Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Daffey Thoughts

Home
Catholic
St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day

Last updated on: March 17, 2013 at 3:55 pm by Dave Griffey

St. Patrick’s Day 2013-03-17T15:55:00-04:00 Dave Griffey

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

St. Patrick’s statue in St. Mary parish

Gets all the press. I’m OK with that. Ever since my parents discovered my lineage some ages ago, I’ve been rather taken by my Irish roots. I always knew that we were part Irish, part Welsh, a little German and a smattering of other European heritage. Thanks to the amorous choices of my great grandfather on my Dad’s paternal side, I also have American Indian. My wife, likewise, is also heavily favored on the Irish side, though she has a greater strain of American Indian and could have qualified as actual Native American from a legal perspective in terms of college grants and similar perks, if she had not already received a full ride.

But in it all, my Irish side is best known to me. Some years ago, my Mom and Dad were traveling back to my Dad’s birthplace in the hills and mountains of West Virginia. Dad was born way out in the boons, in a town that no longer exists. They were asking folks where certain landmarks might be when they stumbled across a woman who was working on a PhD. Part of her work was tracing, of all things, the genealogy of my Dad’s maternal family. Apparently the woman herself was related, as most in that region might be.

She produced the fruits of her labor, a massive book hundreds of pages long detailing everyone linked to the original family who came across the ocean back in the waning days of the eighteenth century. Through that side – the Mollohans – we actually hail from County Sligo in Ireland:

Ah, now that’s a place that screams Emerald Isle. And talk about ancient sites to stimulate this old historian’s imagination. And for those who golf, apparently it’s one of the premier golfing locations in the British Isles. But I am as good as golf as I am at spitting, so I’m more taken by the history, the lush landscapes, and the heritage.

Fact is, the son of the first fellow to come over here was killed by a bear. Figures. Talk about setting a precedent. Others did some amazing things, some not so amazing, and quite frankly, I’m rather surprised at how my line even got here, given the infant morality, the war casualties, and the general death and suffering so many of them seemed to experience.

Where it all began, at least for part of my family

I’ve done some research on my Mom’s side, and my wife has as well. But the most clear picture is from my Mollohan side, whose most distant descendants actually came from Scotland during a displacement ordered by the crown almost two centuries earlier.

Because of this, I’m rather fond of St. Patrick. He’s my 12 year old’s patron saint. He also gives us a great excuse to feast and play in the otherwise dreary month of March. So it’s tipping the old Guinness today. Maybe a Harp. Irish meat pies and potato and leek soup, sauteed turnips, some truly awesome homemade Irish candy, and of course homemade soda bread.

We’ll learn about St. Patrick, explore Irish history and folklore, listen to some authentic Irish music, and basically chill. Owing to Ohio State’s basketball prowess this year, we’ll also pause to see if they can keep their winning streak alive. Special note: defensive aficionado and scholar athlete Aaron Craft, one of the defensive stars of college basketball, came to speak at to parish youth some months ago. My two oldest were mightily impressed.

Anyway, that’s the news. I’ll be back with a few updates and posts in the not too distant, especially to look at a couple emails I got to kick things around. Till then:

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

March 16, 2013

The Book of Kells Online!

Next Post

March 17, 2013 Update on Catholics hating America

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Atheism Awesome things Bigotry for the hip American Blogging Books Catholic Catholic Teaching Catholics on the Internet Christian Persecution Christian Unity Christianity and America Christianity in the Post-Modern World Christianity in the world Culture of Death Culture of Life Current Events Decline and Fall of the Christian West Defending Liberty Fun Stuff Global Warming Good Causes Good News Gun Control Health Care History Holidays Homeschool Humor Important things Inspiring Stories Interesting Insights Interesting Stories Islam and the West Liberal "Tolerance" Liberal observations Life in a post-Christian world Memorial Movies Musings News Other Blogs Our Big Politically Correct Bother Politics Popular Culture Post Modern Values Prayers Pro Life Promoting LGBT Protecting Liberty Racism in the world today Scientism Social Observations Sports Strange Stories The Boys The Catholic Church and the Left The Decline and Fall of the American Dream The end of liberty The Faith and the Left The Faith and the Right The Family The Greatness of God The Internet The Leftist Juggernaut The LGBT Question The Media The Pope The post-liberal Left The Power of Propaganda Tributes Twilight of the American Experiment Uncategorized Uneducating Postmoderns When the Church is wrong Why learn from history when we can repeat it instead Wisdom in the Post Modern Age World Events

Select a Month August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does the Bible say about greed?

Select your answer to see how you score.

It is always wise It is best It helps you win It leads to ruin