Hi
everyone,
April
was a busy month for me. There has been a
bridal shower for my son's fiancee, Robin,
and a Jack and Jill wedding shower for both Robin
and Chris on May 1st. Now I have met just about
every one of Robin's friends and extended family.
I am making several of my Irish
appetizers for
their wedding shower and a shower cake using
the Irish
Lemon Carrot Cake with
my Best
Cream Frosting.
Although
Chris and Robin are not having an Irish wedding,
I have printed up some information about
Irish Wedding Customs,
Customs of the
Irish Matchmaker, and the
History of the
Irish Claddagh. They may find it interesting
to know that some of the wedding practices of
today
started in Celtic Ireland, such as handfasting,
the precursor of 'tying the knot' for example.
The
next holiday coming up this month is Mother's
Day, celebrated on May 9th in the USA. I believe
that Mother's Day in Ireland is celebrated on
the fourth Sunday in the Christian fasting month
of
Lent. The Irish Lemon Carrot Cake mentioned
above was made and decorated for Mother's Day
but we have several other beautiful cakes that
you
can make for your Mother's Day celebrations.
Memorial Day is another US holiday coming up at
the end of the month, traditionally on May 30th,
now observed on the last Monday in May. Formerly
known as Decoration Day, this holiday is held
in remembrance of American veterans of all wars
who have passed on, as well as civilians who
have also passed. The graves of all veterans
are decorated with American flags and families
place flowers or wreaths on the graves. Memorial
Day weekend is also the unofficial beginning
of the summer season, when people open their
cottages and summer homes on the many lakes and
ponds, and the townspeople open their swimming
pools and bring out their patio sets.
Ireland
also has a Memorial Day observance in May, on
the 17th. This will be the second anniversary
of the new Irish National Famine Memorial
Day.
Click
here for more details.
I
had an interesting submission from a lady looking
for her Irish roots and she asked
for assistance
in where to begin. She was looking for
the Carroll and Healy or O'Healy families.
I searched the 1901
Irish Census under the surname Carroll
in all the counties in Ireland. They were
scattered throughout
the country but there seemed to be more
in the Province of Connacht (Northwest). So,
when I searched
Connacht, I found a Carroll family in Sligo,
with a nephew living there named Healy.
I gave the lady
that information and, since she had no
idea of where to start, she might as well start
there.
It was an educated guess, so I hope I was
of some help to her.
I
also received a submission from Michael Molloy
from Addergoole, Co. Mayo. He had
read the article
I had written about the Titanic and Ireland
and brought to my attention a website
called Addergoole
Titanic Society.
It tells of the Addergoole Fourteen,
who boarded the Titanic at Queenstown, Co.
Cork. Eleven of
those Addergoole citizens perished in
the tragic sinking of the Titanic. It is believed
to be the
largest loss of life for any one parish
in Ireland. There are several stories
to read
about Addergoole's
connection to the Titanic. The Addergoole
Titanic Society erected a commemorative
plaque in St. Patrick's
Church to remember the Addergoole Fourteen
who left in 1912.
I
have received so many wonderful compliments about
the recipes on LittleShamrocks.com
and on our FaceBook
page. Last month I mentioned
that I was going to be preparing some maple
recipes for another
local web site, Ben's
Sugar Shack.
So far, I have made Irish
Maple-Apple Pork Chops, Maple
Baked Beans and a Pecan
and Maple-Cream Roll.
Until
next time, I wish all of you mothers out there
a very happy Mother's
Day.
See you in June!
Slainte,
Tyna
