Happy, er, Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh!

[oldwave maker]

Hoping to bring this octave (with strings attached) to Schlafly's alcohol conveyance system factory, er, pub, in St. Louis early next month.
Still wondering if this holiday was just created by Guinness the way cinco de mayo was created by Budweiser......greatgrandmas dad got to Baltimore jan1 1849 from Limerick and she never partied mar17........

[Jim MacDaniel]

Beannachtai na Feile Padraig!

BTW, very nice flowerpot -- er, cloverpot -- what did you use for the green?

[MikeEdgerton]

There was an article in the local paper this morning about St. Patrick's day and the fact that what we do here in the states is not what is done in Ireland.

[steve V. johnson]

No, when we were in Ireland we found the folks quite amused at us over this.

I always assumed that since it was a saint's day that it came from Roman Religion, Inc., at some point, but that's just a guess.

In any case, it's our first real 70ºF day here, only a few wandering clouds in the sky and just a gorgeous day to sit in a patch of shade (the instruments seem to prefer the shade) and have a few heartfelt tunes, no matter what manner of religious character may claim the calendar.

Bill, I am agog at your work in general and specific, and I'm delighted ('over the moon', really) to learn that you'll be a Tionól!!! The St. Louis folks were wondering if recession would shrink the attendance this year, as the high gas prices did a bit for last year's gathering.

But it seems that the OM/Zouk contingent is going to be out in full! You, Roger Landes, St. Lou's own Mr. Mendel with some of his new pieces, Mike Keyes, the cittern man of Ohio, that Randy Clepper... and more still, I've heard!

This will be GREAT!!!

And it seems that the Texan bodhrán terrorist himself, Mark Stone, is bringing along a whole passel o' Texans, too, from the signups on the facebook Tionól pages! Wow... (For some time our Hoosier contingent has been among the largest groups there, but alas, we're on the wane, but just a bit...)

So, Bill, if our Midwestern hill-jerk twangin' accents start to get to you, you can still hear the sound of the southwest from voices of the Texicans... ;-)

Will you be at the Nerinx on Saturday, too? Or just at the Pub?

Beautiful headstock!

stv

[Jim MacDaniel]

There was an article in the local paper this morning about St. Patrick's day and the fact that what we do here in the states is not what is done in Ireland.

A modern example of Hiberniores Hibernis ipsis?

[Keith Erickson]

Hoping to bring this octave (with strings attached) to Schlafly's alcohol conveyance system factory, er, pub, in St. Louis early next month.
Still wondering if this holiday was just created by Guinness the way cinco de mayo was created by Budweiser......greatgrandmas dad got to Baltimore jan1 1849 from Limerick and she never partied mar17........

Bill,

I love the shamrock pot. I thought Cinco de Mayo was created by Corona Beer ;)

[Steve-o]

There was an article in the local paper this morning about St. Patrick's day and the fact that what we do here in the states is not what is done in Ireland.

I'm not too sure about that Mike. I saw this in the news today:

Drunken mayhem mars St. Patrick's in Ireland

DUBLIN – Cars were torched, firefighters attacked and police bombarded in mayhem spawned by dusk-to-dawn drinking on St. Patrick's Day, Irish authorities said Wednesday.

Authorities were still assessing the damage from inebriated revelers who turned some districts of Dublin and Belfast into nightmares.

[tango_grass]

Whao!! non HTML characters!! :))

Nice peghead!

[allenhopkins]

Well, four St. Pat's jobs yesterday; the first three were vocals, but my band Innisfree played in the evening at the American Hotel in Lima (NY), and I got out the Sobell, the Flatiron OM, and the new Gold Tone cello banjo, and we did a couple of hours of instrumentals. Loads of fun. Now I need a nap.

[Eddie Sheehy]

St Patrick's Day in Ireland is (was) just a Catholic Church Feast Day of Ireland's Patron Saint. Adults wear a spriog of Shamrock and kids wear little harp badges with a green ribbon. There are parades with floats and marching bands. Americans have always gone overboard on St. Patrick's Day - green beer, green rivers etc. I personally appreciate being appreciate by Americans and say "Fair Play" to them in their over-indulgence. A lot of Irish people - especially young adults - travel to the U.S. to celebrate St. Patricks Day - I met a group of some 3 years ago while returning from my Mom's funeral. I enjoy a pint of Guinness on St. Patrick's Day to "wet the Shamrock" - this year it was in Salzburg, Austria, last year it was in Beijing - I like to travel for my birthday which is on the 14th March. From one of the above articles it seems to be getting a little out of hand in Ireland... pity. It's a great day to be Irish and to revel in Irish music whilst partaking of Guinness, Harp, Smithwicks, and non-green beer...

[Jim MacDaniel]

BTW, today is March 19, so I would be remiss if I didn't wish you all a happy Saint Sweeney's Day (http://www.namenerds.com/irish/feastday.html)!

[Eddie Sheehy]

Jim, today, the 19th, is the Feast of St. Joseph, - hence my middle-name..

[Jim MacDaniel]

Dag -- I just checked the official church calendar for my birthday, October 29, but it is a feria day. However, it is celebrated locally as the Feast of St. Colman of Kilmacduagh (my my middle name is Michael, and my confirmation name is Jerome, so there's no link there (: ).