My grandmother was born on December 10, 1900. Her ancestors were Welsh, although I doubt she knew that. They came over in the 17th century. She did have a desire to remember the past. She collected names and dates and photographs, and lucky me I inherited those and traced the family tree. We called her…
Author: Cindy Thomson
Fairy Bushes
There are fairy bushes or trees growing in Ireland. That probably doesn’t surprise you, I bet. If you are superstitious, you will not cut one down or disturb it in any way. These trees are usually hawthorns. Apparently the folks at the Saint Patrick Centre are not superstitious because they transplanted this one in their…
Thinking About Dreams
On this day many years ago I woke up after having what I thought at the time was an odd dream. I dreamt about my oldest sister. I had no reason to be dreaming about her. I’d seen her about a month earlier after her granddaughter spent a few days with me. My sister had…
Catherine O’Leary’s Cow
On this day in 1871 Chicago burned. How someone could blame a woman (an Irish woman no less) for leaving a lantern burning in a barn is a perfect example of casting the blame elsewhere. Chicago had a population explosion, resulting in haphazardly built immigrant buildings made of wood. And the sidewalks and bridges were…
Rejoice! Re:Joyce! Frank Delaney Is in the House
Today I’m privileged to have a guest post by my friend Jamie Chavez. I am a fan of Irish writers, contemporary and not so: Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Flann O’Brien, Fergal Keane, Seamus Heaney, William Trevor, John Banville, Roddy Doyle, Patrick McCabe, Nuala O’Faolain, Tana French … I could go on (and no…
The River of Life
Some thoughts today on the Celtic view of rivers and flowing water. Pre-Christianity, the Celts named their rivers for goddesses because they were life-giving, like a mother. The image of God’s spirit flowing like a river is, in my opinion, a powerful one. If you think of God like a river, instead of a far-off deity that…
Walking in the Land of the Living
I am among the gazillion people who, when looking for inspiration, turn to the Book of Psalms. For you, LORD, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.~Psalm 116:8-9 NIV Walking in the land of the living…I…
Irish Organizations in America
When the 18th century Irish settled in America, it wasn’t long before they formed organizations to aid those who came after them. The first organization (that was recorded) was called the Charitable Irish Society and was formed on St. Patrick’s Day in 1737 in Boston. Their purpose was two fold: First: to cultivate a spirit…
Happy Labor Day from The Carmina Gadelica
No matter what type of work you do, I pray it’s fulfilling, fruitful, and long-lasting. The hurricane that just hit Florida had us wondering … would my mother-in-law’s place be impacted again. My husband and his brother just finished a lot of grueling work on it. Well, thankfully her place was far south of the…
Ireland’s Matron Saint Gets Her Day in 2023!
This is the talk I gave at festivals in the summer of 2023 St. Brigid is one of the three patron saints of Ireland. The other two are St. Patrick and St. Columba (or Columcille in Irish.) She lived from about 451 to 525 (or 524 if you ask the people in Ireland. Next year…
