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Entry: St. Patrick and All Those Potatoes Link: http://www.takimag.com/site/article/st_patrick_and_all_those_potatoes#484 Post contents: PS, I can't resist sharing a few more observations about the very American and very un-Irish way of fetishising St Patrick's Day and Irishness. And before I go on, a disclaimer (or "claimer?), my grandmother was an Irish Catholic. But she had the good sense and good fortune to marry an English Catholic of an old, prosperous and proudly English family; so, I'm neutral between any pissing contests between Ireland and England, as all the best people always are neutral between any vulgar nationalist grievances in that ancient internal family feud of the British Isles. And the family feud about Ireland is just one of many ongoing family feuds in the British Isles, for at least the past 2,000 years ofwritten British/Irish history. St Patrick's day was never much of a traditional Irish holiday, until some Irish-Americans invented it as one. And it saddens me to see how so many Americans have confused it with things that are not truly Irish at all, including a very American habit of Anglophobia. I just wanted to mention that, on this very American, very artificial "holiday", which means far more to Americans than it does to the Irish. However, all that said: To any and all descendants of Ireland (Catholic AND Protestant, et al) who are reading this today, well, even though it's an artificial and American holiday, still, any and every day is a good day to remember Ireland, where our ancestors saved Western Christendom during the Dark Ages. My Irish grandmother (who was a singer in her youth) taught me a few lines of some Gaelic songs, and she told me a story about St Patrick and Ossian, which her grandfather (who lived during the Great Famine) told her: My Grandmother - God bless her soul whether in Purgatory or Heaven, but surely she will descend to greet me when I arrive in Purgatory - she told me a story her grandfather told her, of how St Patrick met with the old pagan poet, Ossian, who was over 100 years old, and so he knew the Fianna. Old Ossian knew the Fianna - like Finn McCuhal (aka McCool) and Diarmuid, who lived during the and 300s AD, when the Fianna defended Ireland while Britain was being ravaged by barbarians. So. Old Ossian lived to well over 100 years. And (my Grandmother told me, so it must be true, at least in a spiritual way), St Patrick asked old Ossian to tell him all that he knew of Ireland's history of thousands of years. And St Pat listened, while Ossian told his stories. And then, finally, old Ossian had no more stories to tell, and he was ready to die. And then, St Patrick said to him, "I promise you, that whenever you die, or whenever any child of Ireland dies, they will go to Heaven with Christ, as long as they are truthful. This includes all children of Ireland before the time of Christ, too. Because, God loves a good story more than anything, and your Irish people are the best storytellers in all the world. And so, Heaven is promised to all children of Ireland, forever, as long as they tell truthful stories, because God loves a good story better than anything." ;-) Ah, well, maybe I embellished that story a bit, as all sons of Ireland will do. ;-) But the truth is, that I learned the heart of this story from my Irish grandmother, and it is a true story. At least as true as any idea of being "Irish" is. ;-) When I was a small child, whenever my Irish grandmother would visit our house, we had a ritual in which she would let me listen to her watch ticking while she stroked my hair. I offer THAT image, to any and all children of Ireland - and to all of our friends - here, as my main way of celebrating St Pat's day. And my embellished, yet very truthful Irish story is my other gift for today. And my English grandfather, who loved an Irish Lady as passionately and as loyally as Albert loved Victoria, would approve of everything I have written here. Sent at: 2008 09 06