March 17, 2011

MAY THE ROAD RISE UP TO MEET YOU


"May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be ever at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face

and the rain fall softly on your fields.

And until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hands."

Traditional Gaelic Blessing

Happy St. Patrick's Day


May those who love us, love us;

And those that don't love us,

May God turn their hearts,

And if He doesn't turn their hearts,

...May he turn their ankles

So we'll know them by their limping.

--Old Irish Hex--




March 15, 2011

ST. PATRICK'S DAY -- IRISH IN LOUISIANA



By Terri Wuerthner, About.com Contributing Writer
.
Irish immigrants, attempting to flee British persecution, began appearing in New Orleans at the end of the 1700s. Even larger numbers of Irish started arriving in the 1820s when the famine drove them out of Ireland. The passage from Liverpool to New Orleans was cheap, so many Irish immigrants looking for a better life ended up in the Crescent City, though living conditions were less than ideal once they arrived.

The Irish left their stamp on New Orleans. There is even an area called the "Irish Channel," which is uptown, near the Garden District. This is the center of many St Patrick's Day festivities (see [Link] St. Patrick’s Day Parades in Cajun and Creole Louisiana [Link]).

TO BE CONTINUED....

The Cajuns—Acadia to the Bayous