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Coordinator: Shirley Starke Route 2, Box 230 Valley City, ND 58072 701 - 845 - 2382 |
Newsletter of the Irish Special Interest Group of American Mensa Uimhir 86: Mrta/Aibren 1998 Opinions expressed are those of individual authors. Mensa as a whole has no opinions. |
A chairde,
Is there someone out there who would volunteer to guest-edit the May-August issue? For those new to the SIG, we have the May-August issue edited by one of the members - if I can get one to volunteer!We have received a catalogue from The Irish Shop in New Orleans, which contains an amazing variety of beautiful Celtic jewelry and almost anything else Irish that you would care to name. Not everything is expensive either: they have a sterling silver Claddagh ring for $18.95 that looks identical to the one my mother gave me, which is a beautiful ring and is one of my treasures. The address is The Irish Shop - New Orleans, 723 Toulouse Street, New Orleans, LA 70130.
Comhalta„ Nua
Barry Sutherland (4216 Darnall Rd., Baltimore, MD 21236) writes, "Enjoyed the sample newsletter - please count me in. My grandmother was from Limerick and was married at St. John's, which has the highest steeple in Ireland. I'd be interested in Irish travel information."Maurice Landers (8 South Village Ave., Rockville Center, NY 11570) writes, "I came over from Ireland in 1996 and worked in Dallas, Texas as a financial consultant for Merrill Lynch. I am now working for a company called Edward Jones Investment, having been given the opportunity to take over one of their branches in Long Island, New York."
Litreacha
Tom Culhane (954-A Stuyvesant Ave., Union, NJ 07083) sent this press release: "Tim Prusmack, perhaps the foremost money artist painting today, has been commissioned by Tom Culhane, Director of the American Irish-Celtic USA Stamp Committee, to recreate one of the 19th century's most beautiful notes: the Fenian bond. The central vignette features the allegorical goddess of Liberty beside a harp, pointing to the sword near a kneeling Civil War soldier accompanied by his wolfhound, while directing his attention back across the sea to Ireland. With the busts of Wolfe Tone and Robert Emmett depicted in the lower corners, this 1860's American bond is an especially moving reminder of the fight for Irish freedom. Spectacularly painted in original vibrant shades of green, black, and red, only 250 numbered and artist-signed prints were produced."200 of the Prusmack works will be available commercially, and Culhane will donate the other fifty prints to individuals and organizations dedicated to the Fenian cause of Irish freedom.
"In the beginning years of the American Civil war, military protocol allowed men back on the field after a battle to retrieve the bodies of officers for proper burial, while enlisted men were removed for mass burial. During these times of truce it wasn't unusual for men of both sides to discuss the battle in terms of what they had learned and how it could be used against England after the war, as Irish-American men made up the largest group of forces in the War Between the States. More than 100,000 of those men had come to support the Fenian Movement, the nexus of which had developed a few years earlier in the Southwest of Ireland in places like Cork and Tipperary.
"While O'Donovan Rossa and James Stephens led the Fenians in Ireland, John O'Mahoney headed the American contingent, raising funds with the issue and sale of these bonds. These would have been redeemed upon the success of the military rising against the occupying English forces. Fenian plans eventually led to an invasion of Canada to weaken the British Empire. In April, 1866, O'Mahoney attempted to capture Campo Bello off the New Brunswick coast; which was followed by the May battle on the Canadian shore when 800 Fenians took Fort Eire. The American military soon followed the Fenians into Canada and rather than fight their American army, the Fenians left Canada.
"1867 saw Confederate and Union troops travel to Ireland to assist in the rising. Yet only 4,000 of the 30,000 Fenians were armed, leading to their defeat at the hands of the English oppressors. The 1866 $10 Fenian bonds were redeemed almost eighty years later when Eamon de Valera called in the Fenian Bonds. Any outstanding bonds were thereafter valued only as collectibles which are rarely encountered at auctions or shows."
Irish Travel Notes, Part 2........................................by Lisa Shea
DAY 3: SUN MAY 25: We woke late - noon - and showered and dressed to go out to a point-to-point in Mallow. We followed Barbara and Tom out, stopped ° mile out at an elderly friend's (Margaret White, wife of Tom's cousin) cottage to pick her up, then off to the races.
It was great fun! It was a huge field with a big oval track, with hedge-jumps scattered around it. Everyone was in the middle, with the food trucks and betting booths and such. We all guessed wrong on each race. On the first race, one of the horses balked at the jump and almost went into the crowd! (The course is marked only with ropes.) Various jockeys got kicked off their horses and escaped before they were trampled. My horse in the third race fell after the last jump. We went back for tea and sandwiches at Margaret's house. It was a really small house - probably quite old.
From Mallow we went to Mitchelstown, all flattish farmland and cows. Past the Gally Mountains, with fields on them. Much different from the mountains of southwest Cork!! Into Cashel. You could see the "Rock of Cashel" coming into town - it was very impressive looking with the castle on top! We got there at 6 - it had just closed - so we got to wander all around it without hordes of tourists. There was a smaller abbey down in the fields, too. Then we went on past Durrow, Port Laoise, Kildare (much too late for the Japanese Gardens) and finally Naas.
Our B&B, the Dun Aengus, was right in among the sheep farms - very quiet and comfy. We found the Manor Inn for dinner - delicious lamb and Guinness beef. We chose well for the area.
DAY 4: MON MAY 26: We awoke in Naas and ate breakfast at 8 there in the B&B, quite nice. We took off into Dublin and found a parking spot right on St. Stephen's Green. We walked through the green and went to St. Patrick's, very nice but it had a shop inside for tourists! It was early yet for them. We saw Swift's grave there. We next went into Dublin Castle and saw where the scenes from Michael Collins were. Next, Trinity College where I went in to see the Book of Kells exhibit. Very very pretty. We had planned on staying to see a friend in Dublin but it was now 12:00 and we were content with what we'd seen so we headed out.
Newgrange was neat from the outside, but they required a 45-minute tour to see the inside (which wouldn't start for another 20 minutes) so we bought the information booklet, saw what we could, and headed out again. We drove up to Dundalk, which it turned out was the location of a bomb attack by Loyalists the day before (Sunday). They were trying to get the Sinn Fein office. Then across the checkpoint to the north, which had a soldier with an AUG on the 'going south' side but nobody on our side. On to Belfast.
Bob needed money, and we went from ATM to ATM while he (in his combat fatigues no less) hopped out trying his bank card. Eventually we found one an hour later, and headed up the coast. The coast here is VERY pretty.
Carrickfergus had a nice castle. Larne, Ballycastle. Very lovely coastlines with steep but grassy sloped mountains, sheep in square fields. Sort of like the Swiss Alps! The roads at the NE tip were really misty and sort of spooky. Then along the top, to the rope ladder bridge of 'Carrick-a-rede.' It was closed (too late) but pretty to walk out to. We then booked over to the ocean-side hotel we had reserved. It was gorgeous! The ocean was crashing, it was still light (9 PM), and they made us sandwiches and served them in their private lounge with windows overlooking the ocean.
Our room was also on the ocean side, with a beautiful view. We could see big fishing ships come across from there. Eventually we went to sleep.
(Hard copy by Michael Greaney)
Not available in on line edition