Irish Lore

Irish Lore and Fables

The Blarney Stone:

For Centuries, English Monarchs tried to impose
their will on Ireland. Queen Elizabeth I sent her
Deputy to Cormac MacDermont MacCarthy,
Lord of Blarney, and demanded that he take
the tenure of his lands from the Crown.

Cormac set out to plead with the Queen for his
traditional right to his land, but was fearful of
success for he was not fluent of speech. Shortly
after starting his journey, he met an old woman
who asked him why he looked so forlorn. He told
her his story.

She told Cormac, "When Blarney Castle was built,
one stone was placed by a man who predicted no
one would ever be able to touch it again. If you
can kiss that stone, the gift of eloquence (Blarney)
will be conferred upon you."

Cormac returned to his castle and succeeded in
kissing the stone. He then went to the Queen and
was able to address her with speech so soft and
words so fair that as long as he lived, Cormac
never had to renounce his right to his land!

The Blarney stone is set in the wall of
Blarney Castle tower which is located in
the village of Blarney, County of Cork, Ireland. The Castle was built in 1446 A.D
and it's walls are 18 feet thick.

Official Cork City, Ireland website.

Saint Patrick

The Book of Kells, an illuminated Irish manuscript of the Gospels from the mid-8th century, contains magnificent illustrations that feature images of the four evangelists and abstract interlaced patterns. Shown here is an image of John the Evangelist holding a copy of his Gospel and the quill pen with which he wrote it.

Book of Kells:

***The view's or opions stated here are not my own, because well quiet frankly I don't have that kind of time to reword all of this...;) so I copy and pasted. but you can see where I obtained the info with the link's below. Thank you. Charlie*******

Resourses for Info used in above caption's are from these sites. Visit them to learn more about Ireland.

I believe this site is called niteowl. I got lost following link's from other sites. LOL Click Here



	Saint Patrick, known as the Apostle of Ireland, became bishop of Ireland sometime after 431. Many legends exist about his life, including that he drove the snakes out of Ireland. Saint Patrickï¿½s Day is celebrated each year on March 17. St. Patrick's Day is Ireland's greatest National Holiday as well as a Holy Day. The date, March 17, marks the Anniversary of the death of the Missionary who became the Patron Saint of Ireland! St. Patrick is one of Christianity's most widely known figures, but his life remains somewhat of a mystery! Stories traditionally associate St. Patrick with him banishing all the snakes from Ireland. He was born in the north of Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the 4th Century (between 370 and 380 A.D.) and died on March 17 461 A.D. At age 16, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders when they attacked his family's estate. He spent six years in captivity in Ireland. During this time, he turned to religion for solace and became a devout Christian. Patrick finally escaped and made his way back to Britain. He then spent more than 15 years in religious training and finally was ordained as a Priest and later a Bishop. He was then sent to Ireland to convert the Irish to Christianity. He was familiar with the Irish language and culture so he incorporated traditional Irish beliefs and ritual into his lessons of Christianity. Patrick used bonfires to celebrate Easter since the Irish pagans honored their gods with fire. Patrick took a very powerful Irish symbol, the Sun, and superimposed it onto the Christian Cross creating what is now known as the Celtic Cross. The Irish pagan culture centered around a rich tradition of oral legend and myth. The story of St. Patrick's life became exaggerated over the centuries because spinning exciting tales to remember history has always been a part of the Irish way of life! A Blessing from Saint Patrick May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields and, Until we meet again May God hold you in the palm of His hand. Little is known for certain about prehistoric Ireland. By around 500 bc the people of Ireland, including Ulster, were Celts, a group that dominated most of central and northern Europe in the 1st millennium bc. By the 8th century ad the inhabitants of Ireland described themselves as Gaels. According to tradition, Saint Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland from western Europe in the 5th century ad. From the 5th century onward, native Celtic society existed alongside Irish Christianity, presenting a model for the coexistence of paganism and Christianity, the establishment of written as well as oral traditions, and the development of literacy in both English and Irish. Christianity in Ireland dates to the arrival of Saint Patrick in ad 432. Monasteries, where members of religious communities lived, served as centers for learning and the arts at a time when the general population could neither read nor write. Irish monasteries produced illuminated manuscripts, elaborately carved crosses, and fine metalwork. The earliest Christian writings survive in a few manuscripts from the 7th through the 10th centuries. Downpatrick and Armagh, the centers most closely associated with Saint Patrick, are both in Northern Ireland. Christianity developed in Ireland a century earlier than it did among the Anglo-Saxons in Great Britain. For some time Irish Christianity also developed independently of mainstream Christianity in the rest of Europe, especially in matters of church organization. In Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is an important religious holiday celebrating the conversion of the Irish to Christianity. Businesses are closed, except for some restaurants and pubs. People attend church services honoring St. Patrick and learn about his life. Many Irish people wear sprigs of real shamrock and greet each other by saying, "Beannachtaï¿½ na Fï¿½ile Pï¿½draig oraibh," or "May the blessings of St. Patrick be with you." Many enjoy a traditional meal that includes colcannonï¿½boiled potatoes and cabbage mashed together with butter. The day is also seen as a reprieve from the sober weeks of Lent, and adults may drink a pint of ale (called ï¿½drowning the shamrockï¿½) and allow their children some candy. Until recently, Ireland held few parades or secular celebrations on St. Patrickï¿½s Day. However, in 1995 the government of Ireland established the St. Patrickï¿½s Day Festival with the goal of creating a national festival ï¿½that ranks amongst all of the greatest celebrations in the world.ï¿½ The four-day festival, launched in 1996 and held annually in Dublin, features a major parade on St. Patrickï¿½s Day as well as music and dance performances, food, crafts, and a fireworks display. The event is Irelandï¿½s largest annual celebration. Celebrating St. Patrickï¿½s Day has been a tradition in the United States since 1737, when the Charitable Irish Society of Boston organized the first St. Patrickï¿½s Day parade. New York Cityï¿½s parade began in 1762. St. Patrick's Day was even acknowledged by General George Washington during the American Revolution. In 1780, during the Continental Armyï¿½s bitter winter encampment in Morristown, New Jersey, Washington permitted his troops, many of whom were of Irish descent, a holiday on March 17. This event is now known as the St. Patrick's Day Encampment of 1780. Today, more than 100 U.S. cities hold St. Patrickï¿½s Day parades. The parade up Fifth Avenue in New York City is the largest and most famous. The parade traditionally stops at St. Patrick's Cathedral for a blessing of the marchers by the cardinal of New York. The St. Patrickï¿½s Day parade in Savannah, Georgia, first held in 1824, is one of the largest and oldest in the United States. In Canada, Montrï¿½alï¿½s St. Patrickï¿½s Day parade, first held in 1824, is the oldest in the country. Toronto has held a large parade since 1988. Popular St. Patrickï¿½s Day customs in the United States and Canada include drinking beer that has been colored green, eating corned beef and cabbage, wearing shamrock pins and green clothing, and generally celebrating all things Irish. In Chicago, the Chicago River is dyed green, a tradition started in 1962. Patrick, Saint (389?-461?), called the Apostle of Ireland, Christian prelate. His birthplace is uncertain, but it was probably in southwestern Britain; his British name was Succat. At 16 years of age he was carried off by Irish marauders and passed his captivity as a herdsman near the mountain Slemish in county Antrim (according to tradition) or in county Connacht. The young herdsman saw visions in which he was urged to escape, and after six years of slavery he did so, to the northern coast of Gaul. Ordained a priest, possibly by Saint Germanus, at Auxerre, he returned to Ireland. Sometime after 431, Patrick was appointed successor to St. Palladius, first bishop of Ireland. Patrick concentrated on the west and north of Ireland, establishing his see at Armagh. Patrick's two surviving works are written in Latin and demonstrate his acquaintance with the Vulgate translation of the Bible. In one of these works, the Confessions, Patrick portrays himself as an ignorant yokel in an unequal contest with the powerful and learned adherents of Pelagianism. His reported use of the shamrock as an illustration of the Trinity led to its being regarded as the Irish national symbol. A strange chant of his, called the Lorica, is preserved in the Liber Hymnorum (Book of Hymns), and what purports to have been a handbell he used during Mass is shown in the National Museum in Dublin. His traditional feast day is March 17. Ireland is a strongly Roman Catholic country by tradition. However, the late 20th and early 21st centuries were marked by increasing secularization in Irish society. Many Irish have questioned, and even rejected, the role of the Roman Catholic Church as the chief arbiter of social and family values. At the same time, women have energetically challenged the countryï¿½s traditional patriarchal social values. Despite these changes, political life in Ireland is still largely dominated by men, and women typically earn far less than their male counterparts. Irelandï¿½s abortion laws are among the strictest in Europe.