You may already know that I am a "Dual"...a citizen of The United States and of The Republic of Ireland. My U.S. citizenship stems from my birth. My Irish citizenship is courtesy the generosity of Ireland in allowing folks like me with close ties to the homeland to be included on the "Registry of Foreign Birth". My brother was the first achieve it, and I followed a few years later...building on the paperwork trail he established.
I even carry two passports now.
My Dad's folks were both Irish immigrants in the early years of the 20th Century. Mom's Mother was also from Eire.
Does the country your ancestors come from really make any difference in your life? I've lived in Alabama longer than anywhere. How much of me is Irish or American, or Alabamian for that matter?
We're almost all of us mongrels anyway, a touch of this and that, an influential Uncle or teacher, a book read early and loved, a tragedy survived, a great joy shared.
But the Irish in me is an especially important part.
I feel it stirring at odd moments other than the public celebration that today is: when I hear a certain chord or a dance step; when I smell a fresh plowed field or hear cold water rushing over rock; when I look at pictures of the Grandfather and Grandmother I never really knew, who decided individually to leave everything they knew behind and sail to their new world to find their streets of gold. They met, and married and, embarked on their new journey together.
His father, by the way, was a Patrick, one of the millions of Irish boys named for the Saint.
I achieved Irish citizenship to honor him, and all of those who preceded me..
To those of you who share my Irish ancestry, a toast on this public day of celebration!
May the Devil.....
I even carry two passports now.
Does the country your ancestors come from really make any difference in your life? I've lived in Alabama longer than anywhere. How much of me is Irish or American, or Alabamian for that matter?
We're almost all of us mongrels anyway, a touch of this and that, an influential Uncle or teacher, a book read early and loved, a tragedy survived, a great joy shared.
But the Irish in me is an especially important part.
I feel it stirring at odd moments other than the public celebration that today is: when I hear a certain chord or a dance step; when I smell a fresh plowed field or hear cold water rushing over rock; when I look at pictures of the Grandfather and Grandmother I never really knew, who decided individually to leave everything they knew behind and sail to their new world to find their streets of gold. They met, and married and, embarked on their new journey together.
His father, by the way, was a Patrick, one of the millions of Irish boys named for the Saint.
I achieved Irish citizenship to honor him, and all of those who preceded me..
To those of you who share my Irish ancestry, a toast on this public day of celebration!
May the Devil.....
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