The sun may not shine all that often in Youghal compared to most places in the world, but when it does it’s one of the most beautiful places we’ve seen. A couple of days ago we finished making a pergola, so that when the sun does come out, we’ll have a nice place in the garden (yard in American English) to sit and catch it. Here’s what we ended up with:
In our house in Ireland, the internal doors have keyholes and skeleton-style keys:
There are no round doorknobs in houses, although you will see them occasionally right in the middle of a front door (like Bilbo Baggins had in The Hobbit). We didn’t think too much about this until we visited America with small children and realised they had no idea what to do with the round doorknobs!
This Tuesday was a big day for our family: Seth and Jessica both got Irish citizenship!
We went up to Dublin as a family to attend an official ceremony where the citizenship was given. The ceremony included roughly 700 people from all corners of the world, and while we were there we met an Evangelical Christian from India and an Easter Spiritualist author from Virginia. We also heard the Garda (police) band play some wonderful Irish music, but they caught everyone off guard when they opened the ceremony by playing YMCA! On the way back to Youghal, it felt different to look out the window and realise that the rolling green hills all around are homeland to us now!
Recently Seth was driving to Dungarvan, about half an hour from Youghal, and along the way collected (picked up) a hitchhiker. He must have been in his early twenties, and when he got in the car, the first thing he said was “Any scandal?”
What would you say to that? Seth said “No… not really” and the conversation moved on, eventually getting into religious issues, Buddhism, and the Bible. Later, Seth asked a local friend and confirmed that “Any scandal?” is just another way of saying “How’re things?” In fact, in some places in Ireland, you can even shorten the phrase to “Any sca?”
So… Any sca?
We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in what has become our usual way: With a church walk in the woods, and the Youghal parade! The day is a national holiday in Ireland, so most people are off work and all the schools are out. Plus this year we had the added benefit of a clear day and some company from that bright yellow ball in the sky, who only seems to make rare visits to Ireland, but evidently wanted to see the festivities. Here’s a photo from the church walk:
Seth and Daniel also got to participate in the parade, with the Youghal Musical Society, promoting the upcoming show. And it turned out that we won the prize for having the ‘best float’!
(Seth is dressed like that because he was being Bert from Mary Poppins)
Today schools across Ireland are holding special ceremonies and raising Irish flags to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Proclamation Day, when a group of Irish rebels took control of the General Post Office in Dublin and issued a proclamation declaring Ireland a free republic and renouncing British rule. This is usually known as the Easter Rising, and although it was unsuccessful (ending with most of the leaders hanged) it was the precursor to the Irish war for independence which began in 1919 and ended with the Anglo-Irish treaty in December, 1921. Ireland officially became a free and independent state in 1922, marking the first time in roughly 800 years that the Irish people were able to govern themselves. The treaty did stipulate, however, that six counties in the northwest corner of the island would remain part of the United Kingdom, which continues today.
With Super Tuesday in America, and a just recently finished national election in Ireland, I thought it might be interesting to compare the voting systems of the two countries. In America’s two-party system, votes are taken in a binary form – either this one or that one. In Ireland’s recent election, ten different parties ran candidates, not including those who ran as independents. In order to make sure that the real desires of people are reflected as accurately as possible, Irish voters use a numbering system where they can put down number 1 for their first choice, 2 for their second, and so on. The votes are counted first based on the number 1 choices, then the candidates receiving the least votes are eliminated. Their votes are then recounted according to the number 2 choices, and the process continues until a winner is decided. Given the crowded Republican field in America this year, it is interesting to think that if the Irish system had been used to determine the nominee, it would likely change the race considerably. In races with multiple candidates, the Irish system does a brilliant job of letting people vote for their actual preferences, even if their first choice has little chance of winning. For a more detailed description of Irish voting, you can read this article.
We do love living beside the sea. It even inspires poetry…
The sea! The sea! The infinite sea!
There’s nothing quite like it to pacify me
My turbulent thoughts melt like waves on the rocks
And my troubles are drops in the infinite sea
Just up the Blackwater river from Youghal, there is a ruined castle that was once a Knight’s Templar Preceptory. Many other ruined buildings around the castle attest to the historic importance of the site, but most of what happened there is long forgotten. Seth took his camera there and wrote this poem about what he saw:
Once upon a time a home
To pride and might
But now alone
Forgotten by the Old Man’s gaze
(What Time forgets
Forgotten stays)
And so all pride
And might of men
On Earth will fade
As empty as the monuments they made
In Ireland, there are no school districts and you can apply to send your children to any school you like. 96% of primary (elementary) schools in Ireland are religious, with 90% of them being Catholic, although they do also receive government funding based mostly on the number of students they have. Our children go to the largest primary school in Youghal, which is Catholic, but very accommodating to non-Catholics. We have appreciated the academic strength and moral awareness of the school, and their willingness to work with different convictions. Jessica has been volunteering on the Parent’s Association for a few years, and also helping to teach cooking classes in the school. Recently, Seth was nominated to be one of two parent representatives on the school’s Board of Management. Last night he was elected on to the Board. We are surprised, but thankful for the opportunity to contribute to the community.
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