The Risk and Truth of Ireland

As you may have read previously in this blog, my entire life I've clung desperately to entertained a mysterious love of the Emerald Isle. I was a one-man St. Patrick's Day Advent season every year of high school; I wore pins of the names of different Irish patriots every day (Patrick Pearse, Wolf Tone, etc). I focused on Irish history and literature in college: my senior independent study compared the effects of two invasions, Christianity and the Vikings, on Irish culture. I wear a shamrock necklace every day of my life. Needless to say, this time of year always brings me a sense of mini-euphoria somewhat akin to soft snowflakes on Christmas Eve.

At the same time, however, it also brings a question to the top of my mind: Why? What is it about Ireland and its people that creates such devotion in myself and many, many others? Often it can easily be traced back to celebrating one's own heritage. In my case, however, it was a few quotes from Irish authors that led me down a different path.

"Even a newspaperman, if you entice him into a cemetery at midnight, will believe in phantoms, for everyone is a visionary, if you scratch him deep enough. But the Celt, unlike any other, is a visionary without scratching.” ― William Butler Yeats

As a whole, the Irish love tradition. Living on the same land as their ancestors, driving on roads past 500 year-old castle ruins, a concerted effort to save their original Irish language: all contribute to a deep sense of place and identity that possesses the Irish. Much of this is transmitted to later generations through well-loved tales and the reels and ballads of its rich musical tradition. Perhaps the sense of their own history being kept alive so well contributes to the Celtic ability to stir the imagination.

"Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy."― William Butler Yeats

There is also a pervasive melancholy in the Irish culture, possibly from the constant damp and overcast weather. A continual sense that things may not turn out for the best, and the calm acceptance of that fact, combined with a strong sense of history and identity, have definitely generated a heavyhearted and poignant tone to the works of Irish writers from James Joyce all the way to Seamus Heaney.

The melancholy view of life doesn't always look backwards to what has gone one before, however. Now, in modern-age Ireland, due to a series of economic downturns, there is also a sense of missed opportunities: what could have been.

“Over time, the ghosts of things that happened start to turn distant; once they've cut you a couple of million times, their edges blunt on your scar tissue, they wear thin. The ones that slice like razors forever are the ghosts of things that never got the chance to happen.” 
― Tana French

So this St. Patrick's Day Weekend, take a moment and consider the saddened richness of the Irish heritage. Then, go live boldly (and read some Irish poetry)!

"There is risk and truth to yourselves and the world before you." ― Seamus Heaney

Photo of the Irish coast from travel.nationalgeographic.com

Tionscadal na hÉireann (Project Ireland)

Have you ever asked yourself, "Is there any connection between Liam Neeson and the city of Des Plaines?" Well, the Readers Services Department has. One such way they've come up with is the following sequence:

1. In 1993 Liam Neeson played the lead role in the play “Anna Christie” on Broadway.

2. Natasha Richardson also starred in Broadway's production of “Anna Christie”, where she met Liam for the first time. They were married in 1994.

3.Natasha Richardson starred with Christopher Walken in the 1990 film The Comfort of Strangers.

4. Christopher Walken played a supporting role in the 2002 picture Catch Me If You Can, which was directed by Steven Spielberg.

5. Steven Spielberg played a cameo role as the Cook County Assessor’s Office clerk in the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers.

6. The Howard Johnson’s motel that was used as a location in The Blues Brothers was torn down as part of the re-construction plan of the Des Plaines Oasis on Interstate 90.

This and five other connections of Liam Neeson and the Chicago area (mostly Des Plaines) can be found on the 3rd floor on the poster "Six Degrees of Liam Neeson". This display itself is a part of a floor-wide program known as Project Ireland meant to celebrate Ireland and its influence on our lives today (by the way, "Tionscadal na hÉireann" means Project Ireland in the traditional Irish language).

What better place to celebrate the Irish culture of storytelling and music than in the fiction, film, and music departments at the library? There is a display that illuminates Irish music beyond the commonly known groups of the Clancy Brothers and U2, another depicting Irish travel DVDs and magazines, a display portraying Ireland as seen in cinema, and one exploring the crime fiction explosion that is currently happening on the Emerald Isle; all brought to you by members of the Readers Services Department. Whether you are Irish or not, come on in and enjoy the Wearin' of the Green with us this St. Patrick's season!

The following is a time-honored Irish blessing I'd like to extend to you, the reader:

"May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam."

Hopefully one of the places you'll roam is to the 3rd floor of the Des Plaines Public Library, where your friendly neighborhood Readers Services Department would be glad to see you!

The Wearin’ o’ the Green!

Medieval scholars had the following to say about Ireland, “Hibernia hibernescit”. While the fact this statement is in Latin may not be real exciting, the meaning of this phrase has always fascinated me, because it is true in my case. “Hibernia hibernescit” means “Ireland makes all things Irish”. St. Patrick’s Day has always been one of my favorite holidays since I’ve been a kid, and my dream home was in the form of thatch-roofed cottage overlooking Galway Bay.

Being that the holiday grew out of the need for Irish emigrants to celebrate to their Irish heritage, nowadays one of the questions inevitably asked is “Are you Irish”? My reply is always, “It doesn't matter.” In my opinion, the great thing about St. Patrick’s Day is that it provides an opportunity for everybody to be Irish for a day! Everyone has an equal opportunity to enjoy the foot-stomping, hand-clapping energy of a fiddler playing an Irish reel; to refresh the palate with Ireland’s wide array of, … ah, shall we say “beverages”; or to partake in the stoic and magic melancholy of a folk ballad.

Due to life circumstances, I have not managed to partake in a few of the things I normally enjoy this time of the year: watching the Plumbers Union, Local 130 dye the Chicago River green (okay, greener than normal), or enjoying the parades in the city. Though I was disappointed to miss these events, I’ve come to realize that it doesn’t take much to enjoy the Irish spirit, and opportunities to do so are profuse.

One can always obtain a healthy dose of Irish-ness by borrowing a film from the library portraying any part of the Irish Story. I would suggest the following samples of my favorite Irish films if you are in need of some Hibernian fare in this coming week: In the Name of the Father, Far and Away, Michael Collins, and the film my wife and I watch every year at this time, the Quiet Man.

Now if, like me, you will miss out on the various St. Patrick’s Day celebrations throughout Chicagoland, and movies just don't float your boat, all is not lost. Circle your calendar for The Irish American Heritage Festival in July. This event, which will be held July 10-12 in 2009, celebrates everything Irish from tables showcasing artisan crafts and other wares to a tent with live Irish music performances every night of the festival. Throw in an abundance of Irish food and drink, plus games, raffles, and traveling troupes of Irish dancers, and you have you yourself what people in the old country would call a shindig! All proceeds from this festival go to the Irish American Heritage Center (a not-for-profit organization), and you can stay updated with news about this event here. To me, Irish Fest seems like combining the best of St. Patrick's Day with the best of summer - a heady concoction indeed!

And so this St. Patrick's Day or after, I, Joel O'Sawyer, a self-appointed ambassador of the holiday, cordially invite you, wherever you are at, whatever you are doing, no matter your ancestry, to partake in the rich cultural texture of Ireland through sight, sound, or taste. You owe it to yourself!

Sláinte!