Being Irish - What's It All About?

Off in the horizon, as winter continues her brutal onslaught in the Finger Lakes and around the country, I see the season of St. Patrick coming toward me. What a welcome sight for it's a sure sign of spring! Oh I wish I could see it a bit more clearly.

There's something about the Irish. Something about being Irish or being of Irish descent.  I've wondered and thought about it quite a bit and my comments here are related to my experiences with many Irish families and friends including my own.

Here are some of the basics that I've discovered about the Irish. They can sing and they love music. Sometimes it's loud and rowdy and at other times sweet and soft and filled with love and emotion, a thing of beauty.

The Irish have a big personality that's wrapped up in story telling as well as the singing already mentioned. Making fun of themselves and you are part of the deal. They, the storytellers, can be as large as life itself even if held within a small bodily frame. The stories live, they move, they're like a movie or a show and the audience is always welcomed to participate. And yet, and yet, there's always a melancholy or sad side waiting to emerge at a moment's notice. Sometimes it's to share someone else's burden or sometimes just to let an emotion come to the surface as a relationship or thought is remembered. Tears come easily as well as hugs and slaps on the back and a laugh or two.

When telling stories, truth is somewhat relative. If a bit of an untruth is told it's only to make the point a bit more clear as well as to have fun in the telling. The stories are also visual. Pictures are painted with words that help you understand. Very pretty pictures.

Relationships are easy and hard at the same time. For those comrades and family members that are part of a close circle, emotions are raw and easy. For those on the outer edges, which sometimes includes family members, trust or lack thereof may produce a huge standoffishness. A mean or angry Irishman is someone nobody wants to be near because the nastiness can get downright wild. In the end though, loyalty and great love are symptoms of celtic heritage.

As Congress and others fight about immigration I can only think of my own grandmother as a young teenager walking hand in hand with her young brother from Ballyfarnon to Sligo. The walk was about 30 miles. I'm sure they weren't carrying much besides the $15 to $20 they had in their pockets. Perhaps a suitcase or a bag. It was the turn of the century (1901 or there about) and they were off to take a boat to America and NYC. Mother and father back in the village knowing that they would probably never see their children again. Talk about hardy stock, travels and hardships.

There are many like me with Irish heritage around the world and we, like our fore bearers, find it easy to laugh, cry, tell stories, sing, dance, and every once in awhile get really annoyed and angry. Our emotions are literally on our sleeve, especially when it comes to real or even perceived injustice.

It's less then a month to that day I see on the horizon and I can't wait.