My father was proud of his Irish blood. St. Paddy’s Day was a big deal to him. He always cooked up a batch of corned beef with cabbage and potatoes. And, he would play those same old records. Danny Boy, Irish Eyes Are Smiling. Corny? Maybe, but not to his way of thinking.
Some sort of party was usually thrown. Big or small, it didn’t matter, as long as there was an audience after he’d thrown back a few and was ready to launch into one of his always riveting yarns about the old days and our ancestors.
Papa passed away December 17th, 2009. I can tell you this, we’ll be missing him tonight when we dig into our version of his corned beef and cabbage. We’ll make a toast to his memory and we might even try to do justice while telling one or two of his stories. It’s important that the kids don’t forget where they came from.
All Rights Reserved. © 2009 by Elizabeth Bradley.
10 comments:
Elizabeth,
I hope to one day visit Ireland, a land and a people that believe it or not affect my own island of origin in the Caribbean.
I sorry to hear of your loss. I'm sure that your father will be looking down tonight proud that you are continuing the traditions of such a beautiful culture.
Happy St. Paddy's Day!!
Thank you David and you have a Happy St. Paddy's Day too! We should all celebrate our origins and ancestors.
Oh, and what island? I have been to many Caribbean islands, not all of them. I would love for you to elaborate on what effect the Irish had on your island.
There was an Irish Community in Puerto Rico. (I'm not sure if they were absorbed into the population.) Also Pedro Albizu Campos help draft the Irish Constitution and modeled his efforts to liberate the island after the Irish struggles. (He didn't do too well on the latter.)
On Youtube there is a short clip of Egardo Vega Yunque at a conference on Irish Culture where he briefly mentions the Puerto Rican Irish community and says a dirty Irish joke. His daughter wrote in her blog that they should have re-named him McVega because the Irish community took him as one of his own when he was younger.
Thank you for the explanation. I have not been to Puerto Rico, I want to visit. I've heard good things.
Me & Katy were talking earlier about your corned beef & cabbage. :)
We both agreed that while we weren't huge corned beef fans, we do enjoy the potatoes & veggies...
yummmm
What a great tradition to uphold. :) My parents always observed St. Pat's in some special way, too, and I am feeling like I was lucky to even remember to have them wear green. So, you can see that I have let the tradition die. :( I love hearing about others', though!
Funny how I never celebrated St. Patricks Day when I lived in Europe. I lived in France, which probably explains it. HAHA
A rich post that I feel privleged to have shared. Well said! Aloha-
Elizabeth, my Dad made Irish soda bread and we try to make it every St. Pat's. We used to have parties in my Aunts basement and lots of liquor and beer flowed. Ah, those were the days...
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