Conference tallis::celt

    
>    My question is: Is that enough Irish ancestry to make me Irish?
    
Ernie, if you have Irish blood in your veins, and you get excited about green
beer and lepperkons and all that stuff...then you're Irish!

I myself have, as far as I know, highland Scottish, lowland Scottish, German, 
and "other".  But when I hear the bagpipes or see pix of the Highlands, I 
know that the highland Scottish blood far outweighs the others!  (No confirmed
Irish, though.)

Randy 8*)

    RE:IS IT ENOUGH.
    
    it is largly a state of mind. you feel it. scottish and probably
    irish peoples can pass clan rights etc. through the female as well
    as the male unlike most other peoples of the world, so technically,
    if you want to be irish (or scottish) then you have a better chance
    at it than some other race(?). for once i am having trouble saying
    what i mean, but trust it is not meant sarcastically or in humour.
    
    if you are , you feel it.
    
    bob (professori) ferguson (intensely scottish heritage)
    

    I agree.....
    
    My father was 100% Irish and my mother 100% French.  I was raised with
    a leaning toward the Irish.  I developed a very strong loyalty, and yes
    love of not only Irish, but Scottish too.  I agree with the statement
    'you feel it'.  An excitement grows within me when I hear bagpipes, see
    a highland dance, hear Irish music, especially the harp.  I went to
    Scotland on my honeymoon and was drawn to the Gaelic speaking Island
    of Skye....I don't understand a word of Gaelic!  I had a special thrill
    when we touched down in Ireland for a 1/2 hour layover.  I felt like I
    was going home, yet I had only seen Ireland in pictures.  'You feel it'
    sums it up.
    
    JoEllen (previously Fitzgerald whose ancestors are from County Kerry/
             County Cork border) and now Scotland....

    Very interesting this "you feel it" theory. When I was in college,
    I saw a film in history class that was a reenactment of the battle of 
    Culloden wherein the Scots lost to the English, who had a new weapon.
    (Unfortunately, my memory of the facts of this battle is too weak
    for me to chance saying more about the history here.) It was a
    particularly obscene battle because the English wiped out every
    Scottish man, woman, and child. The soundtrack was bagpipe music.
    At that time I had no particular interest in Celtic culture or
    music, but seeing that film had an effect on me that I couldn't
    understand. I cried for ages, and I really didn't know why. I was 
    an English major and I was very familiar with tragedy. It was as
    if I were standing there on the battlefield. I know the bagpipe
    music had something to do with it. And other students were not
    affected as I was, so it wasn't just that it was a good film.
    
    A few years later, a friend of mine of Scottish ancestry visited
    Scotland for the first time. He also had no particular interest
    in Celtic culture at the time. He told me that he had a strange
    feeling of being comfortable there that he couldn't explain.
    He also said that he had weird experiences of knowing what the
    scene would look like when he turned the corner, as if he had
    been there before. I don't believe in hocus-pocus stuff, but
    these two experiences puzzle me.
    
    Eileen
    

    
    RE: .4
    
    The English did not have a new weapon. The Scots had an idiot for
    a commander in the shape of Bonnie Prince Charlie, who instructed
    his troops to charge a line of English cannon, thus...
    
                : : : : :
                         ..     : and .. = English artilliery filled
                         ..                with grapeshot.
       Scots             ..
    ----------->         ..
                         ..
                         ..
                : : : : :
    
 
    The Highlanders were cut to pieces. Charlie's own cannon were out
    of range. BTW, the majority of the 'English' forces comprised of
    Lowland Scots.
    
    Don H.
       

    Ah yes. The "feeling" of being Irish.  I'm only a scant three-quarters
    Irish, but last St Patrick's Day I could feel the pride well up
    in me as I watched the parade in South Boston.  There I was with
    my chest all puffed out at the sight of an 8AM "Irish" partyer
    laying in his own vomit.  And just imagine my pride when a minor
    riot broke out among a group of "Irish" celebrators arguing over
    who made more money. 
    Now I know I'm speaking of Irish-AMERICANS but honest-to-god, 
    pride has its limits. :-)
    

    If you're going to confuse this issue of emotion with facts then
    i'm not going to play. i'll take my toys and go home.
    
    prof.

    An interesting way of looking at this business of being Irish...I
    am 100% Irish,as my father's parents came from Galway (by way of
    Liverpool) and my Mother's parents were from Newfoundland (on the
    route from Ireland to the States). The thing is that my parents
    couldn't care less about being Irish...they seemed to be more 
    American first then Anglophiles second...I discovered feeling
    Irish while in my early twenties along with my brother who is
    5 yrs younger...Now we are both into the music/culture and the
    general feeling of "being Irish".....along with my kids,who
    know they are Irish,where if you asked me before the age of twenty
    I would not have responded "Irish".....this led me,by the way,to
    name my youngest daughter Shannon...people told me it wasn't
    a real name,but I won out!!
    

    In the not so distant past being of Irish extraction outside of
    the obvious enclaves of New York,Boston,or Chicago,was a distinct
    disadvantage due to prejudice and discrimination among the rest
    of the community.Not so much today.
    My father remembers signs reading "No blacks or Irish need apply"
    when he first went to England 35 years ago.
    In contrast todays young educated Irish enjoy a good public image
    at least in Europe where immigration between member states is not
    a problem.I would guess that illegal Irish in U.S are not too keen
    to advertise their Irishness.........                   
    In summary,one can lead their own lifestyle/culture only if the
    background goodwill is there to allow it otherwise it is very difficult
    to do so.