St. Patrick's Day

Nothing says the Emerald Isle to me like The Chieftans, even performing a Bob Marley song with Bob's son, Ziggy. Of course, the Irish were long an oppressed and repressed people. So, happy St. Patrick's Day!

Patrick is truly a trans-Celtic figure. While the exact place of his birth is a matter of dispute, the consensus is that he was born and hailed from an area of southeastern "Scotland known as Strathclyde, a former Celtic kingdom and Welsh-speaking at the time" (Wales on Britannia). It is also important, in of light my song choice, to note that St. Patrick, prior to returning as a missionary, had been captured and taken as a slave to Ireland.

The mix of The Chieftans and Ziggy Marley also seems like a nice way to bid the Holy Father a happy Apostolic journey to the continent of Africa, on which he embarks this very day. St. Patrick pray for us, especially for the success of Pope Benedict's apostolic journey to Africa!

The IC has humorous take on the history of Irish oppression- in the words of Bill Murray from Stripes: "lighten up Francis".