Fanrealm.com » All Things Irish

Irish Woman Playwright for Chicago Festival

JaneW — Sat, 29 May 2010 15:07:30 +0000

Co. Dublin, Ireland — 20 May. 2010

Miriam Gallagher’s new play, ‘Nasturtiums and Cherry Buns’ opens in Chicago on May 28th 2010. The production is by Nightblue Theater who previously performed the US Premiere of her play ‘Fancy Footwork.’ This play, first performed at Focus Theatre by Mountjoy Prisoners at Dublin Theatre Festival, followed by a London producton at The King’s Head, was recently staged at New York International Fringe Festival with a further production this week at Scotch Plains, New Jersey. Miriam Gallagher is an awardwinning playwright, novelist & screenwriter. Her work, staged and screened in Ireland, London, Paris, New York, Canada, South Africa & Australia, is profiled in Irish Women Writers: An A-Z Guide (2006, Greenwood Press, CT, USA). Books are: Fancy Footwork (13 Plays) Kalahari Blues (3 Plays) ‘The Gold of Tradaree’ (3 Plays) ‘Song for Salamander’ (a novel) ‘Pusakis at Paros’ (short stories) and ‘Let’s Help Our Children Talk ‘(non fiction). Her play, ‘The Ring of Mont de Balison’ commissioned by Dublin Millennium, celebrates Ranelagh and Dublin 6. Theatrical/Musical Interludes celebrating Irish composers (Carolan; Field; Wallace; Balfe) were performed at Dublin’s National Concert Hall, on Rté Radio and at festivals here & abroad. Commissions include ‘The Gold of Tradaree’ (first play awarded under the Per Cent for Art Scheme) and ‘Kalahari Blues’ (Galloglass Theatre) Recent prizewinning plays: ‘Doracha Mór and the Ghaoth Dobhair Sailors’ (Ireland) and ‘The Parting Glass’ (USA). Miriam received Arts Council and European Script Fund awards for ‘Girls in Silk Kimonos’ (feature length screenplay celebrating the Gore Booth sisters). Her film ‘Gypsies’ screened at New York’s Lincoln Center and San Francisco’s Plaza Cinemas & was broadcast by Rté. Website:www.miriamgallagher.ie.

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Happy St Patrick’s Day

JaneW — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:19:41 +0000

Everyone is Irish today. A thousand welcomes to the family. Remember to wear your green. Listen to Irish songs, preferably happy ones you can sing along with as you lift a pint. Do not let anyone trick you into drinking green beer. Beer is very dark brown and comes with a creamy beige head. Accept no substitutes. Watch a parade, do a pub crawl, do not drive, wear a shamrock, catch a leprechaun,Â sing your head off and have a wonderful day!

Check out this page for some great background music: http://www.fanrealm.com/celtic-podcasts/

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Irish Potato Famine Memorial – Portland, Oregon

Ms. Reid — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:03:47 +0000

One of the “must see” sites for any visitor to Portland, Oregon, (especially those with Irish roots) is the Irish Famine Memorial. It is dedicated to the memory of those Irish who died during the disastrous Great Irish Potato Famine between 1845 and 1851. The tragic famine, caused by the loss of potato crops in five successive years, accounted for the death of one million Irish.

Two million others immigrated to other areas to avoid the same fate. The majority of those emigrating came to America and traveled west on the Oregon Trail to Portland or sailed around the Horn, living the rest of their lives in Oregon. The Irish made up almost ten percent of Portland’s population between 1850 and 1880. This monument also serves to commemorate those pioneers.

In 1997, a local Dublin-born engineer David O’Longaigh dreamed of a memorial which would promote awareness and understanding of the Irish Potato Famine while recognizing those who came west on the Oregon Trail. O’Longaigh’s dream was to build a full-scale replica of the ninth-century Cross of the Scriptures which is located in Ireland. An Irish stone sculptor Brendan McGloin, Donegal Town, Ireland, hand carved the replica using only hand tools in a centuries-old tradition.

The beautiful reproduction of the Cross of the Scriptures is 13-ft. tall and stands in Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery at West Burnside and Skyline. It was dedicated on December 13, 2008, by Mary McAleese, President of Ireland.

For more in-depth information about the Memorial, visit these sites:

www.kellsirish.com/portland/famine.php

www.oregonirish.org/history.html

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Happy Halloween!

JaneW — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:07:55 +0000

Thanks to Wanda Corn for contributing this.

How Halloween Began:

One of the most fascinating tales about Halloween is how and why it began.

Celebrating our fear of ghosts and goblins began 2,000 years ago with the Celts, people who lived in an area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France.

The Celts celebrated the birth of the new year on Nov. 1, which they associated with the end of the harvest and the death of the old year.

They believed that on the night before the new year, the ghosts of the dead returned to walk the streets and create mayhem, including playing practical jokes and damaging the crops.

They also believed that during the Oct. 31 holiday of Samhaim, named for their Lord of the Dead, otherworldly spirits returned to earth to help their holy men predict the future.

Because they knew little of the science needed to understand the natural world around them, the Celts found the prophecies of their Druid priests comforting.

During this time, an Irish legend developed about a man named Jack who was denied entrance to Heaven when he died because he was a miser. The devil didn’t want Jack, either, so he was forced to roam the earth holding a lantern until Judgment Day.

The Irish, wishing to avoid Jack’s ghost, carved out turnips and potatoes and placed candles inside for protection. When the Irish people immigrated to America, they brought along the tradition. After seeing pumpkins for the first time, they replaced other vegetables and our jack-o’-lantern tradition was born

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