May Cover, featuring Cleveland Police Department's Pipe Major Tim Reilly

Blowin’ In:  Nature Casts Her Spell

By Susan Mangan

In May

Here child

Touch the silken blooms

of apple-blossom time.

Take my hand, let us explore

A world filled with jumbled rhymes

And nature’s lore.

Isn’t it curious

How the May Apple arrives

Upon the forest floor

In spring

With fruit invisible to all

But a fairy and her kin?

Listen to the sparrow

Trill

“Believe”

Beneath a perfumed canopy

Dogwood-white

You and I surely will.

On the Missouri farm where my mother was reared, springtime meant asparagus.  Granddad kept a twenty-five foot bed of asparagus against an old wooden fence near a row of black walnut trees.  This bed produced enough asparagus to keep a family of seven fed for days.  All it needed was manure and sun, plenty of which was available in this neck of the Ozarks.  Mother’s oldest brother Rich didn’t like this vegetable, so the siblings would scuffle over his portions to add to their scramble of hen-house fresh eggs.  Simple times, simple pleasures.

This spring, like Alice in Wonderland bent over a magical pool of water, I squatted next to my own asparagus bed.  Lovingly, I brushed away the amber oak leaves scattered atop the garden.  Curious, I could not help myself as I had to touch the thick tips of asparagus shouldering their way out of the warming soil.  Their skins were pond green, kissed with violet, and luxuriously soft like silk.

As quickly as a child chasing a butterfly in flight, I ran to the house crying out for anyone who may want to listen, “The asparagus is up!  Come see!”  The boys were playing video games and my girl looked at me in exasperation, “Mother, asparagus is boring.”  Deflated, I went back outside on my own, not sure how I fit in our twenty-first world.

When I was a girl, one of my greatest adventures in the natural world transpired at a southern Missouri blueberry patch.  My grandmother Mim and Aunt Peggy loved fresh peaches from the orchard and plump indigo blueberries so rotund that they could barely cling to the branches.  The freshest, pick-yourself fruits were turned into delectable cobblers dripping with hand-churned ice cream and sugar-sprinkled lattice-topped pies.  Such homespun delicacies were even more memorable because I helped pick the fruit on blistering hot summer mornings.

At Steinbaugh’s Orchard, customers were given pint and gallon sized tin pails and charged by the pail at the end of the picking session.  My pint-sized pail was never quite full as more berries ended up in my belly than in my bucket.  The work was hard for the adults who came to fill quart after quart needed for pie and ice cream.  Thorns from the bushes scratched unprotected wrists and the sun beat relentlessly on canvas sun hats.

Blithely, we children would bunny hop through prickly rows of bushes and sneak juicy berries from our mothers’ pails.  There is nothing quite like the burst of juice from a fat blueberry left to ripen in thick clusters in the baking sun.  The taste is pure, elemental, the essence of halcyon summer days.

In spite of sharp stabs of stomach pain, I kept popping blueberry after blueberry into my insatiable mouth until Nature confronted my greed.   Carefully, I reached for what had to be the most perfect, most scrumptious, most tempting berry of the day.  Perfectly round and perfectly blue, I almost had the fruit in my dirty, plump little hand when I saw the berry’s sentry hovering above its glorious form.

Staring back at me with glaring red eyes was the largest black and yellow spider that I had ever seen.   Terrified, I dropped my pail, the few berries in residence rolling across the sun-baked clay, and shrieked with a screech so loud I could be heard on the other side of the Mississippi River.  Like Eve cast from the Garden of Eden, I realized I could not have my pie and eat it too!

Nature exerts her power in ways both subtle and stunning.  Flashes of red, heat lightning startle and surprise, while the gentle fragrance of lilac blooms transports us to a more innocent time.  In Ireland, the wild flowers read like a litany of fairy-tale rhymes.  Cow Parsley rises from the fields with delicate white buds and elegant foliage.  Cowslip

Legend has it that the Blessed Virgin Mary lay on white Heath Bedstraw during her labor with Our Lord and miraculously the flowers turned from white to gold, and thus became known as Lady’s Bedstraw.  Beautiful and beguiling, Nature does enchant.

Most curious to me is the Irish wildflower Neantóg, Urtica dioica, or better known as the Stinging Nettle.   The first bit of Irish wisdom that was imparted upon my children by their grandmother was “Never touch a Stinging Nettle!”  We taught the children how to identify the ubiquitous nettle that sprung from every bog and pasture and how to best avoid it.

There is a grotto near the Uncle’s home where the villagers once prayed the rosary each Friday night.  Hosts of Stinging Nettles now creep around the base of the statue and the children must beware when gathering flowers to place at the Virgin’s feet.

One St. John’s Eve, my daughter learned the hard way that Nature gives but can take with a vengeance.  Trying to help build the ritual bonfire, Katie grabbed for a tall weed. Instantly, her hand was set afire by the hairy Stinging Nettle.  The aunts rushed to find the Dock plant, which curiously grows near the nettle, to treat my daughter’s stinging hand.  A little dab of Irish butter coupled with the soothing leaves of the Dock provided the necessary remedy.

Though the Stinging Nettle’s reputation is fierce, country cooks use nutrient rich young leaves from the Stinging Nettle plant in an Irish soup called Brotchan Neanntóg.   Italians braise it with broth and swirl the leaves into delicate ribbons of pasta.  English cooks mix cooked leaves with custard to create Stinging Nettle pie.  Nature does indeed provide for the industrious.

Coaxed into Nature’s lair, we succumb to the force of her sun and are rewarded with gifts and humbled by her power.   After the dreary cold of winter, our muscles loosened, our spirits energized, we are ready to fall into the arms of our enchantress.

*Sources consulted: Aykeroyd, John.  A Beginner’s Guide to Ireland’s Wild Flowers. Cork, Ireland:  City Print Ltd, 2008.

Internet Source:  Miles Collins – Beyond the Kitchen.

*Susan holds a Master’s Degree in English from John Carroll University and a Master’s Degree in Education from Baldwin-Wallace College.  She may be contacted at suemangan@yahoo.com.

Christ Church Cathedral Art Exhibit
Cynthia Matyi Art Exhibit opens May 4. Names of God: Transformative Power of Celtic-Inspired Art. Opening reception May 4, 5-8:00 p.m.; the exhibit will hang through June 29, 2012. Christ Church Cathedral 318 East Fourth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202.

Cleveland;
The Harp
1st – the harp’s 13th Birthday!, 2nd – lonesome stars, 4th – first friday irish session, 5th – the porter sharks, 9th – chris and tom, 11th – walking cane, 12th – chris allen, 16th – lonesome stars, 18th -james wailani, 19th – fior gael, 23rd – chris and tom, 25th – brent Kirby, 26th – kristine Jackson, 30th – lonesome stars. 4408 Detroit Road, 44113 www.the-harp.com

Stone Mad
Live music entertainment every Sunday. Traditional Irish Session 1st Sunday of ea/month, Happy Hour Monday-Friday 4 to 7. 1306 West 65th Street Cleveland 44102 216-281-6500

Flat Iron Café
Cleveland 44113-2406 216. 696.6968. www.flatironcafe.com

Treehouse
6th – Walkin’ Cane, 13th – Chris Allen, 20th – Thor Platter, 27th – Marys Lane. 820 College Avenue, Cleveland, 44113 www.treehousecleveland.com

PJ McIntyre’s
2nd – Monthly Pub Quiz Hosted by Mike D 7pm, 3rd – Kelly Wright & Friends, 4th – Waynes World, 5th – Pop Rocks, 10th – Sean Benjamin, 11th – Big In Japan, 12th – 3rd Annual Hooley Street Festival 12-8pm. Music inside – Velvetshake, 17th – Callie Shea Sullivan, 18th – Sky’s the Limit, Pout, 24th – Craic Brother, 25th – Carlos Jones, 26th – Sumrada, 27th – Memorial Sunday- Masters of Disaster, 31st – George Mann (Jobs for Justice Dine for Dollars). NEW MENU OUT. Cleveland Indians Special – Every Game – $1 Dogs/$5 Pitchers/$10 Buckets/$1 Heineken Cans. 17119 Lorain Avenue, 44111 www.pjmcintyres.com

West Park Station
3rd – Jim & Eroc HH, 4th – POP ROCKS 10pm, 5th – DRUNK BETTY 10pm, 10th – Jackson Rohm HH, 11th – MY SISTER SARAH 10pm, 12th – Alex Bevan HH
17th – Etiquette HH, 18th – HALF MOON JACK 10pm, 19th – COCKTAIL JOHNNY 10pm, 24th – Porter Sharks HH, 25th – TRAILER PARK NINJAS 10pm, 26th – PERSONNELL 10pm. Mondays I HATE EFFEN MONDAYS w EFFEN Vodka specials/2 Hour Extended HH & Team Trivia! Tuesdays ROLL CALL – drink specials for Safety Forces. Most Co-workers from your House/Unit/Station wins FREE Party the 1st Tues of next Month! Wednesdays Station Karaoke Challenge! Thursdays Ladies Night w Psychic Carrie Readings & DJ Omni! Friday 4-7pm is Hot 4 Teacher! Sundays Magic Man Paul Gallagher 5-7pm. 17015 Lorain Avenue Cleveland 44111 www.westparkstation.com. (216) 476-2000.

3rd Annual Playhouse Square International Children’s Festival
5th – featuring New Barleycorn, East 14th Street Tent. 2:50 p.m. Free admission.

Avon Lake
Ahern Banquet Center
Ahern Banquet Center is booking weddings and special events. Call Tony Ahern / Lucy Balser @ 440-933-9500. 726 Avon Belden Rd, Avon Lake 44012. www.aherncatering.com

Irish Heritage Club
7th – Gen. Mem. Meeting, 20th – Spring Fling Luncheon & Fashion Show, Mondays Pot Luck Dinner, Tues – Golf League & Dinner, Thurs – Darts & Wieners, Fri – Happy Hour,726 Avon Belden Rd. (440) 933-3413.

Euclid
Irish American Club East Side
PUB: 7:30 – 10:30. 4th – Loch Erie, 11th – One More Pint, 18th – Donegal Doggs, 19th – (UPPER HALL) Searson Concert to Raise the Roof $10, 25th – Wasted at the Wake. 22770 Lake Shore Blvd. Euclid, 44123 216.731.4003 www.irishamericanclubeastside.org

Paddy’s Pour House
922 East 222nd Street, Euclid, 44123
216.289.2569

Lakewood
Sullivan’s Irish Restaurant & Pub
– New Barleycorn. 13368 Madison Ave. Lakewood, 44107 www.sullivansirishpub.net (216) 529-8969

Medina – Sully’s
4th – Mossy Moran, 5th – Pompous Ass, 11th – Marys Lane, 12th – The Wood Brothers, 18th – Island Doctor, 19th – The New Barleycorn, 25th – Scully, 26th – High Strung Irish. Every Tuesday 6 – 8pm Magician Paul Gallagher performs tableside. 117 West Liberty Medina, 44256 www.sullysmedina.com

Mentor
Hooley House
4th – Backfire, 5th – Cinco DeMayo party with Richie Reece, 11th – Angry Young Men, 12th – Jeff Soukup Band, 18th – Mo Mojo, 19th – Abbey Rodeo, 25th – Matt Johnson. All starts @9:30: Every Tuesday – Open Mic w Nick Zuber, Every Wednesday – Trivia Night. 7861 Reynolds Rd Mentor www.1funpub.com (440) 942-6611.

Olmsted Twp
West Side Irish American Club
Great live music and food every Friday in the Pub. 13th – Mother’s Day Breakfast, 17th – Monthly General Meeting 8pm, 25th – Annual Reverse Raffle. WSIA Club 8559 Jennings Rd. 44138 www.wsia-club.org. 440-235-5868.

Willoughby
Mullarkey’s
5th – Kevin McCarthy, 11th – Eric Butler, 12th – One More Pint, 19th – Dan McCoy, 25th – Brendan Burt, 26th – Donegal Doggs. Karaoke Wednesdays. Thursday Ladies Night w/ D.J. 4110 Erie Street www.mullarkeys.com

Croagh Patrick’s
4857 Robinhood Drive Willoughby, 44094 (440) 946-8250. www.croaghpatrickspub.webs.com

Columbus
Shamrock Club Events
Happy Hour every Friday from 5-7pm! 60 W. Castle Rd. Columbus 43207 614-491-4449 www.shamrockclubofcolumbus.com

Findley
Logan’s Irish Pub
5th – Vinegar Hill, 12th – Dulahan, 16th – Traditional Session. 2414 South Main Street, Findlay 45840 419.420.3602 www.logansirishpubfindlay.com

Ongoing Trad Sessiún – Bring your instruments and play along!
Akron Hibernian’s Ceili Band Sessions, Wednesdays 7:30 pm. Mark Heffernan Div 2 Hall 2000 Brown St, Akron 330-724-2083. Beginner to intermediate

Croagh Patrick’s – 2nd Tuesday of every month 8 – 10pm

Bardic Circle @The Shamrock Club of Columbus Beginner – friendly, intermediate level Irish session meeting every other Thursdays 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Wooster Street Center, 1124 E. Wooster St., Bowling Green 2nd & 4th Monday, 7:00 – 8:00

Blarney Pub – Toledo, 1st Saturday of the month 5-8 pm.

Stone Mad – 1st Sunday of the month Holleran Traditional Irish Session, 7pm
The Harp – 1st Friday of every month, 9pm

It’s Police Week! Every year at this time, Cleveland prepares for its annual salute to those who have served, and those who have died, in the line of duty. At the impressive Peace Officer Memorial on Friday May 18, a parade of Law Enforcement, Pipe Bands, and many fitting partners will join the parade down Lakeside Avenue to Police Memorial Park on Police Memorial Way. Then a tribute to those lost, their families and their badge carrying brothers & sisters follows. Deeply moving and full of support, the annual event draws participants and observers from across the United States, Canada and sometimes further.

A Safety Fair occupies much of Saturday and ends with the peal of hundreds of bagpipers and drums, processions, drill, music, song and more at the weekend highlight, the 27th Annual Cleveland International Tattoo, held in Public Hall. I have attended all of the weekend events for a fair few years now, and always come away deeply grateful. I hope you can attend this year; more details are on the back cover.

I had the opportunity to meet Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur yesterday at a gathering of Irish leaders. She is of Polish heritage and deeply aware of the impact our ethnic communities have. In listening to her speak, she seemed aware of our innate drive to remain vibrant and socially conscious, and especially cognizant of providing the help we need to continue to contribute to the fabric of America. I have expressed my gratefulness for all that Congressman Kucinich provided to our community on these pages. I am hopeful Congresswoman Kaptur can do the same.

The North American Irish & Celtic Festival Organizers Convention was a fantastic event. Hosted by the Dublin (Ohio) Irish Fest, the conference was full of wit and wisdom, sharing and inspiration. The semi-annual convention brought organizers from seventeen festivals, mainly those based in the Mid-West but spanning across America and Canada, to brain storm new ways of coordinating our events and celebrating our heritage with joy, excitement and a sense of fostering and partnership. Guest speakers, round-tables, innovative best practices and band showcases were the main features, but the networking and new understanding were definitive take-aways for festival leaders.

Speaking of, the festival season is not far off. This summer will bring the 30th Annual Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival, the 10th Annual Dayton Celtic Fest and the 25th Annual Dublin Irish Fest, held on three successive weekends starting July 20th. All three are known for their music and have a legacy that is only added to with each passing year. June is our Annual Festival Focus issue, with details on these fests and more.

We’re big on legacy at the OhIAN, both in our stories and our activism. A Passion for a Parish, a feature on St. Colman’s by guest columnist Dan Coughlin, a historical Illuminations, The Glen of Imaal Terrier, Finding Home on the Road and Stories from the Corner Bard illustrate our passion and our past.

We can’t get lost in the past tho, for we are not going that way, and too much is going on! No time for daydreaming. The Movers & Shakers in the Buckeye State are busy as usual; the Irish Community throughout Ohio has an array of great events all month. See the Out & About Ohio section on page XX for details. Book reviews, recipes and radio fill out the issue; we hope you enjoy it.

I proudly serve on the Board of the Irish American Hall of Fame, held at the Irish Heritage Center on Chicago’s north side. The Induction Ceremonies are always the same weekend as my own neighborhood’s The Hooley on Kamm’s Corners. What’s a Hooley? A kitchen party, so large it has to be held in the street.

In a best effort to support as many as I can, I alternate years attending the Hall of Fame inductions event with the Hooley. Being in Chicago last year, I missed the tough weather the Hooley fought through. This year I am all Hooley! Great Irish music, dance, pipe bands, song and story will fill the day-long May 14th event, in a neighborhood that has welcomed and nurtured the Irish for over 100 years.

I grew up in this neighborhood. I live and work in this neighborhood. It was, is, and I suspect, always will be, an Irish enclave. Families with strollers and bicycles, people laughing at patio tables and great music wafting out over the street have turned my neighborhood back, to when there were neighborhoods, everyone stopped for a chat and summer nights lasted forever.

The GAA Finals being hosted in Cleveland next summer will call Kamm’s their off-hours home. Pubs like Public House, PJ McIntyre’s, West Park Station and Back Stage thrive with safety forces members, families and friends. The rebirth of Kamm’s Corner has been an awesome thing to see.

Everyone said when the residency rule ended, so would the neighborhood. The opposite is true. Thanks in large part to the energy and contagious enthusiasm of PJ McIntyre’s Pat Campbell and West Park Station’s Jason Salupo, plus the unrelenting efforts of Councilman Marty Keane and Kamm’s Corner Development’s Steve Lorenz, the neighborhood is as vibrant and alive as it has ever been. Downtown, Tremont, Ohio City, Gordon Square, and now, the last neighborhood west in Cleveland, Kamm’s Corner, are fueling revitalization of Cleveland that is both exciting and with staying power. The Comeback City, is comin back!

See page 3 for more details on the Hooley, but whether you live in Kamm’s or not, all are welcome to this family oriented festival, where the bricks are red, the hearts are gold, and the blacktops paved with green.

Hope to see you Out & About,
John

It was a thrill to see my uncles come home from America each summer. They had all emigrated to New York in the 1950′s and all three got jobs with the telephone company. One married, had a kid and settled down in Queens. One remained a bachelor and settled down in Brooklyn. The third disappeared, and wasn’t heard from for years.

All three uncles were a constant source of wonder for us youngsters, growing up as we did in our small Irish town, especially the married uncle, for he was always the most generous. He’d arrive in to our house accompanied by the uncle who had stayed to mind the family farm, and after hugging my mother and settling down to a nice tea in our kitchen, he would call us over individually and press a twenty dollar bill into our hands (I had five siblings). It was straight down to the bank then to get the money changed, and then straight to the sweetshop to buy ice creams. How little things change, I reflected recently, as I watched my own kids run to the candy store to spend their weekly allowance.

Twenty dollars was a lot then and we appreciated our uncles all the more for it. To my mind, with these visits, America certainly took on the form of a place where money grew on trees, where you could have anything you wanted. This image was helped by my uncle’s attire: he wore a white suit, and had a deep voice not unlike John Wayne’s. He even looked like John Wayne, to my excited eyes.

The yellow cigarette stained fingers and the packet of Marlboro’s always sticking out of the breast pocket of his blazer did not hurt the general impression of him as something larger than life, from a greater place. There was plenty of braggadocio about him, to be sure, but underneath it all, he had a certain touch of class. After all, it took a certain nerve to walk down the main street of our small town dressed in a white suit and talking like John Wayne… No wonder I had a desire from early on to come to America.

My other uncle, the unmarried one in Brooklyn, was a bit quieter and less flashy, but almost as generous. He was more sober minded, did not go to pubs much, but the twenty dollar gift was always dispensed. So we looked forward to his arrival almost as much.

They generally took a trip ‘back to the west’, as they would term their five-hour journey to Connemara, the place of their birth, in a rented car. Or else my mother drove them. They would stay in a hotel in Clonbur and visit their relations around Lough Corrib, the ones who had stayed, who had resisted the temptation to emigrate, and the ones who still spoke Irish as a first language.

My uncles would revert back to their native tongue in conversation. In talking to my mother in our house, the language of choice was Irish. No amount of years of living in New York had altered my two uncle’s proficiency in the language. They liked speaking it. They liked coming home and came home just about every summer.

It was the need to connect with their native place, to get back to their roots, although both of them were often fond of complaining about how dull life was in my hometown, or on my uncle’s farm (who had stayed). I definitely would not have envisioned either of them returning permanently to their native soil. New York was in them. They were American now.

I suppose they were a part of at great wave of emigration that occurred in the 1950′s. We all know that there is another wave of emigration occurring at the moment. It seems to happen every thirty years or so. And now the destination seems to be Australia and Canada more than the U.S.
It is not a good thing for the Irish economy, in the long term, but the world is a smaller place now. In the 1890′s most of them were gone forever, never to return. In the fifties, they made it back if they could for holiday visits. In the eighties many stayed and eventually settled and went home frequently. In the nineties many emigrants returned home to live, during the years of the Celtic Tiger.

Emigration is not the big tragedy it used to be. Most who leave this year will eventually return after a few years of working abroad. The Irish are much more educated than they used to be and are more mobile in both directions than ever before. Emigration is not the all-or-nothing situation it used to be. In fact the word itself may be a bit outdated.

And so, the moral of the story? There isn’t any? I don’t know. I do know that as a boy my imagination was sparked by the idea that I had three uncles living in New York City, that I would go there one day myself and see all those big cars I had seen on television, or maybe meet some of the superheroes I had seen in the movies on the street hailing a cab or in the window of a restaurant. Needless to say they would notice me, and stop what they were doing to talk to me! Ah yes emigration! Faraway shores! Adventure! All fuel to a boyhood imagination!

As for the third uncle, the one who disappeared? He did turn up in a nursing home on Long Island in 1994, the year I arrived in America. He was a cool guy, like the other ones. He had that twinkle in the eye, despite the misfortunes that had hit him during his life. And as the song says: life just happens that way.

The Irish experience has always been one of exile and return. He had always been the big mystery of the family, which gladly got solved in the end. Somewhere out there, there’s another kid (or kids) imagining and dreaming about an uncle far away who’s going to make a return visit soon.
*Sean McCabe’s novels and songs can be bought and/or downloaded via his website: mccabesband.com

Today is Sean’s Birthday, Happy Birthday – here’s to creating More stories!

As I write this I am watching a wee bit of history being made, Irishman Rory McIlroy has just made his final putt at the 2012 Honda Classic, to not only win yet another tournament in his short career, but more importantly, to fulfill a lifelong ambition in becoming the number one ranked golfer in the world. Well done young man, well done indeed.

Rory McIlroy

It has been quite amazing to watch ‘the new Tiger’ progress through the ranks of the PGA Tour over the past few years. How many times in sport do we hear about the new Tiger, the new Beckham or the new Jordan? It seems the media loves to put these potential megastars up on a pedestal to soak up their new found glory, yet at the same time, they relish coming back to say ‘I guess he did not have it in him’ when those they built up fail to reach the heights of glory expected.

Rory t has handled himself and the expectations of the media over the years with nothing but professionalism. In a time when golf has needed a new nice guy to like, the recent success of the young Irishman has been nothing short of a magical story for the golfing world. Watching his interviews, he is easy to like, watching him play, you can do nothing but admire him.

Since making his pro debut in America in 2009, at the Match Play Championship at the age of nineteen, McIlroy has made quite a first impression, despite some ups and downs in success. He plays without an apparent care in the world.

This was very apparent in his recent victory at the Honda Classic, when he didn’t flinch when Tiger Woods went birdie-eagle for a 62, his best final round ever, and nearly nine shots better than the average score on the final Sunday of the tournament. McIlroy could surely hear the roar from a mile away, but gathered himself and rolled in a birdie putt of his own. He followed with three par saves over the last five holes for a two-shot victory, elevating him to No. 1 in the world. What a finish, and what a joy it was to watch it.

Football – The 2012 Euro’s
The 2012 European Championships are fast approaching. Before we know it, we’ll be crowded around a TV in our favorite watering hole with a pint in hand shouting ‘come on Ireland’ and ‘get into them Ireland’. The Irish team has been warming up, not just on the field, but in the recording studio, where they got in to help record the ‘official’ song for the upcoming Euro’s.

Ireland’s Official Euro 2012 Song, Rocky Road to Poland, was recorded in February at Dublin’s Windmill Lane Studios by Damien Dempsey, Bressie, The Coronas’ Danny O’Reilly and The Dubliners, who, incidentally, will be in Cleveland later this summer.

Listeners to the Ray D’Arcy Show on Irish radio show Today FM were tasked with rewriting the lyrics to The Rocky Road to Dublin for the track, with winning lines chosen by Dempsey and producer John Reynolds for inclusion in the song, which will be released in April by EMI Music Ireland. D’Arcy said: “Rocky Road to Poland – this is what soccer anthems are made of: soul, passion and an inflatable hammer. Having the old and new guard of Irish music on the song is a real treat.

With only a few months to go until the 1st match against Croatia, this is a good time for all to get familiar with the lyrics. Who knows – maybe we’ll have an IANOhio reader’s party where we all get together and give it a lash!

Rocky Road to Poland
T’was in the merry month of June, from our home we started, Left old Eireann’s Isle, to Poland we departed, Hope within our hearts, we can win the trophy, We are all a part of Trapattoni’s army, Get behind the team, hear the Irish scream, C’mon you boys in green, Ireland’s bouncing back again, We have got our Trap, the cat is in the sack, We’ll not forget you Jack, On the rocky road to Poland.

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Irish eyes are smiling, Let your voices ring Trapattoni’s army, everybody sing.
You’ll never beat the Irish x 4

Make your mother proud, inflate your plastic hammer, Bate your bodhrán loud and learn your Polish grammar, Credit Union loan, sold the Opel Corsa, Hired a camper van, picked it up in Warsaw, Been so close before, hopes slammed in the door, Now we’re back for more, we can win the battle, C’mon you boys in green, never have we seen, Such a fearless team, on the rocky road to Poland.

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Irish eyes are smiling, Let your voices ring Trapattoni’s army, Everybody sing.
You’ll never beat the Irish x 4

Ireland Abú. We love.

Trivia
First last month’s question: The Republic of Ireland last qualified and played at the European Football Championships in 1988, but when did they make their first appearance in the competition? 1988; which is the same year they made their 1st appearance at the European Football Championships. This month’s question: Which famous Irish folk singer wrote a song about an Irish fan going to watch his beloved Irish play at the 1988 European Championship’s in West Germany?

*Mark Owens is originally from Derry City, Ireland and has resided in the Cleveland area since 2001, where he is employed by State Farm Insurance Companies, having previously spent time studying at John Carroll University. Send questions, comments or suggestions for future articles to Mark at: markowens@ireland.com.

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On Sunday, February 5th, I had the honor of attending a memorial service to honor the lives of four U.S. Army Chaplains who perished on February 3, 1943, when a German submarine torpedoed their troopship. The nondenominational service told the stories the four chaplains, who were lieutenants in the United States Army: Rev. George L. Fox (Methodist), Rabbi Alexander D. Goode (Jewish), Rev. Clark V. Poling (Reformed Church in America) and Fr. John P. Washington (Roman Catholic). I was there because of the priest, but I was amazed at the stories of all four, all from different faith traditions, brought together by war.

John and the other three clergymen applied for and were accepted into the army chaplaincy in 1942. They met and became close friends during their time at chaplains’ school at Harvard. Rev. Poling stated “We had a special kind of unity” and in that unity they found strength.

In late 1942, the chaplains were transferred to Camp Myles Standish in Taunton, Massachusetts and attended Chaplains School at Harvard University. In January 1943, the chaplains embarked on board the USAT Dorchester at Boston Harbor, which was transporting over 900 soldiers to the United Kingdom via Greenland.

Fr. John Washington

On February 2, 1943 the German submarine U-223 spotted the convoy on the move and closed with the ships, firing a torpedo, which struck the Dorchester shortly after midnight. Hundreds of men packed the decks of the rapidly sinking ship and scrambled for the lifeboats. Several of the lifeboats had been damaged and the four chaplains began to organize frightened soldiers. They distributed life jackets from a locker; when the supply of life jackets ran out, each of the chaplains gave theirs to other soldiers. When the last lifeboats were away, the chaplains prayed with those unable to escape the sinking ship. Twenty-seven minutes after the torpedo struck, the Dorchester disappeared below the waves, with 672 men still aboard. The last site of the four chaplains showed them standing on the deck, arms linked and praying together.

Each of the four chaplains was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart. In 1961, the four chaplains were awarded the Chaplain’s Medal for Heroism, for the giving of their lives in the line of duty. The medal was authorized by an act of Congress on July 14, 1960. The medals were presented posthumously to their next of kin by Secretary of the Army Wilber M. Brucker at Ft. Myer, Virginia on January 18, 1961.

The memorial service on February 5, 2012 was held at United Methodist Church in Berea, Ohio. It was sponsored by the Cuyahoga County Voiture Locale #11 La Societe des 40 Hommes et 8 Chevaux and also the Albert E. Baesel American Legion Auxiliary Unit #91.

Note: La Societe des Quarante Hommes at Huit Chevaux is an independent fraternal organization of U. S. veterans, more commonly known as the Forty & Eight.

The Forty & Eight was formed in 1920 by American Legionnaires as an honor society and from its earliest days it has been committed to charitable aims. Membership is by invitation for members of the American Legion who have shown exemplary service. All Forty & Eight members are thus veterans of congressionally recognized wartime periods via their Legion membership.

The Forty & Eight’s titles and symbols reflect its First World War origins. American servicemen in France were transported to the battle front on narrow gauge French railroads (Chemin de Fer) inside boxcars (Voitures) that were half the size of American boxcars. Each French boxcar was stenciled with a “40/8”, denoting its capacity to hold either forty men or eight horses. This ignominious and uncomfortable mode of transportation was familiar to all who traveled from the coast to the trenches; a common small misery among American soldiers who thereafter found “40/8” a lighthearted symbol of the deeper service, sacrifice and unspoken horrors of war that truly bind those who have borne the battle.

Back to the present:

We are in full-on, all hands on deck preparation for the 30^th Annual Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival, July 20-22 at the Berea Fairgrounds.  The bands are all set (probably), and now we shape the event itself  (www.clevelandirish.org or www.facebook.com/clevelandirish).

We have quite a few fantastic new displays coming to our internationally recognized Celtic Heritage Hall.  Travel & Tourism, Irish history and happenings, music, sports, food and fun make up the majority of the 300+ displays in the cultural and sports hall and Abbey Theatre  I have sent all the displays off to print, and soon the assembly from print to display board will commence.

Wait’ll you see the festival grounds.  A new Wind Turbine has changed the landscape of the Gazebo area – we adapt.  We will have new food offerings this year too! I had lunch with Sully’s owner John Sullivan on Saturday.  Sully’s Irish Pub will be bringing great new menu items, which will include Sully’s favorites, and a few new surprises in our ever-expanding offerings to fest patrons.

I was sixteen years old when my dad and a group of friends gathered in my parent’s living room to organize Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival.  I remember the discussion, and he very deliberate choosing of the name; including the word Cultural was and is very important to us.  Thirty years later, the mission has not changed.  We hope you will come out and support the event on our Pearl Anniversary.  Over ½ a million dollars has been given to local and national charities since we started, due to your generous support.  Let’s add a few more pearls to the strand before we’re done.

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I am honored to serve on the board of the Northeast Ohio Rose of Tralee.  Seven finalists have been selected and the Rose will be crowned on Friday April 27^th in Westlake.  Westlake is twined with Tralee, which is in Co. Kerry, Ireland.

The winner will represent Northeast Ohio in the Regional Sectionals in Portaoise, Co. Laois, Ireland May 30^th – June 3^rd, then that winner will advance to the International Rose of Tralee,  August 17^th – 21^st, in Tralee, Co. Kerry, Ireland. Good Luck NE Ohio Rose, I know you will knock-em dead.

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The Ohio Irish American News seems to come more quickly with each passing month, and year.  I got the 1^st proof of the May issue Friday night.  This is Issue #65, but nothing is reaching retirement this weekend.  Hard times, can’t hold us down forever.  Somehow, we continue to grow and continue to impact the community we love so much.

Fittingly, wood is one of the symbols for a 5^th Anniversary.  Strength and solidifying relationships – wow does that fit us perfectly. We are on solid ground, thanks to all the supporting relationships, and great stories, our community has given us.

Great stories in the May issue include one that is a bit of a coincidence with Bishop Lennon’s announcement of his decision to not challenge Rome’s open the churches decree, but we include A Passion for a Parish: St. Colman’s, written by guest columnist Dan Coughlin; The Hooley on Kamm’s Corners, Irish Dance in America, Finding Home on the Road, historical retrospectives, book reviews, sports and more stories will come to newsstands May 3^rd.

Pick up a copy of the Ohio Irish American News at your favorite Irish Pub, club, restaurant or music hall.  If you would like to get it a day or two earlier, or can’t get Out & About, subscriptions are only $25  year/ $45 for 2 years.  All issues are also archived online at our website, www.ianohio.com.

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A few weeks ago, Sporty Kilbane gave me a shout for some help with a brochure for his training and fitness company, called w25 Warrior.  I sent it off to him Saturday.  He has a great big picture philosophy for overall health and fitness and is in phenomenal shape himself.  If you are looking for a trainer who sees more than just muscle, give him a call.  Tell him OB sent ya.

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I rushed home from Sully’s in Medina, and then to my sister’s 50^th Birthday party in Vermillion. She has a core group of 5-6 friends all the way back to grade school that still gather.  God the stories!  So much I had forgotten, or never even knew, came rushing back. Dinner at Touche was good.  The waitress had a million watt gorgeous smile and my sis, as she is often wont to do, shed tears before the nite was over.  These were good tears, of our many blessings and joy.

One is never enough, Big Sexy’s 50^th Birthday party was also Saturday night.  Great to see Jeanie & the Man, Fun Size and Little Sexy too.  I have shared in countless, always laughter filled parties with the former owners of Sheehan’s.  I will never forget seeing Paddy Reilly, Tom Sweeney and Danny Dole singing show tunes about 3am at a Cleveland Irish Fest after’s Party at Sheehan’s, while Kilfenora Ceili Band played pool and Pegger drank without a cup.

Some of the best afters’ parties, parties and best memories of my life have come with these folks.  Happy Birthday Jimmy ~ I am truly honored to know ya.

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Crikey this is long, sorry! See you Wednesday at author and columnist Erin O’Brien’s book signing at Loganberry Books.

Sailing a 51-foot yacht through the middle of the British fleet would be a challenge for the most experienced sailor. For Erskine Childers and his nationalist crew, it was particularly challenging, and dangerous. Unknown to the British, below decks, the yacht was overloaded with a cargo of smuggled rifles and ammunition, destined for Ireland.

In 1914, the Protestants in the north of Ireland received an illegal shipment of arms in order to fight the planned implementation of Irish Home Rule, which had been recently passed by the British Parliament. In response, the Nationalist Irish Volunteers and their leader, Patrick Pearse, felt that arms for their group were needed. Pearse said, “The only thing more ridiculous than an Ulsterman with a rifle is a Nationalist without one.”

Alice Stopford Green, an Irish historian and nationalist, conceived the smuggling idea itself. She enlisted a group of nationalists in the plan: Erskine Childers, his American-born wife Molly Childers, Sir Roger Casement, and Mary Spring Rice. Mary Spring Rice and Molly Childers established and ran a campaign to raise funds for the arms, and were successful in raising ₤2,000. Pearse and the IRB approved the plan. Sir Roger Casement made contacts for the purchase in Germany.

Childers and Spring Rice

The Childers offered their yacht, the Asgard, a 51-foot pleasure craft, to run the guns into Ireland. The yacht had been a wedding present from Dr. Hamilton Osgood, Molly Childers father. The English born Erskine Childers was an experienced sailor and well-known author. He wrote The Riddle of the Sands (1903), which is considered to be one of the first spy novels.

Since the British fleet was used to seeing the Asgard cutting through the Irish Sea under full sail, and since Childers knew the coastal waters, they were the natural choice to do the running. Although Molly Childers was unable to walk due to a childhood injury, she was also an experienced sailor, who often piloted the Asgard while tied in position at the ship’s wheel.

The arms were to be purchased from Germany, and included 900 Mauser M1871, 11mm caliber single-shot rifles and 29,000 rounds of black powder ammunition. The second-hand guns, dating from the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), were still functional, although the black powder ammunition caused them to overheat and jam after firing.

On July 7, 1914 the Asgard left Howth Harbor for the nineteen-day journey to Germany and back. Aboard were crewmembers Erskine Childers, Molly Childers, Mary Spring Rice and three other crewmen.

At the mouth of the Elbe River in the North Sea, they met the German ship, which had left the city of Hamburg carrying the purchased weapons. The arms were transferred to the Asgard. The arms and ammunition completely filled the boat’s cabin, leaving little space to sleep or prepare food, all of which was done on top of the cargo. As a cover, the shipping documents indicated the arms were bound for Mexico.

On their way back, the little craft ran directly into the British fleet; the battleships and cruisers were out in force, in anticipation of the outbreak of the coming world war with Germany. Holding his breath and being sure not to draw suspicion, Childers was able to navigate through the massive ships without being stopped.

Then, the yacht ran into the roughest storm to hit the Irish Sea in thirty years. Childers lashed himself to the wheel to be kept from being swept overboard, all the while steering the overloaded boat to keep it from being swamped by the high seas. On the morning of July 26, 1914, with the storm behind them, in broad daylight and with Mary Spring Rice steering the vessel, the vessel arrived into Howth Harbor.

A large contingent of 1,200 Irish Volunteers were waiting for the arrival of the Asgard. As a cover story, the Volunteers were told they were going to have a picnic at Howth. Also present on the dock was Countess Constance de Markievcz and her contingent of Fianna boys. They had arrived from Dublin, bringing with them hand carts and wheelbarrows.

The Fianna boys quickly unloaded the Asgard. Every Volunteer was given a rifle and the ammunition was loaded into the hand-carts and wheelbarrows. The Asgard, along with Childers and his crew, sailed back to England and the Volunteers marched in column back to Dublin, followed by the ammunition.

The harbormaster at Howth had informed the authorities about the situation and a detachment of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers were dispatched from their barracks at Kilmainham. At Clontarf, the soldiers marching north met the Volunteers marching south; there was a brief skirmish but no shots were fired, mostly pushing and shoving.

The British were unaware that the rifles held by the Volunteers were not loaded. One Volunteer was injured by a British bayonet. Thomas MacDonagh and Bulmer Hobson succeeded in calling a truce and engagied the soldiers in conversation long enough for the back ranks of the Volunteers to quietly relay the guns and ammunition away and hide them in the nearby Christian Brothers monastery. The arms and ammunition were never discovered by the British and were used two years later to arm the Volunteers during the Easter Rebellion, mostly in the General Post Office.

Shortly after the Easter Rebellion, the Asgard was put into long-term dry-dock in northern Wales, where it was sold in 1928. In 1961, the Irish Government procured the ageing vessel. The Irish navy used it for sail training until 1974, when it was dry-docked and put on display inside Kilmainham Jail in Dublin. Since December 2007, the Asgard Restoration Project has been underway at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Dublin.

Erskine Childers served on the negotiating committee for the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921, but sided with the anti-Treaty forces during the Civil War. Childers was arrested by the Free State Army in November 1922, was tried and convicted of arms possession. He was executed by firing squad. His last words, spoken to members of the firing squad were: “Take a step or two forward, lads. It will be easier that way.”

Mary Spring Rice suffered ill health for several years and died in 1924 in a sanatorium in Wales at the age of forty-four. Molly Childers health problems continued and she was confined to a hospital in Massachusetts from 1947 until1950, at which time she returned to Ireland. She died on New Year’s Day 1964, survived by eight grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren. Their son, Erskine Hamilton Childers, was elected to the Dáil and served from 1938 until 1973. He then served as fourth President of Ireland from 1973 until his death in 1974.

*J. Michael Finn is the Ohio State Historian for the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Division Historian for the Patrick Pearse Division in Columbus, Ohio. He is also Chairman of the Catholic Record Society for the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio. He writes on Irish and Irish-American history; Ohio history and Ohio Catholic history. You may contact him at FCoolavin@aol.com.

I went to the FACES OF CHANGE Changemaker’s Breakfast in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month on Friday.  Hosted by Channel 3’s Erin Kennedy, the breakfast was to share stories, to share hope, and to gather those who can make a real difference in Cuyahoga County.

Did you know that more than 150,000 people in Cuyahoga County have been raped and never sought healing services?  These survivors are three times more likely to suffer from depression, four times more likely to contemplate suicide, and twenty-six times more likely to abuse drugs or alcohol.

Powerful speakers Representative Nan Baker, Senator Nina Turner and CEO of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, Megan O’Bryan, gave stats and stories, support and for some, a chance at salvation, through their efforts and legislation.

One of those who stood in witness to the hurt, and the recovery, spoke of “Mokita” – the truth we all know, but agree to not talk about – let’s not agree, let’s talk about it.  And for those affected by sexual assault, the victims, their families, their work places, their cities, our country – a bend in the road is not the end of the road. You are not alone; we shall overcome.

One in four girls, one in six boys will suffer from sexual violence.  Give the above, for those rocked by sexual violence, is a roundabout with only one exit more apparent?  If we keep going in circles, and keep driving the same road over and over again, we only create ruts.  “And the only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.”

Is there depth of our caring?  Depth of our heart? Depth of our commitment, to each other? You can get out of a rut; you cannot defeat the grave.  Will we give people an escape from the grave, a lift out of the rut of hurt and fear? We have to build new roads, offer exits that take those hurt to a road of healing, promise and a break in the circle of Don’t Tell; Don’t Trust; Don’t Feel.  To be a Changemaker in word, and in action, iStand with Survivors of Sexual Assault.

For thirty-seven years, “Cleveland Rape Crisis Center supports survivors of sexual violence, promotes healing and prevention and creates social change in our community“, said information at the event. “In Northeast Ohio, there are hundreds of thousands of rape survivors living in painful silence.  The need is overwhelming. Resources are not.”  Let’s change that.

Some days you win the rage, some days you’re simply glad to make progress. For you, for your mother, sister, niece, cousin, your neighbor, for Cuyahoga County, I urge you to get involved. iStand with Survivors of Sexual Assault is more than a slogan; check it out, and do what you can.

Comment, and share your story with me; Thank you for allowing me to share mine with you. Follow me, where I go:

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