Tuesday, March 17, 2015

ERIN GO BRAGH

Meaning, Ireland Forever!
Greetings blog friends and Happy St.Patrick's Day.
I've made a meal of Corned Beef and Cabbage
to celebrate this day with my family.
And to share with you, my post from the past
with a bit of history and pics.

Being Irish is a blessing to me and I look forward to this day each year. St. Patrick's Day brings back many memories growing up and our home celebrations with special meals and Irish music. My Father was Irish and my grandfather was from Dublin. I have not been to visit, but look forward to a trip one day.


Ireland is about the size of West Virginia, and this tiny island has some of the richest history of the Western world. Some important dates are 600 B.C. when the Celtic arrived on Irish soil. In A.D. 432 St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland. During the time from 500- 800 known as the Golden Age of Ireland, great music, literary creativity made Ireland the most accomplished in Europe. When the Vikings invaded Ireland in 800, they founded the first towns including Dublin in 988. In 1002 Ireland is united for the first time under one leader and by 1801 Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. 1845 saw a million and a half Irish starve to death due to the Great Potato Famine and a million more people emigrate to avoid the same fate. By 1922 Ireland becomes a free state within the British Commonwealth except for six counties of Northern Ireland which still remain part of the United Kingdom. Leaving the year of 1949 to see the twenty six counties of Ireland become an independent republic.


St. Patrick is the man who converted the Irish to Christianity and is the most famous Irishman of all time. No one is sure where exactly the patron saint was born or buried, but they do know when he died, which is March 17Th. So on this day, the Irish worldwide celebrate the holiday in honor of his name. The shamrock is the symbol of Ireland and comes from Gaelic Seamrog, which refers to the plant's three leaves. As the story goes, It was in a heated debate with a Druid priest that St. Patrick bent down, picked a shamrock and used it to demonstrate the Christian trinity using the three leaves held together by one single stem. Meaning, "The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit." The Shamrock is regarded today as the national plant of Ireland and worn in many forms on St. Patrick's Day.

Churchill once said," We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English"

My grandfather was from Dublin and came to this country residing in Pennsylvania in 1921. He married a wonderful girl,my grandmother also from Ireland, and they had three children, one of wish was my father.
Here is a picture of Dublin today overlooking the River Liffey. Shown is a portion of the Ha'penny Bridge. The Dome building in the background is the Custom House.



Some of my favorite Irish books, and beautiful pictures from them to share! From a pair of vintage Irish bells, pottery and shamrock bowl, gorgeous green hutch, ending with inspiring spring roses!








I hope you enjoy a bit of the Irish today and may your day be filled with blessings and good cheer!

Thank you for stopping by.

" May the road rise up to meet you, and may the wind always be at your back."

ERIN GO BRAGH 
"Ireland Forever"

Blessings, 
Celestina Marie

31 comments:

The Cranky said...

Have a wonderful St. Paddy's day!

Dianna said...

Awww Celeste...I had no idea you were Irish. How exciting to have had such close relatives (your grandparents) coming to the US directly from Ireland! I loved reading here today...enjoying the history of Ireland, St. Patrick, and most of all, your family. xo

Valerie-Jael said...

Lovely post! Happy St Patrick's Day, hugs, Valerie

Donna said...

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Celestina! I do hope you get to Ireland one day, you would love it! I remember quite a few years ago walking over the Ha'Penny Bridge, very jet lagged but happy to be there! That would be wonderful if you could research your family when you go:)

Anonymous said...

May the Wind always be at your back too, dear friend. I had NO idea you were of Irish descent. Oh my, Celeste, you must visit one day soon...then tell us all about it. How very special.
Is the green hutch yours or part of the book? It's gorgeous.
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Are you wearing green???? If not, pinch yourself for me. ;)
xoxo

Feral Turtle said...

Happy St. Paddy's Day! A wonderful post Celeste!

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

And all this time I thought you were italian! Wonderful photos dear celeste

TexWisGirl said...

you have some nice family heritage. :) loved the churchill quote. :)

Liz@ HomeandGardeningWithLiz said...

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I enjoyed reading the background history of Ireland. I snickered at the quote from Winston Churchill. I've probably read it before but thank you for the explanation about the shamrock. I think it's wonderful that you have this heritage. I know the Irish had plenty of struggles when they arrived in the U.S. but it didn't stop them and shows their strength and courage. I've got the slow cooker going (since 6:30 this morning) and the house is smelling yummy already! Have a blessed day!

Linda M. said...

Celeste, Happy St. Patrick's Day. Visiting Ireland, Scotland, and England has been on my bucket-list forever. Thanks for sharing the history I found it very interesting. Joyous Wishes, Linda

Dreaming of Vintage said...

Happy St. Patrick's Day Celestina! I love history, so of course the little bit about Ireland was interesting and the photos are lovely. Have a wonderful day!

Sunflowers With Smiles said...

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope it is wonderful!

Julie Marie said...

I always love your St. Patrick's Day posts dear Celeste... your photos are beautiful!... I have my corned beef and red new potatoes in simmering in the crockpot too, will add my cabbage at the last, and we have Irish coffee for dessert... have a wonderful day dear friend!... xoxo... Julie Marie

Dorthe said...

Happy St.Patricks day dear Celestina Marie, I hope your day is beautiful, with lots of fond memories of your grandparents, and of Ireland, even if you never visited .
Hugs,Dorthe

Cindy Lou said...

WowL loved your post! You are so LUCKY to know your heritage! I loved all the info and pictures! I was adopted and know no past history! I was truley blessed with wonder parents but it's hard not knowing my history! Well! Off to make corn beef ,pots ,cabbage and carrots for dinner! For my family !May the luck of the Irish extend to all ! God Bless,Cindy

Row homes and Cobblestones said...

What a wonderful Saint Patrick's day post Celeste. Today I am Irish.
xoxo,
Vera

Cynthia said...

Happy St. Patrick's Day! John is Irish and is true to his heritage. Reads the Irish Voice and Irish magazines. Great pictures

Cindy

decorayadora said...

Hi dear Celestina !! Yo deseó que tengas un lindo día de San Patrick !!espero que tengas un lindo día
Cariños

Creations By Cindy said...

I enjoy looking at all of your beautiful pictures and just reading your post today of your Irish heritage is so fitting for ST. Patty's day. Corn beef and cabbage sounds wonderful. I love that stuff any time of the year! Have a blessed day sweet lady. Hugs and blessings, Cindy

Anonymous said...

Celeste, I had no idea you were Irish. I love the history of Ireland and definitely needed to reacquaint myself with it. Thank you for sharing it. I'm smiling a Churchill's quote- so funny! Thank you for sharing such beautiful images for St. Patrick's Day! Blessings, dear friend!

Judy at GoldCountryCottage said...

Celestina, knowing that you are Irish, makes it more special. My great-grandfather on my Dad's side came from Ireland, so I am part..Happy St. Patrick's Day to you..Judy

Unknown said...

Happy St. Patrick's Day Celestina,

So glad you are celebrating such a special day. Maybe someday I will get to visit Ireland. I can only imagine how beautiful it must be. Love all the photos you shared with us. Enjoy every minute my friend. Just wanted to say hello. I've been busy as usual, but everything is good on my end.
xoxo
Janet~

NanaDiana said...

I loved this post, Celeste.
My paternal grandmother came straightway fro Ireland. She was Catholic and married a non-Catholic and both families disowned them...so they immigrated to the US. Granddad bought a lot of land on top of a mountain in PA and they formed a tight Irish community there and that is where I grew up.

I loved all the traditions and "old ways" and superstitions that I was privy, too. However, I never liked corned beef. lol I know- sacrilegious, isn't it? lol It is the texture of it I don't like.

Hope you had a wonderful day. xo Diana

Claudia said...

Hi Celeste,
Happy belated St. Patricks Day! hope, it was a wodnerful day!
I love this wonderful post about Ireland! It is one of the places, we want do visit one day ;O)
Have a blessed week, sending Love and hugs to you, my friend!
Claudia xo

Jan Hermann said...

Happy St Patty's Day Celeste! Believe it or not, this is the first chance I've had since early this morning to be on the computer! And it's after midnight already! I made my crockpot Irish Dinner today...left-overs will be used for salad tomorrow!!

Hugs,
Jan ♥

suziqu's thread works said...

Such a beautiful post Celeste. I can see why St. Pat's Day is so important to you. Many special images to share here - with thanks,
Suzy

Alessandra said...

I' d like to visit Ireland too, it' s a wonderful and peaceful place. In Italy, we don' t celebrate this day but...Happy S.Patricks Day to you!!!I loved reading about your sweet memories.
Kisses
Alessandra

Rick Watson said...

Nice post. My wife and I went to Ireland several years ago and it was a delightful experience.
We hope to go back again in the fall.
R

farmhouse-story said...

lovely post, celestina! my husband and i are both from irish backgrounds:)

miss b said...

I hope you enjoyed your special day. I had no idea you were Irish. An interesting post and lovely images to celebrate St Patrick's Day!

Sherry @ Thrift My House said...

Well I learned some things I didn't know! A fun post Celestina. Happy LATE St. Patricks Day. I want to buys some shamrock plants now :)

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Celestina Marie
Celestina Marie

Welcome To Rose Garden Market from Celestina Marie Design. It is so nice to meet you. My name is Celestina Marie named after my grandmother and my friends call me Celeste.My creative journey extends over 30 years enjoying the love of painting and redesigning vintage and new treasures. I love to go treasure hunting and the fun of finding great vintage pieces to redesign..