Happy Easter to all our readers and I hope you all get your Easter eggs like I do. When I was a little kid in Ireland, I looked forward so much to Easter as even though we did not have much money my Mam and Dad always came up with some way to get us our Easter eggs. Now think of this: I am from a family of TEN children and my father Tom worked for the CIE railway line and the take home wages were not very much, as you can imagine. Look I am not going to be preaching the poor mouth as everybody was exactly the same way, but we were happy. We had no TV, just a little radio with an antenna on it that we called rabbit ears, for heat we just had a coal fire with smoke all over the place… ha-ha, I have to laugh as what would people do today living like that?
Getting back to Easter, we all dressed in our Sunday best with our secondhand clothes before we headed to Mass, it was like a family outing. The Easter dinner was a mix of vegetables, ribs, cabbage and potatoes of course, whatever cheap meat my Mam could get as we were far from Ham and Steaks I might tell yea. Again, we never looked down as we did not know any better as it was just the way of life at the time. And again, a very happy one.
We lived in a little square called James Square with about 22 small houses. Of course everybody knew each other and again most had big families, so again no class distinction, ha ha. Why am I telling you all this, well it’s to tell you enjoy this beautiful holiday weekend of Easter and be thankful for everything. Be happy and look after your neighbors and friends. Happy Easter.
I am not forgetting the pandemic that has destroyed a lot of lives not just here in the USA and in Ireland but all over the world. That is only devastating and so sad. This is a good weekend to say a prayer for all the deceased and also for the people that are in hospital making recovery and that they beat this Coronavirus, once and for all.
I am told Manhattan is still quiet and most places are still closed, but I just heard that Tuttles on Second Avenue is open and with the big back garden with plenty of distancing you will have no bother and with the weather improving and Lent almost over, now is the time to pay them visit and tell them I told yea. I know there is a few others that are open and hopefully everyone can open and all get back to normal.
Something is happening at The Irish Repertory Theatre that I am sure will interest you. They are presenting a new show called the Yeats/Gonne: Echoes Over Time. A conversation with authors Kim Bendheim and Joseph Hassett, with host Rufus Collins and featuring readings by Obi Abili, Terry Donnelly, Colin McPhillamy, Ciarán O’Reilly, and Sarah Street, the production is directed by Rufus Collins and filmed by Rory Duffy. The show starts today, March 31st at 7pm EDT so don’t miss it. There are lots of super talent involved with this streaming of this show. In this one-night-only live online discussion about the lives and legacies of William Butler Yeats and Maud Gonne, biographers Joseph Hassett and Kim Bendheim will discuss their new books about Yeats and Gonne, respectively, with Irish Rep company member and Yeats scholar Rufus Collins. Pertinent poems by Yeats read by Obi Abili, Terry Donnelly, Colin McPhillamy, and Sarah Street will intertwine the discussion, along with presentations of photographs and artwork that have inspired and informed both books.
This event is free; donations of $10 per viewer are suggested for those who can afford to give. Check it out as this event will begin at 7pm EDT tonight, and will remain available afterward to watch on demand on YouTube! So there you go and not to be missed.
The Harp and Shamrock Society is alive in San Antonio, Texas. I promised a lovely lady who is a great supporter of The Irish Examiner USA newspaper, Joan Moody that I’d publicize what she sent me in my Out&About this week, so here we go.
The preservation of historic Irish homes in San Antonio has always been an important part of the Harp & Shamrock Society’s mission to keep Irish history and culture alive in San Antonio and south Texas. One of these historic Irish homes is the Sweeney-Tynan House (Sweeney-Tynan Dependency – see the photo on this page). This former family home, located downtown on the Hemisfair grounds, was built by James Sweeney in 1860. This lovely historic Irish house is now in need of repairs and restoration.
The Board of Directors of the Harp & Shamrock Society of Texas has voted to support the efforts of the Hemisfair Conservancy to restore the Sweeney-Tynan home by conducting a matching-funds drive. They will match dollar for dollar funds raised by their membership up to $1,000. You can contribute to the Sweeney-Tynan fund at https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=BURVY2MEXGHY8. Please specify “Sweeney-Tynan” in the notes to vendor section.
Alternatively you can mail a check, payable to the Harp & Shamrock Society of Texas, to: Harp & Shamrock Society of Texas, PO Box 15306, San Antonio, TX 78212. Please specify “Sweeney-Tynan” on the for/memo line. Donations will be accepted until May 31, 2021.
I hope to see you Out&About soon.