Céad Míle Fáilte!

Chapel atop Croagh Patrick

St. Augustine's National School, Murrisk, County Mayo

Today is a special day for me and my family. Although we're not Catholic, our spirits are uplifted at the thought of this special saint's day. Many of you know that the Fabulous Forrest Family took a year-long sabbatical in Ireland. We lived in a magical place in the northwest corner of the Republic, in County Mayo, called Murrisk. The village was little more than a collection of homes strung out along Clew Bay, anchored by a small community center, an abbey and cemetery, and a couple of taverns.

And a school. There were two classrooms - one for pre K-2nd grade, the other for 3rd-6th grades. Our children were instantly welcomed there by the wonderful teachers and students, and Professor X and I made friends with their schoolmates' parents and the teachers.

We lived in a beautiful home at the foot of Croagh Patrick, a high mountain with a tiny chapel atop it. Legend had it that St. Patrick had climbed up, built a church there, and after fasting for 40 days, he threw a silver bell down the side of the mountain, knocking the she-demon Corra from the sky and banishing all the snakes from Ireland.

Our fireplace was often ablaze, filled with the loveliest smelling peat, as a wild wind raged outside. I miss the smells and sights of Ireland as much as the sounds. Such music they have! 'Tis fine, indeed.



Here's a clip of one of my favorite movies, Hear My Song. Here's some fun background information about it. It's got a brilliant soundtrack. Ned Beatty plays real Irish tenor Joseph Locke in a VERY loosely based version of Locke's last concert. Very cute Irish guy Adrian Dunbar plays a concert promoter who persuades Locke to come out of forced retirement (he was wanted by the Brits for tax evasion) and perform at a benefit for a London concert hall. This clip shows Locke (Beatty's voice is dubbed by Vernon Midgely) singing on the way over to England.



Another marvelous film related to Ireland is Waking Ned Devine. Some youtuber combined the last song in the film, a classic tune entitled The Parting Glass, with some photos of Ireland with a special emphasis on County Mayo. It's sung by Shaun Davey.



Oh, geez. I'm starting to get teary-eyed.

If you're wondering about my post title, it's Gaelic for A Hundred Thousand Welcomes. Which is what we received when we went to Eire. I remember so well one of my son's friends opening the door to his home when we came for supper one night. Young Matthew proclaimed to the four of us "Come in! You're very welcome!"

Now I'm REALLY getting all teary. We absolutely must go back and spend more time in that place. A piece of my heart is there.

Getting Dirty on St. Patrick's Day

In honour of St. Patrick's Day, I'm sharing a couple of photos Professor X took during our time in Ireland. We lived in a magical village called Murrisk, just outside Westport in County Mayo. The view from our house in one direction was a sacred mountain called Croagh Patrick. Pilgrims go there every year to climb the rocky trail to the top, where there is a little chapel. St. Patrick allegedly stayed at the summit in 441 AD. After 40 days of fasting, he banished all the snakes and demons from Ireland. This is his view from the top:


Clew Bay stretches out to the north of Murrisk. It is largely undeveloped, and just thinking about it makes my throat tight. Looking at this picture reminds me of the beauty we left behind as well as the wonderful friends who remain there. I miss all of it.

Let's not have me sink into melancholy, shall we? What else do I have to tell you about?

My sweet friend Mama Milton recently posted something that inspired me.

You can click on this badge and travel to SusieJ's blog, where she describes what this is all about. Suffice it to say that Amazing Children and I are about to embark upon an incredible journey of attempting to scrabble in the soil and sow seeds to help hunger at home and elsewhere.

I think this is a dandy way to commemorate St. Patrick's Day. Sadly, we can't afford tickets to return to our beloved Murrisk this year, and there aren't particularly large numbers of snakes which need to be driven out of any local environs. Sure, we will eat some Irish stew and soda bread for supper tonight after wearing green clothes. To be clear, we will keep the clothes on while eating. But the wearing will begin before the eating. Anyhoo, back to the gardening thing.

I've wanted to grow food for a while now, and this is a good time to start. So we will be digging up a bit of the backyard tomorrow and planning our planting. I am now taking suggestions for what we should include in our Victory Garden.

I can't resist including one non-edible that I always love to see, although it looks like my supply might be limited:
St. Patrick may have chosen to fast, but I'm determined to do what I can to help those in my community who are hungry. How about you?