March 2015 – Page 2 – All Things Good

A Daily Dose of Irish Luck

Laura O'Neil Armour of Light March 13, 2015April 11, 2017100 Happy Days challenge, Irish blessing, Irish luck, Irish potato famine, Irish shamrock, Saint Patrick's Day, St. Paddy's Day, The Luck of the Irish 3 Comments

In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day 2015, ATG is exploring “All Things Irish” for the next couple weeks. Below ATG contributor Laura O’Neil reflects on the meaning of the “Luck of the Irish.” Stay tuned for more!

Familiar especially to those of Irish descent, both young and old, is the Irish Blessing displayed in part as a photo in this week’s Rose’s Ridge post about Irish American culture:

May the road rise to meet you

May the wind be always at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face

And rains fall soft upon your fields

And until we meet again

May God hold you in the hollow of His hand

These words adorned not one but two walls in my grandmother’s house. They never really meant that much to me when I was younger, but with each passing year, they have come to be a calming source of inspiration, reminding me to keep on moving along, to continue hoping, and to have faith that even if it doesn’t seem possible, things will fall into place. Read more

Vermont Cheddar Soup With Irish Scones

Jennifer Rose Around The Table March 12, 2015September 18, 2017Cheddar soup recipe, Irish dishes, Irish scone recipe, Irish scones, Simon Pearce, Simon Pearce cookbook, Simon Pearce recipes, Vermont cheddar soup recipe 2 Comments

In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day 2015, ATG is exploring “All Things Irish” for the next couple weeks. Below are a couple recipes for a delicious Irish meal with some beautiful Irish music to cook to!

Cook and bake the following dishes to the tune of The Clancy Brother’s “The Patriot Game”, a beautiful Irish song (lyrics below)! Recipes include “I Need Vegetables Salad”, Vermont Cheddar Soup, and Rory’s Irish Scones. Read more

The Irish: Fightin’ For Respect

Katharine Rose Armour of Light March 11, 2015April 11, 2017Fighting Irish, fighting irish stereotype, Gaelic, Gaelic Revival, Great Potato Famine, History of Ireland, Irish America, Irish americans, Irish emigration, Irish history, Irish Language Movement, Irish proverbs, Irish stereotypes 0 Comment

In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day 2015, ATG is exploring “All Things Irish” for the next couple weeks. Below we debunk the “Fighting Irish” stereotype. Stay tuned for more!

For all of their well-known and esteemed attributes, such as hospitality, loyalty, friendliness and humor, the Irish have never been able to escape the “fighting Irish” stigma – the stereotype of being drunkard, hotheaded and “barbaric” people.

Indeed, famous Irish proverbs read: “An Irishman is never at peace except when he’s fighting”, “Better be quarreling than lonesome” and “The Irish don’t know what they want and are prepared to fight to the death to get it.”

A look back at the history of the Irish – particularly Irish immigrants in America – however, sheds some light on why, in many ways, the Irish just can’t help their “fighting” instincts. Read more

Irish Pride, Catholic Guilt & Not “Particularly Huggy”

Katharine Rose Rose's Ridge March 9, 2015April 5, 2017Catholic church, Catholic guilt, Ireland, Irish American, Irish American Catholics, Irish American culture, Irish American History, Irish Catholics, Irish fatalism, Irish humility, Irish humor, Irish Need Not Apply, Irish pride, Irish stereotypes, Irish virtues, Second Vatican Council, St. Paddy's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Tammany Hall 5 Comments

In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day 2015, ATG is exploring “All Things Irish” for the next couple weeks. We begin with the below feature on Irish American culture. Stay tuned for more!

“It’s amateur hour”, Mr. Bryan O’Connor* says of St. Patrick’s Day. “I mean, I don’t have to display the fact that I’m Irish – leave that for the Italians”; and then added, “See, it’s the Irish sense of humor…we have our issues, but at least we have a sense of humor.”

And humor Mr. O’Connor certainly displayed during our interview, where I sought to debunk his “Irishness” and examine what it means for him to be an “Irish American.” Read more

“Springing Forward” With Hope

Jennifer and Katharine Rose Armour of Light March 4, 2015April 11, 2017Daylight Savings Time, Emily Dickinson, Hope quotes, McSorley's Old Ale House, Poems, Spring ahead, Spring forward, Spring quotes, Springtime 1 Comment

“Dear March, come in!

How glad I am!

I hoped for you before

Put down your hat

You must have walked

How out of breath you are!

Dear March, how are you?

–Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

“Hope is the thing with feathers-

that perches in the soul –

and sings the tune without the words –

and never stops – at all – …”

–Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

And so,while we await with HOPE for SPRING, let us enjoy a (McSorley’s Old Ale House) beer and toast to a season full of hope, happiness and sunshine!

And don’t forget to “spring” your clocks forward to Daylight Savings Time on Saturday night!

Putin, Nemtsov & Democracy in Russia

Katharine Rose Rose's Ridge March 4, 2015April 5, 2017Boris Nemtsov, Democracy, Kremlin, Putin's Russia, Russia, Russian democracy, Russian history, Russian politics, Soviet Union, Vladimir Putin 1 Comment

If you’ve been following our blog, then you’re likely aware that we spent the month of February, in celebration of Valentine’s Day, dedicated to exploring “All Things Russia.”

While we had originally wrapped “things” up last week, the news of Boris Nemtsov’s murder and Putin’s prominence in the international media has inspired us to continue “exploring” Russia just a bit longer.

Naturally, questions have arisen as to the motives behind 55-year-old Nemtsov’s death. As a Russian democracy activist, he was an outspoken critic of the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin, and served as a co-chair of the Republican Party of Russia-People’s Freedom Party. (He rose to national prominence in the 1990s during his six-year governship of the Nizhny Novgorod region and was once seen as a possible successor to former President Boris Yeltsin after being named first deputy prime minister in 1997-98).

Interestingly, Nemtsov didn’t receive much favor from the general Russian public and never built a substantial following; a 2013 poll found that only 6 percent of Russians approved his actions, while 48 percent disapproved and 46 percent claimed to know nothing about him.

The below essay may provide some insight into why the Russians didn’t approve of Nemtsov – and why Nemtsov’s “Western-style liberalism” failed to attract the support of the Russian populace. Read more

A Taste of Russia: Russian Recipes, Russian History & Russian Cuisine

Jennifer Rose Around The Table March 3, 2015May 1, 2017A Taste of Russia, Cold War, Darra Goldstein, Nikolai Gogol, perestroika, Russian cookbook, Russian cuisine, Russian food, Russian history, Russian recipes, Soviet Union 0 Comment

*Given Russia’s prominence in the news and the murder of Boris Nemtsov, we have a few more “All Things Russia” posts for this week! See links below.

If it hadn’t been for the Cold War, Darra Goldstein’s A Taste of Russia (1983) would likely have received a favorable review in The New York Times.

In fact, the Times had scheduled to run a piece doing just that, until, Goldstein writes, “as luck would have it, the Soviets shot down the KAL jetliner on publication day, accelerating hostile sentiments”, thereby halting publication of the review.

Published during Ronald Regan’s presidency in 1983, when the U.S. and Soviet Union were “still locked in the Cold War”, Goldstein’s book provides a plethora of historic information and recipes on Russian cuisine, featuring everything from borsch to blini. Read more