O’Reilly’s Treasured Times

 

Greetings and Blessings to all,
Beannachtam na Feile Padraig ~ Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  We hope this edition of the newsletter finds you and yours happy, healthy and contended.  ‘Tis a wonderful time of year as those of us with even a hint of Irish have the perfect reason to celebrate St. Patrick and all things Irish.   A customer once described St. Patrick’s Day as “the only holiday of the year when we are not obligated to buy a gift or send a card; our obligation is simply to have some fun.”  And fun we certainly have!

One of the most enjoyable aspects of St. Patrick’s Day is getting together with family and friends to celebrate the essence of Ireland, her spirit as well as celebrating the qualities and values that makes us proud to be Irish.   One of  the most popular venues for a St. Patrick’s celebration is to gather in a local pub where friendships are renewed, music and entertainment is enjoyed, fun is surely had, and perhaps a pint or two is downed.  It was in this spirit of friendship and fun that Mark and I (along with our good friend, Lisa) conducted our very own pub research for this newsletter by exploring the pub culture of the ever-so- popular Irish establishment, The Douglas Tavern in Douglas, Ontario.   What fun we had!   So pull up a stool and sample a bit of the Irish pub culture, the food, the friendly people, and the drink we experienced during our research in this month's edition of O'Reilly's Treasured Times (wink, wink, nudge, nudge ;-) ).

The Pubs of Ireland

• Pubs play a very important role in Irish life.  Vvisitors of Irish pubs tend to assume that pubs are the same things as bars, but this isn’t exactly true.  Pubs do serve alcohol, but they also serve as restaurants, music stages, meeting places, and even as local cultural museums.  Most pubs aren’t all these things simultaneously, but instead specialize in one area.
• One thing that often surprises visitors is the presence of children and families in Irish pubs.  The drinking age in Ireland is eighteen, but it is legal for children under that age to enter with their families.  The families are there for the music or the food.  While almost any pub can be expected to provide sandwiches or maybe a baked potato, some pubs have become famous for their food; The Reginald in Waterford, The Stag’s Head in Dublin, and Langton’s in Kilkenny are good places to visit for culinary delights.
• Pubs are the place to go for traditional music, or “trad,” as the locals call it.  Larger places might bring in professional bands, but the most common format is the session, in which local musicians come with what instruments they have and just get down to business.  The pubs in Doolin are famous for their trad.
• All pubs offer beer, but the most important thing for a pub to provide is craic (crack) -- that’s Irish for a jolly good time.  *taken from The Everything Irish History & Heritage Book

Did You Know?

• Brendan Behan was thrown out of 720 Dublin Pubs, but still managed to find several welcoming hostelries.
• There is reputedly a pub for every 300 of the population, man, woman and child.
• Many the writer such as James Joyce, J.P. Donleavy, Samuel Beckett and Sean O’Casey have been inspired in an Irish pub or two.
• Ireland has one of the highest beer consumption rates in the world.  The unique thing about Irish beer habits is that the most popular type of beer is stout, whereas all other European markets prefer lagers or ales.  The most famous stout, of course, is Guinness.
• Guinness is one of Ireland’s leading exports and, in recent years, has sold close to 2 billion pints of stout per year in more than 150 countries.
• St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in more countries than any other national holiday. 
• Today, a far greater number of people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day outside of Ireland than in it.
• In 1995 the government of Ireland established an official St. Patrick’s Festival with parades and concerts; prior to that the celebrations were relatively quiet.

Treasured Recipe

Bacon & Cabbage (serves 5-6)
Ingredients:  1 kg bacon loin, 1 large cabbage, 1 carrot, parsley, 100ml white sauce, 50g honey, 50g brown sugar, 50g mustard, 8 potatoes, 1 onion, 20 cloves, salt and pepper to taste, 50g butter.
Method:  Prepare bacon, place in a large pot filled with water, cook for 1 hour, remove from pot and rest.  Save water.  Take off bacon skin and score bacon loin.  Mix mustard, brown sugar and honey together, spread over bacon and stud with cloves.  Bake in oven at 200 degrees C for 20 minutes until golden brown.  Peel and turn potatoes, boil in salted water until cooked.  Shred savoy cabbage and julienne carrot.  Cook cabbage in bacon liquid for 2 or 3 minutes maintaining rich bottle green colour.  Serve with a mustard parsley sauce.

Treasured Irish Lessons

1.  Phrase:  I will be marching in the parade    Irish:  Beidh me ag mairseail sa pharaid    Pronunciation:  bye may egg mawr-shaw-il sa fah-raw-idh
2.  Phrase: I hope the weather will be fair (for us)    Irish:  Ta suil agam go mbeidh aimsear soinneann again    Pronunciation:    thaw soo-il ah-gum guh my ai-shir sun-inn ah-ginn
3.  Phrase:  Wearing the shamrock    Irish:  caitheamh na seamroga    Pronunciation:  kah-huv nah sham-rogh-ah
4.  Toast:  Health and Wealth    Irish:  Slainte is tainte    Pronunciation:  slaw-intcheh iss thaw-in-tcheh
5.  Phrase:  I’d like a pint of beer    Irish:  Ba mhaith liompiontae beoir       Pronunciation:  bah wah ly-um pee-yun-thah bee-oh-ir

Party Games

Here a few party games to add to your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations:
Fuzzy Duck:  Begin the game by saying “fuzzy duck” to the person to your left.  That person then says “fuzzy duck” to the person on his/her left.  This continues until someone decides to change the direction of play by saying “does he” (duzzy).  “Does he” changes the direction and the phrase that is said.  Not only does the direction change but the people must say “ducky fuzz.”  Now the game is going to the right with “ducky fuzz.”  The direction is then changed back by saying “duzzy.”  The words to say go back to “fuzzy duck.”  If you make a mistake you must take a drink.
Ping Pong:  Everyone gets a full mug of beer with a ping pong ball floating on top.  After 15 seconds, whoever has the least amount of beer in the mug with ONE gop wins. The trick is:  If the ping pong ball is floating, you loose.  Remember, only one gop or it’s cheating.
Name Game:  One person starts the game by saying the name of a famous person.  This is important, it HAS to be a famous person.  The next person then has to say a name beginning with the first letter of the last name of the name just said.  For example, if the first person says “Sean Connery” then the next person could say “Charlie Chaplain”.  The next person might say “Cary Grant” and so on.  While a person is thinking of a name, they have to be drinking and if they cannot think of a name they must finish the drink.  Names cannot be said twice in one game -- if they are then the person must finish the drink.  However, bluff names can be made up and if no one notices the game continues.  This continues around the circle until the beer runs out…..

Treasured Quotes, Proverbs, Blessings and Toasts

• Bottoms up or bottoms down, Either way no one will frown. -- Mike Anderson
• Good health, good life, good beer! -- Ed Quigley
• I formed a new group called Alcoholics-Unanimous. If you don't feel like a drink, you ring another member and he comes over to persuade you.  --Richard Harris
• I only take a drink on two occasions -- when I’m thirsty and when I’m not. --Brendan Behan
• I have made an important discovery … that alcohol, taken in sufficient quantities, produces all the effects of intoxication. -- Oscar Wilde
• A secret buried in a sober heart can come to life on drunken lips --  Irish proverb
• Whiskey is a cure for everything but sadness -- Irish proverb
• Few are the friendships that have not been forged over a bottle -- Irish proverb
• What butter or whiskey does not cure, cannot be cured -- Irish blessing
• An Irishman is never drunk as long as He can hold onto one blade of grass and not Fall off the face of the earth. -- Old Irish Toast

A Bit O’ Wit

Seeing a parishioner staggering out of a pub yet again and weaving down the village street, a priest called out to him in warning, “That’s a long, hard, unhappy road you’ve set yourself out on, Michael.’
‘Ah, sure it’s not that that bothers me, Father,’ said the spinning Michael.  ‘It’s the bloody width of it.’

March 2005 Trivia

Be the first to answer this month’s trivia questions and you will receive a St. Patrick's Fun Hat, retail value $16.95.   Email your answers to oreillystreasures@bellnet.ca
1.  Why are Irish bars called “pubs”?
2.  If you stop at a pub in Ireland and ask for a pint, what will the bartender invariably bring you?
3.  What did Queen Elizabeth I of England once remark about her only true Irish friend?
4.  What is a ‘Drop of Diesel’?

November 2004 Trivia Answers

Congratulations to Belinda Maher of Greenfield Park, QC.  Belinda correctly answered November’s trivia questions and received Volume Three of  The Very Best Irish Songs and Ballads for her efforts.   Here are the answers.
1.  According to an old Irish law, every third year the roads must be cleared of brambles, bush and weeds.
2.  The Irish quilt which uses three different fabrics or values of fabric in its creation is called the double Irish chain quilt.
3.  The Fourth Degree of The Knights of Columbus features the dove, the cross and the globe as their triad emblem.
4.  The Triquetra is the name of the ancient symbol for the trinity which comprises three interwoven arcs, distinct yet equal and inseparable.

Treasured Events

St. Patrick’s Day Sale-- Thursday, March 17th , 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., 17% off all regularly priced items.
Irish Soda Bread Baking contest -- Saturday, March 19th, drop off your entry between 9 and 11 a.m.  Customers do the taste testing and judging throughout the day.  Prizes awarded to the top three breads.
Lucky Shamrock Dice Sale -- Saturday, March 19th, 9 a.m. until 5 p.m..  Roll our lucky shamrock dice and receive your roll in a percentage discount off your purchase.

New Arrivals

Century Irish Items -- St. Patrick’s Day t-shirts, turtlenecks, sweatshirts, novelty items and party hats.
Amscan -- St. Patrick’s Day novelty items, hats, t-shirts, party decorations and so much more.  In addition to Amscan’s St. Patrick’s Day line, O’Reilly’s is pleased to add Amscan’s religious celebration line --napkins, dinner plates, invitations, gift bags -- we have everything you will need to complete your baptismal, first communion, and confirmation celebration.
Distinctive By Design -- Celtic jewellery available in pendants, earrings, bracelets and rings.  Included with this order is an assortment of spinner/fidget rings.
Nigel Hunt Jewellery Limited -- Celtic initial pendants inspired from the Book of Kells.
Augsburg Fortress -- Irish wall plaques, prints, wedding blessing prints, and Claddagh sconces.
Timeless Treasures -- Shamrock crystal jewellery available in pendants, earrings, and brooches as well as a new line of claddagh rings with crystal and emerald stones.
Irish Books and Media -- Irish books including the ever popular "The Traditional Irish Wedding" for those of you wishing to research Irish traditions for your wedding.

 

Until next time,

May the leprechauns be near you,
To spread luck along your way.
And may all the Irish angels,
Smile upon you St. Patrick’s Day.

And remember, mind yourself.

 

The Leprechauns of O’Reilly’s Treasures
Mark and Linda Kauffeldt
Ryan, Dylan and Liam Bradley
16 Pembroke St., P.O. Box 489
Cobden, Ontario   K0J 1K0
Tel:  613-646-7157   Fax:  613-646-7187
Email:  oreillystreasures@bellnet.ca  Visit us at www.oreillystreasures.com

Store hours:  Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Saturday, 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. 
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