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		IN THIS ISSUE
~~~ Foreword
~~~ News Snaps from Ireland 
~~~ New free resources at the site
~~~ Dubliner scoops the Irish Draw
~~~ Irish Halloween Traditions
~~~ 'I'm grand. I'm grand.' by John J.O'Callaghan
~~~ In Dublin's Fair City   by John J.O'Callaghan
~~~ Gaelic phrases of the month
~~~ Monthly free competition result

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FOREWORD
~~~~~~~~

Halloween is again upon us and the bonfires are 
being assembled. Watch out for those fireworks! 
Many thanks to our readers for again submitting 
great articles and poems. Why don't YOU try your 
hand at an article or story about Ireland!

Until the next time,

Michael

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

PLEASE - send this newsletter on to your friends 
or relatives who you think are interested in 
Ireland. By doing this you are helping to keep 
us 'free'.

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YOU CAN HELP TO KEEP THIS FREE NEWSLETTER ALIVE!

Visit https://www.irishnation.com

where you can get great Irish gifts, prints, 
claddagh jewellery, engraved glassware and 
much more.

Timothy Meade got some family crest watches as 
gifts for his wedding groomsmen:

 Michael,

 The watches are amazing.  They arrived at just the 
 right time.  I really appreciate that you didn't 
 bill me for the extra shipping. It warms the 
 cockles of me heart.

 Thanks for making my wedding day just that much 
 more beautiful.

 Tim

See here for family crest gifts:
Visit https://www.irishnation.com/familycrestgifts.htm

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NEWS SNAPS FROM IRELAND
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ELECTIONS TO BE HELD IN NORTHERN IRELAND

November 26th is the date set for elections to the 
Northern Ireland Assembly but it is still unclear 
if any new power-sharing executive can be formed 
after the election. The IRA recently carried out 
a major act of decommissioning (destruction of 
weapons) but the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), 
headed by David Trimble, are dissatisfied with the 
secrecy surrounding this latest decommissioning act 
and want to know the exact numbers of weapons and 
explosives that were destroyed.

NEW LAWS TO MAKE PARENTS LIABLE FOR CHILD VANDALISM

New laws are being introduced which will make the 
parents of children who commit acts of vandalism 
or other crime liable to pay compensation to 
victims. Gangs of youths who repeatedly cause 
damage to property will not only risk jail but 
will also financially implicate their parents.

IRISH PEACEKEEPERS MAY USE TANKS

The Irish peacekeeping force which is part of the 
UN mission to Liberia may employ tanks in their 
peace-keeping efforts. An advance team is 
visiting Liberia to determine the equipment 
required for the mission. Up to 430 Irish soldiers 
may be deployed in the troubled African country.

I.D. CARDS MAY BE COMPULSORY IN IRELAND

A leaked report in Britain has indicated that the 
British government is considering the introduction 
of compulsory identification cards there. With over 
one million Irish citizens currently resident in 
Britain the Tony Blair led government has indicated 
that any scheme would be unworkable unless Ireland 
introduces a similar scheme. 

Supporters of compulsory identification cards 
maintain that the apparent loss of civil liberty 
caused by the compulsory nature of the scheme is 
more than offset by the value to the national 
security interest in preventing terrorist and 
crime threats as well as making refugee control 
easier.

Of the 15 members of the European Union 11 already 
have compulsory identification card schemes.
 
HOUSE PRICE INCREASE SLOWS

Irish houses prices increased by 0.5% during 
October. This represents a slowing down of the 
rate of increase. The rate of increase is now 
approximately 11% annually. The cost of a 
second-hand home in Dublin is now EURO 370,000 
(approx US$400,000).

NO U-TURN ON PUB SMOKING BAN

The Minister for Health has indicated that there 
is to be no watering down of the new laws which 
will see the introduction of a total ban on 
smoking in pubs, restaurants and the workplace.

Despite a concerted campaign of opposition by 
hoteliers and publicans the Minister has repeated 
that premises that flout the new law are liable to 
have their licences revoked. The new laws will 
come into force on January 26th.

IRISH CRASH OUT OF EUROPEAN SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Irish soccer team crashed out of the European 
championships and will not be travelling to 
Portugal for the finals next Summer. Brian Kerr's 
team were beaten 2-0 in Basel by a well organised 
Switzerland side. Switzerland topped the group 
with Russia finishing runners-up. Russia 
subsequently drew Wales in the 'play-offs' to 
reach the finals.

Voice your opinion on these news issues here:

 https://www.ireland-information.com/cgi-bin/newsletterboardindex.cgi

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NEW FREE RESOURCES AT THE SITE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NEW COATS OF ARMS ADDED TO THE GALLERY:

The following 9 coats of arms images and family
history details have been added to the Gallery:

C: Carigan
D: Dale, Drew
G: McGinley
H: Hanratty
K: Keenan
L: Larkin, Lavin
S: Stroud

View the Gallery here:

 http://www.irishsurnames.com/coatsofarms/gm.htm

We now have over 100,000 worldwide names available.
Get the Coat of Arms Print, Claddagh Ring,
Screensaver, Watch, T-Shirt Transfer or Clock for
your name at:

 https://www.irishnation.com/familycrestgifts.htm

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YOU CAN HELP TO KEEP THIS FREE NEWSLETTER ALIVE!

Visit https://www.irishnation.com

where you can get great Irish gifts, prints, 
claddagh jewellery, engraved glassware and 
much more.

Anne MacDonald ordered a family crest plaque:

 Hello, Michael,

 Received my plaque, carefully wrapped, 
 in good order.  It is splendid!  I am 
 thrilled, and I know that my dad, for whose 
 81st birthday this was ordered, will love 
 it.  I would like to order another one! 

 Everyone who has seen the plaque has been 
 really impressed, even those who, as my 
 daughter says are 'not into ancestor 
 worship!'

 Again, my hearty thanks for this 
 first-class product.

 Best wishes for happy holiday season.

 Sincerely, Anne MacDonald

View family crest plaques here:
https://www.irishnation.com/familycrestplaques.htm

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IRISH HALLOWEEN TRADITIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Celts celebrated Halloween as Samhain, 'All 
Hallowtide' - the 'Feast of the Dead', when the 
dead revisited the mortal world. The celebration 
marked the end of Summer and the start of the 
Winter months. 

During the eighth century the Catholic Church 
designated the first day of November as 'All 
Saints Day' ('All Hallows') - a day of 
commemoration for those Saints that did not have
a specific day of remembrance. The night before 
was known as 'All Hallows Eve' which, over time, 
became known as Halloween.

Here are the most notable Irish Halloween 
Traditions:

Colcannon for Dinner: Boiled Potato, Curly Kale 
(a cabbage) and raw Onions are provided as the 
traditional Irish Halloween dinner. Clean coins 
are wrapped in baking paper and placed in the 
potato for children to find and keep.

The Barnbrack Cake: The traditional Halloween 
cake in Ireland is the barnbrack which is a 
fruit bread. Each member of the family gets a 
slice. Great interest is taken in the outcome as 
there is a piece of rag, a coin and a ring in
each cake. If you get the rag then your financial 
future is doubtful. If you get the coin then you 
can look forward to a prosperous year. Getting 
the ring is a sure sign of impending romance 
or continued happiness.

The Ivy Leaf: Each member of the family places a 
perfect ivy leaf into a cup of water and it is 
then left undisturbed overnight. If, in the 
morning, a leaf is still perfect and has not 
developed any spots then the person who placed the
leaf in the cup can be sure of 12 months health 
until the following Halloween. If not.....

The Pumpkin: Carving Pumpkins dates back to the 
eighteenth century and to an Irish blacksmith 
named Jack who colluded with the Devil and was 
denied entry to Heaven. He was condemned to 
wander the earth but asked the Devil for some
light. He was given a burning coal ember which he 
placed inside a turnip that he had gouged out.

Thus, the tradition of Jack O'Lanterns was born 
- the bearer being the wandering blacksmith - a 
damned soul. Villagers in Ireland hoped that the 
lantern in their window would keep the wanderer 
away. When the Irish emigrated in their millions 
to America there was not a great supply of turnips 
so pumpkins were used instead.

Halloween Costumes: On Halloween night children 
would dress up in scary costumes and go house to 
house. 'Help the Halloween Party' and 'Trick or 
Treat' were the cries to be heard at each door. 
This tradition of wearing costumes also dates back 
to Celtic times. On the special night when the
living and the dead were at their closest the 
Celtic Druids would dress up in elaborate costumes 
to disguise themselves as spirits and devils in 
case they encountered other devils and spirits 
during the night. By disguising they hoped that
they would be able to avoid being carried away at 
the end of the night. This explains why witches, 
goblins and ghosts remain the most popular 
choices for the costumes.

Snap Apple: After the visits to the neighbours the 
Halloween games begin, the most popular of which 
is Snap Apple. An apple is suspended from a string 
and children are blindfolded. The first child to 
get a decent bite of the apple gets to keep their 
prize. The same game can be played by placing 
apples in a basin of water and trying to get a
grip on the apple without too much mess!

The Bonfire: The Halloween bonfire is a tradition 
to encourage dreams of who your future husband or 
wife is going to be. The idea was to drop a 
cutting of your hair into the burning embers and 
then dream of you future loved one. Halloween was 
one of the Celt 'fire' celebrations. 

Blind Date: Blindfolded local girls would go out 
into the fields and pull up the first cabbage they 
could find. If their cabbage had a substantial 
amount of earth attached to the roots then their 
future loved one would have money. Eating the 
cabbage would reveal the nature of their future
husband - bitter or sweet!
 
Another way of finding your future spouse is to 
peel an apple in one go. If done successfully the 
single apple peel could be dropped on the floor 
to reveal the initials of the future-intended. 

Anti-Fairy Measures: Fairies and goblins try to 
collect as many souls as they can at Halloween but 
if they met a person who threw the dust from under 
their feet at the Fairy then they would be obliged 
to release any souls that they held captive.

Holy water was sometimes anointed on farm animals 
to keep them safe during the night. If the animals 
were showing signs of ill health on All Hallows 
Eve then they would be spat on to try to ward off 
any evil spirits.

Happy Halloween from Ireland!

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TO KEEP THIS NEWSLETTER FREE:

Visit https://www.irishnation.com

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'I'M GRAND. I'M GRAND.'     by John J.O'Callaghan

Years ago, when I owned a small farm in Ireland, 
I was taking one of my cows to the Limerick Meat
Market when me and the cow were hit by a truck
and tossed three feet up in the air and into a 
deep ditch by the side of the road.

When I recovered I sued the truck driver. However, 
the truck driver employed a hotshot lawyer who 
gave me a very hard time in court.

'But, Mr.O'Callaghan', the lawyer said, 'The 
Patrol Officer's statement clearly says that when 
he asked you how you were at the time of the 
accident, you said, 'I'm grand. I'm grand.' 'You 
surely can't deny that, now, can you?' 

'Well, it was like this you see,' I responded, 
'I had decided to take my brown and white speckled 
cow to the market. I was walking down the Limerick 
road in broad daylight, under a clear blue sky 
when...'

'I didn't ask you for all the details,' the lawyer 
interrupted. 'Just answer my question. Did you or 
did you not say to the police officer at the scene 
of the accident, 'I'm grand.'?'

'Well, as I was trying to tell you,' I said, 
'I was taking my brown and white speckled cow to 
the market, and minding my own business, when all 
of a sudden...'

The lawyer interrupted again and said 'Judge, I am 
only trying to establish the fact that, the 
plaintiff told the Highway Patrolman he was 
feeling grand. Now several weeks later he claims he 
was badly injured in the accident. Your honor, I 
suggest this is a fraudulent attempt to extract 
unwarranted damages from my client. Since the 
plaintiff can't deny that he said what he said, I 
ask the court to dismiss the personal damages 
claim.'

'I'd like to hear the full text of what 
Mr.O'Callaghan has to say,' the judge said.

'Thank you, your honor,' I replied. 'As I was 
saying, I was walking down the Limerick road in 
broad daylight and as sober as a judge, when Mick 
Murphy's truck came around the corner and drove 
right into me and my cow. Both of us were tossed
upside down into the ditch. My neck, my leg and 
my arm were hurting real bad and I was afraid to 
move.

'But poor Molly was worse than me. In fact, she 
was moaning and groaning worse than a wild 
banshee. I must have blacked out from the pain 
because when I awoke I saw the Patrol Officer
take one look at Molly, pull out his gun and shoot 
her in the head!

'Then he looked down at me. The smoking gun was 
still in his hand. I thought he had a strange look 
in his eyes as he said, 'Are you hurt very bad, 
son?'.'

'Now, what would you say?'

Copyright John J.O'Calaghan, 2003. 
johnoc29@aol.com

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You can help to keep this FREE newsletter alive!

Visit https://www.irishnation.com

where you can get great Irish gifts, prints, 
claddagh jewellery, engraved glassware and 
much more.

Claire Latevola ordered an engraved ring:

 Dear Michael,

 I did want to let you know the watch I ordered 
 for my Sister's birthday, with the Nugent crest,
 was lovely.  

 She received it in short order and was delighted.  
 I recently saw it and was very happy with it.  
 Sometimes you feel you are taking a chance placing 
 such an order, but I would not hesitate to place an 
 order again thru your system.

 Again, thank you.

 Claire Latevola

Get your Family Crest ring here:
 https://www.irishnation.com/familycrestrings.htm

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IN DUBLIN'S FAIR CITY       by John J.O'Callaghan

Dublin, and indeed all of Ireland, is a delight. 
Although the Luxury 5-Star hotels are more 
expensive compared to similar hotels in the US 
or Canada! However, since many private houses in 
Ireland do bed and breakfast, that might be the 
way to go? 

What to do or see in Dublin? The most important 
thing is do is to take things easy, and simply 
soak up and experience the unique 'Irishness' 
of it all. 

Enjoy a walk around the beautiful St. Stephen's 
Green - off the fashionable, all pedestrian 
Grafton Street shopping Mecca. Follow the smell 
of the roast coffee aroma coming from Bewley's 
Tea Rooms on Grafton Street - and enjoy your 
'elevenses' break with tea or coffee and a 
toasted teacake or buttered scone. 

Meander down Molesworth Street - almost just 
across the road - and look for second-hand gold 
jewelry bargains. Try haggling over the price 
since most of the small jewelry shop owners are 
good-natured 'horse traders' and 'wheeler-dealers' 
at heart.

Enjoy a cafeteria-style lunch in fashionable 
Brown Thomas Grafton Street store, or, in the 
classy Kilkenny Design Center, that's just 
around the corner on Nassau Street. As an 
alternative, you might want to go into one of 
the quaint little side-street pubs off Grafton 
Street, and order a drink with perhaps some 
brown soda bread and butter along with and a 
plate of smoked Irish salmon or Limerick ham? 

Cross over the Liffey River at O'Connell Street 
Bridge. Buy postage stamps at the GPO near Henry 
Street. Look at the bullet scarred outside walls 
as you leave - a reminder of the Easter Rising 
shoot-out in 1916. Stroll down the all-pedestrian 
Henry Street and listen to the cries of the 
women street traders as they proclaim that their 
apples, bananas and pears are the best and 
cheapest in Ireland! 

Consider splurging on afternoon tea and biscuits 
in the Shelbourne, a 5-star luxury hotel on St. 
Stephen's Green. Take a walk along the Keys at 
either side of the Liffey. Visit one of the many 
antique furniture shops along the way. Look for 
bargains in fine art or a small piece of elegant 
Georgian furniture that can be shipped back home?

At night, go to a singing pub, like the famous 
one out at Howth. Slowly sip a frothy pint of 
Guinness along with rest of the jolly crowd, 
while listening to haunting melodies like, 'She 
Moved Through The Fair', and sad old rebel songs 
like 'Kevin Barry'. See a play at the famous 
Abbey Theater. Enjoy dinner and a great show at 
Jury's Hotel in Ballsbridge. And, and, and...

There is such a lot to see and do. Ireland kinda 
grows on you, and, you can soon become even more 
Irish than the Irish!
     
Would you want to visit or live in Dublin? 

Yes, if you are not in a hurry, or, you think it's 
time you slowed down, and enjoyed life and living 
in one of the world's loveliest and friendliest 
cities? Yes, if you are the kind of person who 
would enjoy meeting and swapping stories with a 
bunch of characters that are larger than life? 
Yes, if you are an established artist or writer 
because of the tax-free income privileges afforded 
to writers and artists living in Ireland!

Copyright John J.O'Calaghan, 2003. 
johnoc29@aol.com

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GAELIC PHRASES OF THE MONTH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PHRASE:		Is maith an scathan suil charad 
PRONOUNCED:	iss mott on scot/onn suill karrad
MEANING: 		A friend's eye is a good mirror

PHRASE:		Ni dhiolann dearmad fiacha.
PRONOUNCED:	knee djull/onn djar/madd fee/ack/ha
MEANING: 		A debt is still unpaid, even if forgotten

PHRASE: 		Is minic a bhris beal duine a shron.
PRONOUNCED:	iss min/ick a vrish bale dinn/ih a hrone
MEANING:		Many a time a man's mouth broke his nose

View the archive of phrases here:

 https://www.ireland-information.com/irishphrases.htm

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OCTOBER COMPETITION RESULT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The winner was: cplunkett@utmem.edu
who will receive the following: 

A Single Family Crest Print (decorative) 
(US$19.99 value)

Send us an email to claim your prize, and well 
done! Remember that all subscribers to this 
newsletter are automatically entered into the 
competition every time. 

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HOUSE FOR SALE - BARGAIN

Mullingar, 5 mins from Mullingar Hospital, 5 mins 
from town centre, 60 minutes from Dublin City 
Centre. 3 bed semi-detached house in modern 
housing estate. Great condition. Perfect for 
renting. Rents in this area achieve up to 
EURO 700 per month. Asking Price: EURO 160,000

Contact house@mysecureform.com

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YOU CAN HELP TO KEEP THIS FREE NEWSLETTER ALIVE!

Visit https://www.irishnation.com

where you can get great Irish gifts, prints, 
claddagh jewellery, engraved glassware and 
much more.

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I hope that you have enjoyed this issue.

Until next time,

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Michael Green,
Editor,
The Information about Ireland Site.

https://www.ireland-information.com
Click here to contact us