Dia Dhuit (Hello) everyone!

September has arrived and summer activities have slowed down. Labor Day weekend is upon us and the kids are all back in school. All of the summer residents have begun to button up their summer homes and the locals are getting ready for the leaves to fall. New England will still have quite a few tourists in the area up until Columbus Day weekend in October, then travelers will be waiting for the snowy season and skiing at our many mountain resorts.

I have just checked the Ireland events calendar for September. Wow!! There is something going on every day of the month somewhere in Ireland.

They include The Irish Tenors Tenth Anniversary Concert on each Sunday through October 10th; and The Wedding and Honeymoon Exhibition and Trade Show 2010 on Saturday and Sunday, September 4th and 5th. Both of these events will be held at the same venue, the Royal Dublin Society Concert Hall in Dublin. There are too many events to list, so here is the link to the September Irish events calendar so you can check it out if you are interested.

http://www.irishtourist.com/event_calendar/

September 29th is the day of the Michaelmas celebrations held all over Ireland. This event has been part of Irish culture since the sixth century and the day signifies two reasons for celebrating. It is the Christian Feast of SS. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, the Archangels, or the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels.

St. Michael Overwhelming the Demon, 1518 Giclee Print Buy at AllPosters.com

Michael was considered to be the greatest of all angels, honored for defeating Lucifer in the battle for the heavens in the Bible. The other celebration is for the end of the harvest season, near the Autumnal Equinox. A feast of roasted goose is the usual fare, along with all of the recently reaped vegetables and a Michaelmas pie made with apples and blackberries. I made one of these and it was really 'heavenly'!

Irish Michaelmas Pie

Michael was considered to be the greatest of all angels, honored for defeating Lucifer in the battle for the heavens in the Bible. The other celebration is for the end of the harvest season, near the Autumnal Equinox. A feast of roasted goose is the usual fare, along with all of the recently reaped vegetables and a Michaelmas pie made with apples and blackberries. Recently, my partner, Lou, made a video of New England area Irish music legends Patsy Whelan & Paul Kenny, who performed at a local restaurant. Click here to watch the video made one of these and it was really 'heavenly'!



Last month I told you about our new LittleShamrocks.com family member, Noeleen McCool, from Belfast. She has sent a photo with a short bio, and here it is.

News From the North by Noeleen McCool

Hello, my name is Noeleen McCool and I live in Belfast, Northern Ireland. My hobbies are baking, cooking, knitting, crochet, arts and crafts, and looking up my family history. The name McCool comes from Co. Tyrone, N. Ireland, and my husband's parents both came from Tyrone.

This is a photo of me with my two sisters, Dolores and Carmel, recently taken in Dublin. I am the one on the right wearing the green blouse.


I'm a full time Play Worker and work with children from 4 to 11 years. I occasionally work with adults with learning difficulties.

I have been married to Gerry for 35 years and have four grown children, two girls and two boys.

Rouchelle is the oldest. She is engaged to Paul and will be getting married on 23rd October this year. Colleen married Jonny in January 2009 and they are expecting their first baby on 17th October (our first grandchild). (Colleen is Matron of Honour at Rouchelle's wedding so watch this space).

Darragh is engaged to Briegeen and will be getting married in August 2012 and, last but not least, Caolan(the C is pronounced like a K), who still lives at home with us.

I am looking forward to bringing you news and features from Northern Ireland and hope you enjoy reading them.

Bye for now,
Noeleen

Thank you, Noeleen. We are looking forward to your first report.

I received a submission from someone in Galway who had won tickets to a party being held in Mohill, Co. Leitrim by Irish radio station I -102/104. He asked me where 'The Nightclub' was located and if I could recommend accommodation for the night. I rang Phil O'Brien, at The Travellers Rest B & B, because I was not aware of a night spot known as 'The Nightclub'. She told me that it was actually 'Club Rynn' located at Clarke's Rynn Valley Lodge on Main Street. That was my hunch but I wasn't sure about it. She also said that there were crowds of people coming to town and most accommodations were booked; so I sent an email to Galway and relayed the message. They had the same event last year and the town was buzzing with excitement, which was good for the town. Sounds like a good time ... wish I was there!


I was surprised to receive a submission from my cousin, Sharon Keniston, from Allentown, Pennsylvania. We haven't seen eachother in about twenty years. Her late mother, Gertrude Willett Keniston, was a younger sister of my father, Louis Willett. Sharon was doing some family research and came upon LittleShamrocks.com unexpectedly. It was good to hear from her and, hopefully, we will stay in touch a little better.

I hope that you all have a wonderful September, so until next time ...

Sláinte,
Tyna