I've been away so long some of the longing as dissipated. But then there are those days where it's like a physical ache in my gut, the pain of being able to listen to Irish music, look at pictures of Ireland and watch movies of Irish people and not actually being able to go there and experience it for myself.
Sometimes it just hits you.
This past weekend was the Irish Fair of Minnesota. Now, I hadn't been to the Irish fair in like ten years. The last time I was there, the only thing I remember is that I was excruciatingly bored. I remember I couldn't wait to leave.
This was completely different.
I'm not sure why I never thought of it before. I love the festivities at the Landmark center every St. Patrick's Day; not because they're overly grandiose, in fact they're rather small and can be kind of a pain in the ass, but because on St. Patrick's Day all the Irish in Saint Paul gather to celebrate their Irish heritage. Irish Fair was no different. All those people there to listen to the music, drink Guinness and celebrate coming from such an amazing place. I felt so much as if I belonged among the crowd i ended up going all three days. :)
The first two times were at night which I think I prefer because for one thing it was cooler, but for another, there is so much more scope for the imagination under the stars listening to penny whistles and bagpipes.
On Sunday however, I went in the afternoon with a bunch of my friends (versus going with my dad the other two evenings). I noticed that (at least until the end) the Fair was not quite the same. I mean, obviously with different people the experiences are expected to be different, but this was rather distastefully so. It did however lead me to realizations about myself as well as my friends. I realized that when I think of Ireland, it is always surrounded in Mist, Myth, and Magic. That will never change for me. The problem with going with friends to the fair was that they don't share the same connection with Ireland that I do....and it has nothing to do with heritage. I have come to the conclusion that in order to feel the way I feel, you have to believe in magic. Like really believe in magic. It may sound like I'm completely off my rocker, but with Ireland I feel like anything's possible.
Anyway, at the very end of the fair, things definitely took a turn for the better. After the last music group finished their set on the Mainstage, there was what they called a Scattering. All the musicians that had performed at the fair all weekend then got up on stage and they all together played a few songs. Two of them were so beautiful they had me in tears. Honestly, I was doing okay until they brought in the bagpipes...
I never wanted it to end...
The two songs were:
The Wild Mountain Thyme (Will Ye Go Lassie Go)
and
The Parting Glass (which they played in memory of someone who had died who had dedicated his life to the Irish fair)
ok,.i'll stop now
love and peace and always,
Slainte,
B
This was completely different.
I'm not sure why I never thought of it before. I love the festivities at the Landmark center every St. Patrick's Day; not because they're overly grandiose, in fact they're rather small and can be kind of a pain in the ass, but because on St. Patrick's Day all the Irish in Saint Paul gather to celebrate their Irish heritage. Irish Fair was no different. All those people there to listen to the music, drink Guinness and celebrate coming from such an amazing place. I felt so much as if I belonged among the crowd i ended up going all three days. :)
The first two times were at night which I think I prefer because for one thing it was cooler, but for another, there is so much more scope for the imagination under the stars listening to penny whistles and bagpipes.
On Sunday however, I went in the afternoon with a bunch of my friends (versus going with my dad the other two evenings). I noticed that (at least until the end) the Fair was not quite the same. I mean, obviously with different people the experiences are expected to be different, but this was rather distastefully so. It did however lead me to realizations about myself as well as my friends. I realized that when I think of Ireland, it is always surrounded in Mist, Myth, and Magic. That will never change for me. The problem with going with friends to the fair was that they don't share the same connection with Ireland that I do....and it has nothing to do with heritage. I have come to the conclusion that in order to feel the way I feel, you have to believe in magic. Like really believe in magic. It may sound like I'm completely off my rocker, but with Ireland I feel like anything's possible.
Anyway, at the very end of the fair, things definitely took a turn for the better. After the last music group finished their set on the Mainstage, there was what they called a Scattering. All the musicians that had performed at the fair all weekend then got up on stage and they all together played a few songs. Two of them were so beautiful they had me in tears. Honestly, I was doing okay until they brought in the bagpipes...
I never wanted it to end...
The two songs were:
The Wild Mountain Thyme (Will Ye Go Lassie Go)
and
The Parting Glass (which they played in memory of someone who had died who had dedicated his life to the Irish fair)
ok,.i'll stop now
love and peace and always,
Slainte,
B
