Happy St. Patrick’s Day from the Black Family in a wet and windy Northern Ireland. Just for a change….
Okay he was probably Welsh, didn’t know a shamrock from his elbow and never saw a snake in his life but those are just details right? Today is a big day on the island of Ireland.
Later today I’m going to write about living in Northern Ireland after a fellow blogger suggested this topic. So if you have any questions about the country then please feel free to comment below.
But be warned, I’m not your stereotypical Irishman. I hate Guinness, can’t speak Gaelic and green is most definitely not my colour. But Fionnuala and I are born and bred Irish so we will do our best to answer any questions you might have.
What questions do you have for us about growing up and living in Ireland?
I’d love to know what you do to celebrate St Patrick’s day as a family. There is never anything family orientated here so i would be interested to know if it’s different where you are 😊
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Happy St Patrick’s day by the way 😊🍀
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Love the face paint. Do they really do corned beeg and cabbage in Ireland for St Patty’s Day? If the answer is yes, then why? If the answer is no, then why do we do it here in the US?
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I can answer that one: No, they don’t do corned beef and cabbage in Ireland. You’ll see it on the menu only when American tourists are expected (such as for March 17). It’s not a genuine ethnic Irish meal because in ancient Ireland, cattle were a form of wealth like currency is today: see the legends of Queen Medb and Táin Bó Cúailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley). The Irish traditionally raised their cattle for dairy consumption, not for their meat (when the Irish could afford to eat meat – which wasn’t often – it was chicken, pork or mutton). After Ireland became part of the British Empire, the British wanted beef, and they bought it from the Irish, who shipped the cattle over on the hoof, and also slaughtered, with the meat preserved in very coarse salt (“corned,” because the bits of salt were about the size of grains of wheat, which in Europe was called “corn” – see also this usage in the term “peppercorns”). The barrels of salted beef were marked that they were the product of Ireland. Thus, it was the British who are “Irish corned beef,” not the Irish. Irish corned beef was also shipped to America, where the standard of living slowly improved for Irish immigrants, until they began to be able to afford to eat the cheaper cuts of beef (the fatty corned brisket). Imported Irish beef also would have been bought by Americans (particularly of Irish descent) as a sign of support for Ireland, although they were probably buying it from British suppliers who were shipping over their excess inventory.
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Now how cool is that! Thanks so much for the wonderful explanation. Love it!
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I’ve never heard of it and I’ve lived in Ireland all my life.
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Isn’t that amazing. We eat at this year on St Patrick’s Day to commemorate the day did the Irish don’t even eat. What a funny world we live in
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You’re welcome! I learned a lot of interesting stuff like that when I was writing my first novel. I wanted the story to be an authentic reflection of contemporary Irish life, so it took three years to research (including a 2-week backpack trip over there).
BTW, the proper culinary name for the combination of corned beef brisket and cabbage is “New England Boiled Dinner,” which is another hint about its origins as an American dish.
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You know way more than me and I’ve lived there all my life 😂
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And I am originally from New England so that’s good to know
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Happy St. Patrick, you amazing crowd! 🙂
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Thank you. Same to you 🍀
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Happy SPatrick from your cousin of the ROI😀☘️windy and probably wet parade here too and overlapping with the match 😱
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Same to you. Enjoy the day & let’s hope Ireland win 🍀🙏🏻
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🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
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Can we ever have an All Ireland football team as we do for rugby? I know we no longer have George Best and Liam Brady, but wouldn’t it be wonderful?
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It would be but I doubt it. Football is pretty bigoted & sectarian in Northern Ireland so unfortunately I can’t see it happening.
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That is unfortunate. I still pray it will happen some day and both sides can play together.
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What is the economic status? Are there any religious/political divisions? How is the crime rate? Does it rain often? How about transportation? What about the education system? What activities are there for families, young adults? Have you always lived in the same area? How about the availability of good medical care? Cost of living?
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Wow. That’s a lot of questions. I’ll do my best to answer as many as I can.
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Sorry. It’s my curse to ask questions. You did a great job answering them. Thanks
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You’re welcome lol
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good idea steven! and happy st. patricks day from one irish gal to your family! xo
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And the same to you 🍀😊
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I Googled most of the stuff, but I couldn’t find the info about the Irish folk. What are they like in general?
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Great post! Happy St. Patrick’s day!🍀
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And the same to you. Hope you are keeping well.
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I love Northern Ireland. I’m looking forward to that post about what life is like living there. Thanks for the heads up about St. Patrick. Have a great day!
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You’re welcome. Thank you very much.
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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here’s a question: how many sunny days do you get a year?
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Erm…..roughly 4 😂😂
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Lol, I think I like Illinois weather better 🌄🌞🌽
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Do you live far from Chicago?
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South of Chicago. More central, but we could get there in a few hours.
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Kinda late…. but hope you guys had a brilliant St Patrick’s Day! 🍀👌❤
How do you celebrate St Patrick’s in general? Any cultural norms?
Alsooo….. I’ve been wanting to go to Ireland forever, especially areas where you can really appreciate the nature/environment. Slemish mountain, Ballymena and the cliff wapks and trails along The Strand to name a few! What places and spots would you suggest/are your favourite?
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It’s never too late. We had a quiet St Patrick’s Day. We watched the rugby and then had ‘Paddy Pizzas’ for our dinner. The North Coast is hard to beat. The Giants Causeway, Dunluce Castle, The Dark Hedges to name but a few. It’s where a lot of Game of Thrones is filmed.
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Those who would like another opportunity to learn more about Ireland can sign up for two FREE 4-week courses in Irish Language and Culture offered by Dublin City University through the MOOC provider FutureLearn (https://www.futurelearn.com/search?q=irish+language). Both courses begin on 26 March.
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