William Butler Yates Poem for St. Patrick's Day

I came across a poem by William Butler Yeats that I thought was especially powerful and  I decided to make it into a poster.  I thought it turned out very nice.   If you like this poster and would like to order a copy, two, three or more right away, just send me an email at lmj.norris@gmail.com with your shipping information and number of copies--I'll send the poster(s) with a bill.  The poster is 14" X 12" digitally printed on thick stock and suitable for framing.  The cost of the poster is $12, plus tax if applicable.  I will pay the shipping charges.  I roll them up and send them in a thick tube--either first class or priority mail.

Saint Patrick's Day Quiz 2014

Here are questions a good Irish American should be able to answer. See if you have the right stuff for this St. Patrick's Day. To make it easy on you, these are true or false questions: (Answers are below)

1. ___Saint Patrick was kidnapped from Britain.
2. ___Saint Patrick's Breastplate is a coat of arms with a shamrock.
3. ___Trinity College is one of the oldest Catholic Universities in the world.
4. ___The Book of Kells is a beautifully decorated book of poetry.
5. ___Frank McCourt was born in Limerick.
6. ___The potato famine occurred in the late 1800s.
7. ___The Commitments is a famous movie about Irish Folk Music.
8. ___Saint Brigid was known for her generosity.
9. ___William Butler Yeats is a famous Irish Catholic poet.
10. ___Peat was burned to heat homes in Ireland.
11. ___Joseph Kennedy served as Ambassador to Ireland.
12. ___Jean Kennedy Smith served as Ambassador to Ireland.
13. ___The native tongue of Ireland is English.
14. ___The Hebrides are Irish islands.
15. ___There are no Mosques in Ireland.
16. ___The largest Christian Church in Northern Ireland is the Catholic Church.
17. ___Bing Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Actor for Going My Way.
18. ___St. Columba waged a battle that killed thousands over a literary dispute.
19. ___In A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift suggested that the poor Irish might sell their children as food for the rich.
20. ___An estimated 1 million Irish died from the potato famine and another 1 million emigrated.
21. ___"Let's match-make America" is a line from the movie, the MatchMaker --given by  Milo O'Shea. 
22. ___When David Kelly talked about a "vulgar business" in the MatchMaker, he was talking about the fee for his genealogy research.

Copyright 2014, Sporting Chance Press

Answers below:

1. T--Saint Patrick was kidnapped from Britain.
2. F--Saint Patrick's Breastplate is a coat of arms with a shamrock. It's a prayer.
3. F--Trinity College is one of the oldest Catholic Universities in the world. It was established by the English queen as a Protestant institution.
4. F--The Book of Kells is a beautifully decorated book of poetry. Reproduces the Gospels.
5. F--Frank McCourt was born in Limerick. McCourt was born in NY, but his Irish parents returned to their native land and McCourt grew up in Limerick. McCourt passed away in 2009.
6. F--The potato famine occurred in the late 1800s. It occurred from approximately 1845-1849.
7. F--The Commitments is a famous movie about Irish Folk Music. The movie is about soul music sung by an Irish band.
8. T--Saint Brigid was known for her generosity.
9. F--William Butler Yeats is a famous Irish Catholic poet. Yeats was a Protestant who became a Nationalist--loved by almost all Irish.
10. T--Peat was burned to heat homes in Ireland.
11. F--Joseph Kennedy served as Ambassador to Ireland. Ambassador to the UK, Roosevelt wanted him to take the less-sensitive Irish job at the time just before WWII, but he pushed for the UK job.
12. T--Jean Kennedy Smith served as Ambassador to Ireland.
13. F--The native tongue of Ireland is English. It is Irish or Irish Gaelic.
14. F--The Hebrides are Irish islands. Scotland.
15. F--There are no Mosques in Ireland.  There are at least 12 mosques or Islamic prayer centers in Ireland.
16. T--The largest Christian Church in Northern Ireland is the Catholic Church. True--there are more Protestants, but those are from different churches.
17. T--Bing Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Actor for Going My Way.
18. T--St. Columba waged a battle that killed thousands over a literary dispute. Columba copied a manuscript containing Psalms without permission of its owner Saint Finian. When Columba lost the legal battle for his copy, he put together an army to retaliate. The loss of life was horrific and it brought shame and remorse to Columba who was essentially exiled from Ireland. The Irish loss was the Scots gain -- Columba became a great missionary to Scotland and established great monasteries there.
19. T--In A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift suggested that the poor Irish might sell their children as food for the rich. He was being sarcastic, but seriously mocking some of the days thinkers.
20. T--An estimated 1 million Irish died from the potato famine and another 1 million emigrated. There are different estimates, but the losses were huge.
Copyright 2011 Sporting Chance Press,Inc.
 21. T--""Let's match-make America" is a line from the movie, the MatchMaker --given by  Milo O'Shea.  Milo O'Shea passed away in 2013.
22. T--When David Kelly talked about a "vulgar business" in the MatchMaker, he was talking about the fee for his genealogy research.  David Kelly passed away in 2012.

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St. Patrick's Day Approaches

We are a few weeks away from St. Patrick's Day and I thought I would make a quick yet another mention of the great Saint's prayer. I have posted portions of the prayer here before. One thing we know of course is that Saint Patrick lived a desperate life. He feared for his own life and those of his church for good reason. The Ireland of Saint Patrick was not a peaceful place. And when I think of Saint Patrick I don't think of the party-hardy modern aspects of his day, I think of a desperate man who prayed very hard. I will enjoy a Harp and having a traditional meal with my family, and listening to my daughter sing a nice Irish song that day, but the strongest connection I have with Saint Patrick is prayer. He may not have written it word for word as we know it, but what we have is certainly inspired by him in every way.

In the prayer, St. Patrick asks for more than help, he asks to be surrounded by Christ from all sides.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me.
Christ below me, Christ above me.
Christ at my right, Christ at my left.
Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height.

May God protect you and be with you always.

One version of Saint Patrick's Prayer/BreastplateLorica.

Saint Patrick's Day Quiz

Here are questions a good Irish American should be able to answer. See if you have the right stuff for this St. Patrick's Day. To make it easy on you, these are true or false questions:

1. ___Saint Patrick was kidnapped from Britain.
2. ___Saint Patrick's Breastplate is a coat of arms with a shamrock.
3. ___Trinity College is one of the oldest Catholic Universities in the world.
4. ___The Book of Kells is a beautifully decorated book of poetry.
5. ___Frank McCourt was born in Limerick.
6. ___The potato famine occurred in the late 1800s.
7. ___The Commitments is a famous movie about Irish Folk Music.
8. ___Saint Brigid was known for her generosity.
9. ___William Butler Yeats is a famous Irish Catholic poet.
10. ___Peat was burned to heat homes in Ireland.
11. ___Joseph Kennedy served as Ambassador to Ireland.
12. ___Jean Kennedy Smith served as Ambassador to Ireland.
13. ___The native tongue of Ireland is English.
14. ___The Hebrides are Irish islands.
15. ___There are no Mosques in Belfast.
16. ___The largest Christian Church in Northern Ireland is the Catholic Church.
17. ___Bing Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Actor for Going My Way.
18. ___St. Columba waged a battle that killed thousands over a literary dispute.
19. ___In A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift suggested that the poor Irish might sell their children as food for the rich.
20. ___An estimated 1 million Irish died from the potato famine and another 1 million emigrated.

Answers below:




1. T--Saint Patrick was kidnapped from Britain.
2. F--Saint Patrick's Breastplate is a coat of arms with a shamrock. It's a prayer.
3. F--Trinity College is one of the oldest Catholic Universities in the world. It was established by the English queen as a Protestant institution.
4. F--The Book of Kells is a beautifully decorated book of poetry. Reproduces the Gospels.
5. F--Frank McCourt was born in Limerick. McCourt was born in NY, but his Irish parents returned to their native land and McCourt grew up in Limerick.
6. F--The potato famine occurred in the late 1800s. 1845-1849.
7. F--The Commitments is a famous movie about Irish Folk Music. Movie is about soul music song by an Irish band.
8. T--Saint Brigid was known for her generosity.
9. F--William Butler Yeats is a famous Irish Catholic poet. Yeats was a Protestant who became a Nationalist--loved by almost all Irish.
10. T--Peat was burned to heat homes in Ireland.
11. F--Joseph Kennedy served as Ambassador to England. Ambassador to the UK, Roosevelt wanted him to take the less-sensitive Irish job at the time just before WWII.
12. T--Jean Kennedy Smith served as Ambassador to Ireland.
13. F--The native tongue of Ireland is English. Irish or Irish Gaelic.
14. F--The Hebrides are Irish islands. Scotland.
15. F--There are no Mosques in Belfast.
16. T--The largest Christian Church in Northern Ireland is the Catholic Church. True--there are more Protestants, but those are from different churches.
17. T--Bing Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Actor for Going My Way.
18. T--St. Columba waged a battle that killed thousands over a literary dispute. Columba copied a manuscript containing Psalms without permission of its owner Saint Finian. When Columba lost the legal battle for his copy, he put together an army to retaliate. The loss of life was horrific and it brought shame and remorse to Columba who was essentially exiled from Ireland. The Irish loss was the Scots gain -- Columba became a great missionary to Scotland and established great monasteries there.
19. T--In A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift suggested that the poor Irish might sell their children as food for the rich. He was being sarcastic, but seriously mocking some of the days thinkers.
20. T--An estimated 1 million Irish died from the potato famine and another 1 million emigrated. There are different estimates, but the losses were huge.
Copyright 2011 Sporting Chance Press,Inc.

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