking of good reasons to die early, the Irish also have the best fish 'n' chips shops in the world. You can order up a portion of fish and potatoes drenched in salt and vinegar, but the Irish don't. They usually order a burger.
- Kevin Stillman is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Emmetsburg.
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