St. Patrick's Day in American History - by Jo-Ann Roberts

 

Every March 17th, the United States becomes emerald-green for a day. We wear green clothing, drink green beer and milkshakes, and eat green bagels and grits. Parades in big cities and small towns cheer on bagpipers, step dancers and marching bands. However, these traditions weren't imported from Ireland.

They were made in America.

In contrast, March 17th in Ireland had been more of a holy day than holiday. The Irish would attend church in the morning and attend modest feasts in the afternoon. There were no green-tinted foods, since blue, not green was the traditional color associated with Ireland's patron saint prior to the 1798 Irish Rebellion.

While many people believe Boston was the first to hold a St. Patrick's Day celebration in the American colonies, evidence has been unearthed that St. Augustine, Florida may have hosted America's first St. Patrick's Day celebration. Gunpowder expenditure logs indicate cannon blasts or gunfire was used to honor the saint in 1600, and that residents paraded through the town in honor of St. Patrick...perhaps at the urging of an Irish-Catholic priest living there.

Following the devastating failure of Ireland's potato crop in the mid 1840s, Irish Catholics flooded the United States. They clung to their Irish identities and took to the streets in St. Patrick's Day parades to protest the bigotry of the "Know-Nothings", a political party with strong anti-immigrants and anti-Catholics who believed these groups posed a threat to the economic and political security of native-born Protestant Americans.  

"Many who were forced to leave Ireland during the Great Hunger brought a lot of memories, but they didn't have their country, so it was a celebration of being Irish..."

Attitudes toward the Irish began to soften after tens of thousands of them served in the Civil War. They entered the war as second-class citizens but came back as heroes. Notable among them was the 69th Regiment from New York City or as Robert E, Lee called them, The Fighting 69th. As the Irish slowly assimilated into American culture, those without Celtic blood joined in St. Patrick's Day celebrations.

The meal most associated with St. Patrick's Day celebrations--corned beef and

cabbage--was also an American innovation. When ships came into South Street seaport, many women from the slums of lower Manhattan would run down to the docks hoping there was leftover salted beef they could get from the ship's cook for a penny a pound. They would boil the beef three times--the last time with cabbage--to remove some of the brine.

While St. Patrick's Day evolved in the 20th century into a party day for Americans of all ethnicities, the celebration in Ireland remained solemn. For decades, Irish laws prohibited pubs from opening on holy days such as March 17th. Until 1961, the only legal place to get a drink in the Irish capital on St. Patrick's Day was the Royal Dublin Dog Show.

The party atmosphere spread to Ireland after the arrival of television when the Irish could see all the fun Americans were having. Today, the St. Patrick's Day Festival, launched in Dublin in 1996, now attracts one million people each year.

Though the Irish have now St. Patrick's Day traditions, there is one tradition, however, that might not catch on in Ireland...green Guinness! As Mike McCormack, national historian for the Ancient Order of Hibernians says, "St. Patrick never drank green beer."

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Coming April 26th!

Pre-Order Available

In the summer of 1864 in Roswell, Georgia, widow Sofie Bishop struggles to manage the small family vineyard on her own. The War Between the States took her husband and her way of life. Now, with her home in ruins her only option was working at the Ivy Woolen Mill. Her woes go from bad to worse when the Yankees arrive on Roswell’s doorstep.

Courteous and kind, Captain Seth Ramsey is not what Sofie expects from a Union officer. However, charming he might be, she’s determined to keep her distance. Even when she finds herself branded as a traitor, arrested, and transported north to an uncertain destiny, she didn’t think she could lose much more to the Yankees.
But she was wrong.
Will his vow of love mend her wounded heart? Or would a marriage of convenience be the best she can offer?

SHAMROCK VS CLOVER By Cheri Kay Clifton

 With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, the image that comes to my mind beside a leprechaun and Ireland’s patron saint, St. Patrick, is the green shamrock. 

How many of you know the difference between a shamrock species of clover and the four-leaf kind? “Clover” is a generic term that refers to trefoils, or any of the 300 species that belong to the Trifolium family. These plants have leaves that are separated into three leaflets, but you may find four-leaf, five-leaf or even six-leaf clovers as a genetic abnormality.

 “Shamrock,” on the other hand, comes from the Irish word, “seamrog,” and means “little plant.” It refers to the white clover species or the suckling clover species. Although a real shamrock only has three leaves, that doesn’t mean it’s not lucky. In Irish folklore, the number three is considered very lucky. 

Saint Patrick is said to have used the shamrock as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity. It has been used as a symbol of Ireland since the 18^th century and is registered as a trademark by the Government of Ireland.

So, remember, shamrocks are clovers, but not all clovers are shamrocks.

Around our house in North Carolina grew large patches of clover and I loved to search for ones with four-leaves. Over time I had collected a few and still have a couple pressed between plastic. Did they bring me luck? Who knows, but like finding pretty sea shells on our Florida beaches, I enjoyed the challenge of the hunt!

Scientific studies have said that the odds of finding a single four-leaf clover is about one in 10,000.  However, when further analyzed, about a 5-foot square patch of clover could contain 10,000 sprigs and thus, one would have a chance of finding a four-leaf one.  

I’ll conclude this bit of clover trivia with the popular decades old song I would sing while searching for those illusive four-leaf clovers.

I hope you'll visit my website and check out my Wheels of Destiny series,  click here.

A Touch of Texas Irish—A Contest—My Research

As always, for me the research for this novel was fun. The story begins in Ireland, and my husband and I were fortunate enough to tour parts of Ireland several years ago. So, while writing my heroine's flight from Ireland, I had a good picture in my mind of the town and port of Kinsale, Ireland where she boarded a freighter bound for Boston, Massachusetts.

I knew nothing about Boston, so spent hours researching the port, the docks, and the neighborhoods where Irish Catholics lived. At the time, Boston was a Protestant town and didn't want Catholics in their neighborhoods. During the migration of Catholics from Ireland, many traveled to Boston as well as New York and other cities. I didn't know Boston's port was so extensive.

I spent a great deal of time researching rail travel, time schedules, and routes. The train didn't travel all the way to Fort Stockton so the hero and heroine had to board a stagecoach in Monahans. It was a rough ride compared to the train. I've researched stage travel for several other books so didn't need to spend much time on this topic.

I lived in Fort Stockton, Texas for several years, but did have to research the area for the time period of 1890. The fort had been closed, so the town lost much of its trade. The store by Comanche Springs was a stopping place for travelers.

Contest:  For the release of A Touch of Texas Irish, I'm giving away a James Avery charm bracelet with a clover heart charm. To enter, go to my website or blog and use the form to sign up for my newsletter. I will enter you into the contest. If you already receive my newsletter, email me at linda@lindalaroque.com and request that I add you to the contest list. I will be checking emails to make sure they're valid and don't time out before a newsletter can download.

Unfortunately, the winner must be in the U.S. A winner outside the US will receive an E copy of this book and a selection of others and another winner will be selected for the bracelet.

Blurb:

Aileen Lynch flees Ireland to escape a forced marriage, but in Boston she marries a frontier doctor needing a mother for his son, and they board a train bound for Texas.

Doctor Samuel Walker attends a medical conference in Boston, and at a colleague's entreaty, marries a young Irish woman to save her from a forced abusive marriage.

While Aileen strives to earn Sam's affection, the frontier doctor vows never to risk Aileen's safety or his heart—he'll not father a child and watch Aileen die.

Excerpt:

Aileen stepped from the washroom wearing her robe with only her chemise underneath. She wanted to be able to dress quickly if need be. Her traveling costume was folded and stored in her portmanteau. It would slide under their bed in case she needed it in a hurry. Sam waited for her right outside the door and walked her to their berth. The porter already had the seats folded down and the bed made. The couple that sat across from them was settled in the bunk above.

Sam held the curtain for her while she crawled across the mattress. He removed his clothes and laid them across the foot of their bed. He slipped under the covers in his drawers. Suddenly shy, Aileen clutched the robe closer to her body.

He untied her robe. "You can't sleep in that. You'll get too hot and become tangled when you try to turn over." She had to admit the car was rather warm. Sam mentioned something about a hot air furnace. "Come on, give it here." He took the robe and tossed it to the end of the bunk. When she'd settled under the covers, he slipped an arm under her head and pulled her close. Her heart thundered in her chest. Surely he'd not make love to her here. She'd die of embarrassment. "Good night, Aileen."

"Night." She released a sigh of relief, but felt a nagging disappointment. The thought of such an activity in these close confines brought forth a giggle.

"What's funny?"

"Sleeping this close to other people is so odd. Lydia is the only person I've ever shared a bed with." And now I'm sharing a bedroom with close to two-dozen people. Sam's heart thrummed away under her ear, and the faint aroma of his aftershave tickled her nostrils. She fidgeted trying to decide what to do with her free arm. The obvious remedy would be to throw it across Sam's chest, but she didn't want him to think her brazen. Finally, he made the decision for her. He took her arm, placed it across his middle, and stroked it with a gentle motion. She closed her eyes, enjoying the closeness and his touch.

"You settled...comfortable?"

 "Yes, thank you. Goodnight, Sam."

He squeezed her with his strong arms in response. She listened to the sounds around her—snoring, coughing, and the occasional passing of gas. Not having slept in such close confines before, the intimate sounds were foreign to her. Though Sam didn't love her, lying wrapped in his embrace, she experienced security for the first time since her mother's passing. A tear leaked from her eye, and she wiped it away. No looking back, Aileen. Mother wanted you to be happy. Aileen would make that happen.

A Touch of Texas Irish is now available for pre-order. The release date is March 8th. Copies are available at—

The Wild Rose Press

Amazon
I have a new release, an anthology about love and modes of travel. It is available

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MUX2M8F
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MUX2M8F
Kindle Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01MUX2M8F
Kindle Australia: 

https://www....amazon.com.au/dp/B01MUX2M8F