Irish and Celtic Thingies
Odds and Ends

Most recently modified on $Date: 2014/03/12 00:27:55 $ (GMT)

ODDS & ENDS

(January 1, 2003: everything!) There's a big (and I do mean big) conference coming to Charlottesville, Virginia this coming May: it's called Re-Imaging Ireland and features a truly impressive list of guests and diginitaries (e.g., Irish President Mary McAleese, Nuala O'Faoláin, Andy Irvine, Tim Pat Coogan, and many many more. As Charlottesville is where I work, I'm going to make every effort to attend this one.

(April 24, 1997: odds) More infamy for this page! It was one of several mentioned in connection with ethnic dance in the Times Pick section of the Los Angeles Times on April 7, 1997. Unfortunately, because of all the e-mail "bombing" I was subjected to, I didn't get the notice until yesterday. Their contact said some very nice things about this page; something I badly needed after all that abuse!

(February 25, 1997: Worthwhile Causes) The GOAL-Aidlink St. Patrick's Day Badge Project is worth a visit. GOAL is one of the better-known and widely respected charities in Ireland.

(March 9, 1997: odds) I was checking out the links in Michael Hambly's Newsletter from Mayo on the Move, when I noticed that both his web page and the one you're reading now are contenders in a competition for Best Irish Internet Community Website. I had no idea... wow! There are some good web pages in the other 14 contenders, and even if you don't vote, you might find something of interest in these.

How about a nice recipe for Irish Stew? Courtesy of Fiona Hyland by way of a post on soc.culture.celtic. (This recipe is often the most popular page in my site!) Fiona now has her own domain (hylit) on whose web server you can now find that recipe, plus many more, including Brown Bread (yum!).

Something I've been meaning to do for some time now finally happened. If you ever wondered what some Irish phrases really mean, have a look at my Irish Phrases page. Some of it is serious, some not, some tries to educate. When I get access to the microphone, I'll put audio behind some of the phrases (at least those I can stomach!). I'm considering making the page a little more informative, and have some good suggestions in my Inbox...

(October 22/24, 1996) Although as most of you know, I'm leery of commercial sites (haven't you seen enough inline Ad images with dancing animated GIFs yet?), the quest for that great cuppa Tea may justify the mention of not one, but two relevant sites. Oisin (Actually Oisín; Pronounced Ush-EEn, refers to a legendary figure who was Fionn McCumhaill's son in the Fianna) are a company that helps recent emigrants from Ireland in the US, or others with a yearning for Irish food and drink, to get such supplies, including Barry's and Lyon's Tea! And Barry's now have a web presence where you can also order direct, thanks to John Geerlings. As he says, what better way to read a web page than with a nice hot cup of Barry's Gold... (Those of you fortunate enough to live in Charlottesville can also get Barry's Tea, Bewley's Tea, Jacob's Cream Crackers, Irish Muesli, and more at Foods of All Nations on Ivy Road).

This page was (in?)famous in 1995 when The Washington Post carried an article by Rob Pegoraro on Thursday, March 16 called Virtually Irish on the Internet. Of the 6 URLs mentioned, this page was the first and the one mentioned as the starting point. Rob had an online copy of the essence of the article but that link is unfortunately long dead. It was under "Style, March 16, 1995".

Do you remember what an Irish Ten Shilling note looked like? You can refresh your memory, and find out lots more on the Irish Coins and Bank-notes Web Page. (For those of you without the ability to see in-line images, the note was reddish). Thanks to Edmond (Skip) O'Neill for pointing me at this page.

If you know the difference between Whisky and Whiskey, you may want to go on The Edinburgh Malt Whisky Tour. As well as finding out about the spirits, you can also use the active maps to find out how some names are pronounced.

When was the last time you visited Henry Street (Sráid Anraí)? That is an interesting Irish-related web page set up by Caroline Von B.

There's a new Irish Resource page available, assembled by John Anderson (a.k.a. Flick). Check out the info on Ireland near the top; all you ever wanted to know about it and more...

August 6, 1996: Here's where to actually Order that Irish Breakfast you've been missing. Rashers, sausages, black and white pudding, ... you get the idea. Covers delivery (uncooked!) in the United States only, I think.

On the same topic, (Irish Breakfast that is), you can see more of the same, plus see some Gaelic Football or Hurling (the game, not the other US meaning!) if you check out The Abbey Pub & Restaurant in Chicago. Brought to you by Andrew Everett.

Celtic Festival at Leesburg, Virginia!

The third annual Celtic Festival at Oatlands Plantation was held on June 15-16, 1996. I missed this one :-( because I was roaming around County Galway and County and Mayo in Ireland at the time :-)

The fourth festival was held June 21 and 22, 1997. Alas, I didn't make it that year... Oatlands Plantation is located 6 miles south of Leesburg, VA on US Route 15; 45 minutes from the Washington Beltway. Here are the directions for the main approaches:

• From Washington, D.C. and points South: take US Interstate 66 to VA Route 28 North towards Dulles Airport. Exit on US Route 50 West to US Route 15 at Gilbert's Corner. Turn right at the light towards Leesburg and drive 5 miles to Oatlands on right.
• From Maryland and points East: take I-495 (the beltway) to Rte. 7 to the Leesburg Bypass and US Route 15 South. (they're the same at this point). * Exit South on US Route 15 from the Bypass towards Warrenton and drive 6 miles to Oatlands on left.
• From Montgomery County: Take VA Route 28 West to Rte 107 (White's Ferry Rd.) to White's Ferry. The Fee for the ferry was $2.50 (may have gone up - this info is OLD!). Continue on White's Ferry Rd. to US 15 South. Turn left towards Leesburg. Stay on 15/7 (not Business 15). (*) Exit on 15 South towards Warrenton and drive 6 miles to Oatlands on left.
• From Charlottesville (hey, I live near there!), take US Route 29 North past Culpeper (where US 15 joins Route 29) and Warrenton. Turn left, keeping on US 15 where it branches away from Route 29. Oatlands is on the right about 17 miles further (if you hit Leesburg, turn around; you missed it!)

(*) We lose a lot of people at this intersection. Be very careful. If you stay on the Route 7 Bypass by mistake and you come to Route 9, STOP!!! Turn around and find the exit onto Route 15. This exit is about one and a half miles from the intersection of Route 7 with the Leesburg bypass.

There was a web page for Oatlands, last year, courtesy of the good people at Middleburg OnLine. They used to have the text of a Press Release for 1996 online, which had some details, including the fact that Andy M. Stewart, Gerry O'Beirne, and Johnny Cunningham were all there on Saturday. Wonder if Andy sang the one about that Terrible Parish :-) (you know, the one where they hangeth their minister...)

Back in 1995, I went on Sunday, got to sample some interesting food (Scottish Beef, Cornish Pastie, and Hardtack! The last was from some US Civil War Re-enactors from an Irish brigade). The Ceol was mighty as usual, though I could have stayed to hear a lot more. And I particularly enjoyed the España troupe.

Fun things (thingies?)

10 Disgusting Things Irish Traditional Flute Players Do (For the uninitiated, "crisps" are "chips" in North America). These are NOT my jokes!

The Bodhrán Thumpers Quarterly never really took hold :-(. Too bad. However, there's some bad jokes, and (seriously), an excellent Bodhrán web page (now at the Ceolas site) from Josh Mittleman.

How about some St. Patrick's Day Cards via the net? And they seem to be free too. I didn't see any catch and they don't ask for money or credit card numbers.

If you prefer something more irreverent, try out the Bring Back the Snakes Day! (for 1996 March 18th). This is for those who want to rebel against the traditional St. Patrick's day festivities. Sort of. A good site for Black Beer lovers...