After our spring break
we start to learn to pronounce Gaelic....gulp!... for several pieces we will perform in the U.S. and in Ireland.

Will we be able to read the road signs when we get there?!

We need to find our way to see Dingle, Santa Barbara's Sister City, this summer!

photo courtesy of SBCC student Chris Warrick, from summer in Dingle, 2007.

Read about who does and who doesn't speak Gaelic in Ireland today in this 17 March 2008 Los Angeles Times commentary.

Read a book about Ireland....some ideas

Some readers' favorites:

The Dubliners, James Joyce
The Book of Evidence, The Sea, John Banville
Commitments, Roddy Doyle
Teacher Man, Frank McCourt
The Third Policeman, Flann O'Brien
Irish Girls About Town, Maeve Binchy

what are yours? Post a comment with some titles!

Here's a link to Irish fiction to be checked out from the SBCC library.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Test your Irish IQ!

The History Channel has a fun website full of information about St. Patrick and Ireland. Take this quiz or follow the links from that page.

More Irish-American facts!

Presidents of (at least a little) Irish descent
At least twenty-three presidents of the United States have some Irish/Northern Irish (Scotch-Irish American) ancestral origins, although the extent of this varies. For example, both of Andrew Jackson's parents were Irish born while George W. Bush has a rather distant Irish ancestry. President Kennedy had far stronger Irish origins, which fell much closer in terms of date. Also Ronald Reagan's father had some Irish Catholic ancestry, and his mother some Scots-Irish. James K. Polk also had Scots-Irish Ancestry. Only Kennedy was raised as a practicing Catholic.

Wikipedia cites: Centre for Irish Genealogical and Historical Studies
Learn more at: Genealogical Salute to Saint Patrick's Day and Our Irish Ancestors
or dig for your own Irish ancestors at : http://www.rootsweb.com

The month of March is designated as Irish American Heritage Month

A few facts about Irish Americans from the US Census Bureau:

Originally a religious holiday to honor St. Patrick, who introduced Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century, St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into a celebration for all things Irish. The world’s first St. Patrick’s Day parade occurred on March 17, 1762, in New York City, featuring Irish soldiers serving in the English military. President Truman attended the parade in 1948, a proud moment for the many Irish whose ancestors had to fight stereotypes and prejudice to find acceptance in America. Congress proclaimed March as Irish-American Heritage Month in 1995, and the president issues a proclamation each year.

Population Distribution of Irish Americans 36 million

Number of U.S. residents who claim Irish ancestry. This number is almost nine times the population of Ireland itself (slightly more than 4 million). Irish is the nation’s second most frequently reported ancestry, trailing only German.

All sources: 2006 American Community Survey