A Special Celebration of Irish Literature

As a fan of Irish literature, I'm pleased to share an announcement I received about an upcoming event hosted by the Irish Arts Center in NYC.
   

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A CITYWIDE CELEBRATION 

OF IRISH LITERATURE IN NYC

All Day on St. Patrick's Day,  
Tuesday, March 17, 2015

 from 7AM until the books run out!

Carrying on the tradition of celebrating Irish literature on St. Patrick's Day for the 5th year, the Irish Arts Center will take to the streets to introduce and re-introduce New Yorkers to some of Ireland's most celebrated writers. Volunteers across the city will hand out thousands of free books at transit hubs across all five boroughs in NY!

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Featuring hundreds of titles by authors, including:
John Banville, Heather Barbieri, Kevin Barry, Sebastian Barry, Samuel Beckett, Maeve Binchy, Denise Blake, Gerry Boland, Rus Bradburd, Mary Branley, Jimmy Breslin, Ken Bruen, Ruth Carr, Ciarán Carson, Anne-Marie Casey, Mary Higgins Clark, Kathleen Clarke, Mary Costello, Judi Curtin, Ralph Cusack, Kathryn Daily, Gerald Dawe, Frank Delaney, Annie Deppe, Roddy Doyle, Christine Dwyer Hickey, Anne Enright, Michael J.Farrell, Lyndsay Faye, Aubrey Flegg, Mannix Flynn, Tana French, Brian Friel, Hazel Gaynor, Pamela Green, Pete Hamill, Stephen Hanson, Kerry Hardie, Natalie Harnett, Marie Hennessy, Aidan Higgins, Kevin Holohan, James Joyce, Jan Karon, Mary Pat Kelly, John Kennedy, Kate Kerrigan, Claire Kilroy, Thomas F. Kilroy, Conor Kostick, Morgan Llywelyn, Fergus Lyons, Sean Lysaght, Liam Mac Uistin, Imelda Maguire, Derek Mahon, Eilish Martin, Eithne Massey, Tom Matthews, John Mcauliffe, Colum McCann, Clare McDonnell, John McGuckian, Medbh McGuckian, Frank McGuinness, Belinda McKeon, Darragh McKeon, Averil  Meehan, Mary Melvin Geoghegan, Paul Muldoon, Colin Murphy, Peter Murphy, Elisabeth Navratil, Dorothy Nelson, Heather Newcombe, Joan Newmann, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin , Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Alan Nolan, Edna O'Brien, Flann O'Brien, Conor O'Callaghan, Ross O'Carroll-Kelly, Joseph O'Connor, Rebecca O'Connor, Donal O'Dea, Patrick O'Keefe, Stewart Parker, Bernard Share, Peter Sirr, Brian Smeaton, Dermot Somers, Lisa Steppe, Alice Taylor, Patrick Taylor, Grainne Tobin, Colm Tóibín, Mary Turley-McGrath, Robert Vance, Mario Vargas Llosa, Rhoda Watson, David Wheatley, Sally Wheeler, Oscar Wilde, Stuart Woods, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Ann Zell

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For St. Patrick's Day

"Irish writers tell stories differently..."
~Edna O'Brien

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, Open Road Integrated Media provided this gorgeous, short video, Authors on Ireland, which features several famous authors, Edna O'Brien, Joseph Caldwell, Ken Bruen, and T.J. English.  After viewing this, I'm ready to pack my bag for a trip to Ireland! 

Additionally, March is Irish-American Heritage Month, and Irish Short Story Month on Mel's blog, The Reading Life.  In the past, I've reviewed short stories by Irish writers for this event, such as A Journey by Edna O'Brien.  I hope to participate again this year.

St. Patrick,
St. Benin Church, Ireland,
courtesy of Wikipedia

A Short Irish Toast

May your mornings bring joy 
and your evenings bring peace 
May your troubles grow less 
as your blessings increase!

Wondrous Words Wednesday: St. Patrick's Day Edition

Saint Patrick was a gentleman,
Who through strategy and stealth,
Drove all the snakes from Ireland,
Here’s a toasting to his health.
But not too many toastings
Lest you lose yourself and then
Forget the good Saint Patrick
And see all those snakes again.

'Beannachtam na Feile Padraig!'
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wondrous Words Wednesday, hosted by Kathy from Bermudaonion's Weblog, is one of my favorite memes. This week's meme has an Irish theme.


1. taoiseach: (pronounced tee-shock) Irish word for the head of government, or prime minister. The taoiseach is appointed by the president with the consent of the lower house.

"President Obama is celebrating St. Patrick's Day by welcoming the visiting taoiseach--or prime minister--of Ireland in the Oval Office."
~D.C. Now

2. colleen: an Irish girl, a young unmarried woman

I knew a lot of girls named Colleen in NY while I was growing up, but I didn't know that colleen is the Irish word for girl until I read the novel Becoming Finola by Suzanne Strempek Shea.

3. handfasting: an ancient Celtic custom, once practiced in Ireland and Scotland, where a newly wed couple would have their hands--their wrists, actually--tied together. Today's commonly used expression "tying the knot" as a description of getting married traces back to this early custom. I found this word while reading about Irish customs online.

What wondrous new words have you encountered during recent reading?

Paddy's Day

If you're lucky, you learn something new every day. I didn't know that St. Patrick's Day is also simply called Paddy's Day (which you must admit is quite cute).

Wherever you go and whatever you do,
May the luck of the Irish be there with you.

If you're in the mood for an Irish post rather than an Irish toast, you can read (or reread) the post on Becoming Finola by Suzanne Strempek Shea, a book set in a picturesque town in Ireland. But I warn you, you'll want to plan a trip to Ireland.

Beannachtam na Feile Padraig!Happy St. Patrick's Day!