IRISH HISTORY
IRISH HISTORY - Quotes from the papers of Tom "Grandpa" Glennon
“In her book, The Great Hunger, Cecil Woodham Smith pointed up the irony of the age-old vendetta of the British against the Irish. She noted that the armies of which England is so proud--‘the troops which broke the power of Napoleon at Waterloo, those which fought on the scorching plains of India, and planted the British flag in every quarter of the globe in a hundred forgotten engagements’--were heavily Irish, indeed, Irishmen formed a majority of many of those armies.” --Wanderer--9/17/81
Blessing of St. Patrick
“May the road rise up
to meet you
And the wind be
always at your back.
May the sun shine
warm upon your face
And a rainbow
guide your way.
So ‘til we meet again,
may the Good Lord
Hold you in the palm
of His hand.”
St. Patrick
The greatest Irishman of them all was not Irish by birth. He was really cosmopolitan, which explains his universal popularity.
His father, Calphurnius, was Roman Governor of Britain, which accounts for the fact that some English have evoked his protection. His mother, Conchessa, was French, which gives that nation their right to him. At sixteen he was kidnapped by Vikings, so Norwegians and Swedes say he was one of their own. They, in turn, sold him as a salve to an Irish chieftain. Six years later he escaped to France, studied under Bishop Germain of Auxerre and was ordained to the priesthood. After a brief missionary career in England, he was consecrated bishop by Maximus of Turin, which gives Italians some kind of hold on him, and a German pope, Celestine, sent him officially to Ireland.
“The Irish monks didn’t confine their work just to England. They spread to France, Switzerland…everywhere in Europe. They also took the Faith to Germany. Many of them lost their lives in that wild country until one man was finally able to bring it under control. St. Boniface (680-754) was an Irish monk who became the ‘Apostle of Germany’.”
“It was Easter, 1916. Rebellion had broken out in Dublin, and no news got through to London until Max Aitken--the future Lord Beaverbrook--managed to reach Tim Healy, who was in Dublin, on the telephone. Healy; Irish, M.P. was to be the first governor general of the Irish Free State, Beaverbrook has recorded the conversation:
‘Is there a rebellion?’ asked Aitken.
‘There is,’ said Healy
‘When did it break out?’
‘When Strogbow invaded Ireland.’
‘When will it end?’
‘When Cromwell gets out of Hell!’”
(This conversation in one sense summarizes Irish History.)
--Rev. F.X. Martin O.S.A. as quoted in Fractured Emerald
“In the 250 years of its celebration in America, St. Patrick’s Day has been a barometer of Irish acceptance and success in the New World. At first, there were dinners, which became more and more sumptuous. But not everyone could afford a grand dinner. So parades became standard fare by mid-19th century. The parades, the crowds and the newspaper editorials became more and more enthusiastic as the Irish position improved.
The celebration in its early days also brought out unfriendly remarks. In New York, where the Irish celebrated the day with ‘a very elegant breakfast,’ someone ridiculed them for coming to America ‘upon a bed of straw.’ So they began wearing straw hats to demonstrate their resentment against the slur.
At Valley Forge in 1778 when some troublemakers poked fun at the Irish, the result was ‘great indignation among the Irish in the camp,’ according to a contemporary account. General Washington himself stepped in to calm the Irish and promised to punish the offenders. In 1780, Washington took special note of St. Patrick’s Day in his order for the day and directed that ‘all Fatigue and Working Parties cease’ for the day.
In the early decades of the 19th century, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations spread across the country. By the Civil War, they were held in cities from New York to San Francisco, including smaller towns like Pottsville, Pa.; Muscantine, Keokuk, and, Dubuque, Iowa; Madison, Wis.; Augusta, Ga., and Salem, Mass.
Sometimes the rhetoric of the day threatened to drown its meaning, as one Irishman protested in 1879 in the Irish World of Boston. He complained, as other critics have, about ‘the high fallutin oratory of St. Patrick’s Day spouters whose patriotism is buried in the last goblet of a Patrick’s night carousal.’
Later, in an 1892 issue, the same Irish World summed it all up in an answer to the question, ‘How Long Will St. Patrick’s Day Live Among Irish-Americans?’ - While in hearts of Ireland’s daughters beats true Irish womanhood; While God sends to Irish mothers babes to suckle, boys to rear; While God sends to Irish fathers one man child they name to bear.”
--Edward Wakin, popular author and educator, writes from New Rochelle, N.Y.
“In her book, The Great Hunger, Cecil Woodham Smith pointed up the irony of the age-old vendetta of the British against the Irish. She noted that the armies of which England is so proud--‘the troops which broke the power of Napoleon at Waterloo, those which fought on the scorching plains of India, and planted the British flag in every quarter of the globe in a hundred forgotten engagements’--were heavily Irish, indeed, Irishmen formed a majority of many of those armies.” --Wanderer--9/17/81
Blessing of St. Patrick
“May the road rise up
to meet you
And the wind be
always at your back.
May the sun shine
warm upon your face
And a rainbow
guide your way.
So ‘til we meet again,
may the Good Lord
Hold you in the palm
of His hand.”
St. Patrick
The greatest Irishman of them all was not Irish by birth. He was really cosmopolitan, which explains his universal popularity.
His father, Calphurnius, was Roman Governor of Britain, which accounts for the fact that some English have evoked his protection. His mother, Conchessa, was French, which gives that nation their right to him. At sixteen he was kidnapped by Vikings, so Norwegians and Swedes say he was one of their own. They, in turn, sold him as a salve to an Irish chieftain. Six years later he escaped to France, studied under Bishop Germain of Auxerre and was ordained to the priesthood. After a brief missionary career in England, he was consecrated bishop by Maximus of Turin, which gives Italians some kind of hold on him, and a German pope, Celestine, sent him officially to Ireland.
“The Irish monks didn’t confine their work just to England. They spread to France, Switzerland…everywhere in Europe. They also took the Faith to Germany. Many of them lost their lives in that wild country until one man was finally able to bring it under control. St. Boniface (680-754) was an Irish monk who became the ‘Apostle of Germany’.”
“It was Easter, 1916. Rebellion had broken out in Dublin, and no news got through to London until Max Aitken--the future Lord Beaverbrook--managed to reach Tim Healy, who was in Dublin, on the telephone. Healy; Irish, M.P. was to be the first governor general of the Irish Free State, Beaverbrook has recorded the conversation:
‘Is there a rebellion?’ asked Aitken.
‘There is,’ said Healy
‘When did it break out?’
‘When Strogbow invaded Ireland.’
‘When will it end?’
‘When Cromwell gets out of Hell!’”
(This conversation in one sense summarizes Irish History.)
--Rev. F.X. Martin O.S.A. as quoted in Fractured Emerald
“In the 250 years of its celebration in America, St. Patrick’s Day has been a barometer of Irish acceptance and success in the New World. At first, there were dinners, which became more and more sumptuous. But not everyone could afford a grand dinner. So parades became standard fare by mid-19th century. The parades, the crowds and the newspaper editorials became more and more enthusiastic as the Irish position improved.
The celebration in its early days also brought out unfriendly remarks. In New York, where the Irish celebrated the day with ‘a very elegant breakfast,’ someone ridiculed them for coming to America ‘upon a bed of straw.’ So they began wearing straw hats to demonstrate their resentment against the slur.
At Valley Forge in 1778 when some troublemakers poked fun at the Irish, the result was ‘great indignation among the Irish in the camp,’ according to a contemporary account. General Washington himself stepped in to calm the Irish and promised to punish the offenders. In 1780, Washington took special note of St. Patrick’s Day in his order for the day and directed that ‘all Fatigue and Working Parties cease’ for the day.
In the early decades of the 19th century, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations spread across the country. By the Civil War, they were held in cities from New York to San Francisco, including smaller towns like Pottsville, Pa.; Muscantine, Keokuk, and, Dubuque, Iowa; Madison, Wis.; Augusta, Ga., and Salem, Mass.
Sometimes the rhetoric of the day threatened to drown its meaning, as one Irishman protested in 1879 in the Irish World of Boston. He complained, as other critics have, about ‘the high fallutin oratory of St. Patrick’s Day spouters whose patriotism is buried in the last goblet of a Patrick’s night carousal.’
Later, in an 1892 issue, the same Irish World summed it all up in an answer to the question, ‘How Long Will St. Patrick’s Day Live Among Irish-Americans?’ - While in hearts of Ireland’s daughters beats true Irish womanhood; While God sends to Irish mothers babes to suckle, boys to rear; While God sends to Irish fathers one man child they name to bear.”
--Edward Wakin, popular author and educator, writes from New Rochelle, N.Y.