Irish "seisiún".

The pub Tig Coili in Galway - from my trip to Ireland in 2009. Also, here's famous musician, Alec Finn, performing for us at his home, Oranmore Castle in Galway.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Slainte!

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Day. St. Patrick's. Happy.

I'm still tuckered out from "sugaring" (burning maple sap into syrup) with my brother the last three weeks so my energy to get creative this St. Patrick's Day is sapped. HA! Get it? Unlike most years, "sugaring" came pre-March 17 (watch for posts).

That being said, my love for everything Irish has NOT waned. So, here are some of my favorite blog posts from my blog, "Good Craic. Welcome to Eire" (my 2009 trip to Ireland). One note - mute the music on this blog before you open up these links. I'm thinking you won't wanna hear two Celtic tunes playing over one another.

1.  "Ceol" means "music". Live music from Galway and Castle Oranmore in Galway.

2.  "Dathannach". Translation: "Colorful". Various places we visited.

3.  "Fear Faiche" loosely means, "green man". Pastoral photos set to verse.

4.  "Teach tábhairne" means "pub" in Gaelic. Me - in front of a lot of pubs.

5.  " Mé " means "me". More me - all over Ireland.

Enjoy...I know I did. Slainte!

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Fight scene from "The Quiet Man".

Couples don't walk like that anymore, you know? Classic John Ford (director) - and Wayne and Maureen O'Hara and Barry Fitzgerald. Watch it.

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Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig!

"Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ra" from Going My Way (link for FB).

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Pipes & Drums. Irish Fest. Milwaukee.

Here's the link for those of you on FB.

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90 minutes ago. Paddy's Pub. Milwaukee. St. Patty's Day. (and Guinness)

Cousin Joe Nowak, Aunt Ev and Uncle Bob Nowak and me. Paddy's Pub on Murray in Milwaukee. Nice, authentic Irish pub. Enjoying the fellowship of family on St. Patty's Day.

Interesting bathroom. Notice the boxing gloves around the shower head?

Even more interesting bathtub. Full-size babe, she is. Quite attractive I might add.

The ceiling was covered with LIFE magazine covers. The photo turned out even more interesting.

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Happy Birthday, Grandma Datka!

Happy Birthday, Helen! My mom's mother would've been 103 today. She passed away in 1976, I believe. Strong woman. Had to be with 9 children and a farm to help run. ;)

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Happy St. Patty's Day! Pubs of Ireland. "Teach tábhairne".

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Here are a few posts I featured on my Irish travel blog - "Good Craic. Welcome to Ireland" - recounting my trip to Ireland this past fall. You can click here to see the Irish blog in its entirety.

"Teach tábhairne" means "pub" in Gaelic. I think half our trip was spent in pubs. Click on READ MORE! to see me standing in more Irish pub doorways than you can spit at. And no we didn't have a drink in every pub whose doorway I stood. But no doubt there were plenty o'pubs we drank in that we didn't snap a shot either. Slan!


West Clare, Co. Clare

Swords, Co. Dublin. And no, it wasn't a gay bar. That was back in Galway.

Kinsale.


Kinsale.

Cahir, Co. Tipperary

Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare

Cashel, Co. Tipperary

Cahir, Co. Tipperary

Cahir, Co. Tipperary

These last two are blurry but I included them as they were, I felt, important pubs on our travels. Tig Coili in Galway, Co. Galway is the home of traditional Irish music in Galway. We spend a few hours there.

The other pub is The Local Bar in Ardfinnan, Co. Tipperary, where our cottage was. It's run by Thomas and Gavin and their father and we spent many evenings here with the boys. More on Ardfinnan later.

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"Mór"! Johnnie Fox's Pub in Co. Dublin.

"Mór" means "grand" in Gaelic. And Johnnie Fox's is the grandest, best ever pub/tavern I've ever been in (The Safe House in Milwaukee is #2). The only way to describe it to you is to have you see what I saw. So I shot this very crude video of me entering the front door at one end of the pub and then meandering through it.

Situated in Glencullen, south of Dublin in the Dublin Mountains, Johnnie Fox's was established in 1798 and is the highest pub in Ireland. NO trip to Dublin should be without a visit here. And they run cabs back and forth from the B&B's and hotels to the pub so no one inadvertently drives off the road. It's steep and curvy. Check out Johnnie Fox's website here.

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"Mé" in Ireland

"Mé" means "me". Click on READ MORE! for a few more shots of me traipsing around Ireland this past fall.

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"Ceol" & Alec Finn.

"Ceol" means "music". When my friend Justyna and I were in Ireland in 2006, we didn't get to see any traditional Irish music performed in pubs as it was April (off-season) AND we weren't on the west coast, where the traditional music is more prevalent.

On my travels to Ireland this past fall, I was not only lucky enough to be able to listen to traditional Irish music in the pubs but I got to listen to Alec Finn, one of Celtic music's most influential musicians and a founding member of DeDanaan, play in his castle. Finn's debut solo album, Blue Shamrock, received critical lauds, described by Hot Press as "a beautifully crafted, highly satisfying, collection of Irish airs". You might wanna pause the Celtic jukebox at the top of the blog before listening to this.

Alec and his wife, Leonie, live at Oranmore Castle in Oranmore, Co. Galway. Oranmore Castle is family friend Michael's ancestral home and the purpose of our visit was to spread Michael's father's ashes over the sides of the castle turret. They graciously invited Michael and I into their home/castle and we had a wonderful time. Irish music, live performance, port wine, roaring fire, castle...a high point of the trip.

The Irish bouzouki, the instrument Alec is playing, is a derivative of the Greek bouzouki, adopted into and adapted for Irish music from the late 1960s onward. Not sure which bouzouki Alec is playing, but I assume it's the Greek version (it's what he's known for).

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St. Patty's Day. 2 p.m. PST. And still sober.

'Tis a cryin' shame, is what it is.

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From me muther.

"Remember: Your kilt should be short enough for dancing a jig, but long enough to hide your lucky charms."

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