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This was the scene in the small town where we were trading at the market..

http://www.worldirish.com/listening-pos ... record-755

Before our eyes, whole families were morphed into leprechauns.. I dubbed them leprechaunesses and leprechaunettes.. even some of the dogs were changed. Twilight Zone stuff...

The market was higher up than this thankfully...I realised too late that our wee car was behind the barricades and braved the army, guns and all, to get permission to extract it.

In all our years here we have never seen a parade before; ah well...And we were safely away before the real drinking started.. They call the day after National Hangover Day..

Some interesting research into the history of Pádraig --

http://www.independent.ie/national-news ... 53413.html

Evening Marigold,

Good job that you weren't in Cardiff on Saturday night.Two lots of celebrations going on,the Irish celebrating St. Patrick's Day,and us Welsh celebrating a well deserved Grand Slam by our National rugby team.Mayhem and,no doubt,more than a few hangovers the next day!!!

snooky wrote:Evening Marigold,

Good job that you weren't in Cardiff on Saturday night.Two lots of celebrations going on,the Irish celebrating St. Patrick's Day,and us Welsh celebrating a well deserved Grand Slam by our National rugby team.Mayhem and,no doubt,more than a few hangovers the next day!!!

Made sure we were safe home before the drinking started. Irish driving is bad enough at the best of times..

But that photo! A sea of green hats...

alan refail wrote:Some interesting research into the history of Pádraig --

http://www.independent.ie/national-news ... 53413.html

Nope; just more conjecture etc etc etc by iconoclasts who have no idea what sainthood means.

Not that the modern day has anything to do with Patrick anyways; who is called Patrick here by the way.

Just an excuse for ////

My motorbike is called Patrick

Morning Marigold

I am minded that Patrick was Welsh (or rather, Brythonic) and we have a whole hagiography of saints here about whom little, if anything, is known, though many were minor sons of clan royalty and warriors until their retirement, turning into church founders.


My late dear friend Pádraig macFearghas always called St Patrick by his Irish name, which he shared.

alan refail wrote:Morning Marigold

I am minded that Patrick was Welsh (or rather, Brythonic) and we have a whole hagiography of saints here about whom little, if anything, is known, though many were minor sons of clan royalty and warriors until their retirement, turning into church founders.


My late dear friend Pádraig macFearghas always called St Patrick by his Irish name, which he shared.

So sorry for the loss of your friend. There are a dozen variations on the name, some of them pronounced "porrig". The officials here wear high-vis jackets with "St Patrick's Day Parade" on the back and it seems only the foreigners use anything else. I am ten years here now.

Really none of this matters though, set against the faith and the prayer and the inspiration.
Those researchers were clueless re the culture of his day anyway.

I posted the photo clip simply because the sight of that march in a small and uninspiring town like Bandon was an amazing sight. Ireland is in recession and gloom, and yet heading for 3000 can dress like that as an act of fun and solidarity and national identity. Many were ordinary folk; the stall next to ours was a small group of baking ladies, past middle age and of no great education etc. Yet to support their town, they dressed up as leprechauns. Not a sporting fixture etc. It was sad in its way.

Over and out.