God bless the Irish

 

One of the current best sellers of the hard cover non-fiction books being sold now is “Surrender”, by Bono – which I recently picked up at the library. It’s over 500 pages long, but it’s worth reading.

Bono was still in his teens when U2 was formed. Like many young bands, they had their struggles, compounded by the fact that Bono lost his mother when he was only 14. The band persisted, and today Bono’s net worth is $700 million, and he has “rubbed shoulders” with many of the most prominent people on the planet, in part because of his dedication to humanitarian clauses.

Born and raised in Dublin, he attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where in 1976 he began dating his future wife, Alison Stewart, as well as forming, with schoolmates, the band that became U2. Bono soon established himself as a passionate front man for the band through his expressive vocal style and grandiose gestures and songwriting. His lyrics frequently include social and political themes, and religious imagery inspired by his Christian beliefs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bono

During U2's early years, Bono's lyrics contributed to the group's rebellious and spiritual tone. As the band matured, his lyrics became inspired more by personal experiences shared with the other members. As a member of U2, Bono has received 22 Grammy Awards and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Aside from his music, Bono is an activist for social justice causes, both through U2 and as an individual. He is particularly active in campaigning for Africa, for which he co-founded DATA, EDUN, the ONE Campaign, and Product Red. In pursuit of these causes, he has participated in benefit concerts and lobbied politicians and heads of state for relief Bono has been honored for his philanthropic efforts.

 In 2005, Bono was named one of the Time Persons of the Year.

He was granted an honorary knighthood by Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 2007 for "his services to the music industry and for his humanitarian work", and was made a Commandeur of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) in 2013. Bono has also attracted criticism for bypassing African businesses in his activist efforts and for tax avoidance in his personal finances.

The book expands on the origin of 40 songs, and how they came to be. What I found most interesting to far is the chapter about “the troubles”, which is titled “Sunday, bloody Sunday”. The event was the killing of 26 peaceful Irish demonstrators by British forces on January 30, 1972. With help from president Bill Clinton, a peace agreement was finally signed in May of 1998. John Hume and David Trimble (leaders of the Ulster Unionist Party and the Social Democratic Labour Party, respectively) won the Nobel Peace Prize.

 Long before St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland in he 5^th century, Ireland has been inhabited by humans, most prominently the Druids. Nearly 1000 years before Stonehenge was built in southern England, the druids built a burial site in Northern Ireland called New Grange. You can see a picture of it in the link below:

https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2020/06/summer-solstice.html

 For many years, the Irish people struggled under British rule.

The Irish Potato Famine, also known as the Great Hunger, began in 1845 when a mold known as Phytophthora infestans (or P. infestans) caused a destructive plant disease that spread rapidly throughout Ireland. The infestation ruined up to one-half of the potato crop that year, and about three-quarters of the crop over the next seven years. Because the tenant farmers of Ireland—then ruled as a colony of Great Britain—relied heavily on the potato as a source of food, the infestation had a catastrophic impact on Ireland and its population. Before it ended in 1852, the Potato Famine resulted in the death of roughly one million Irish from starvation and related causes, with at least another million forced to leave their homeland as refugees.

With the ratification of the Act for the Union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801, Ireland was effectively governed as a colony of Great Britain (until the Irish War of Independence ended in 1921). Together, the combined nations were known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Roughly 30 years after the potato famine ended, Ireland was stuck again by a deadly plague, which led to the deaths of most of the siblings of my maternal grandfather Martin Stenson, who was born in 1882.

Eventually, the Irish people revolted against British rule,

On Easter Sunday of 1916, Irish loyalists staged an armed insurrection. Ultimately, the British Army put down the rebellion, which cost 485 lives. Although unsuccessful, the rebels persisted, and the Irish Free State finally came into being in December of 1922, 4 months after the death of Michael Collins, who was a prominent figure in the opposition forces.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Rising

The potato famine forced thousands of Irish people to leave their homeland. The very first person to go through Ellis Island was a 17-year-old Irish girl named Anne Moore, who had sailed from Southern Ireland with her two younger brothers.

From its opening in 1892 until its closure in 1954, 12 million people passed through Ellis Island. According to History, immigrants arriving in the northeastern U.S. grew to include Italians and Jews. The driving forces of this new wave of immigration were poverty in Italy and oppressions of Jews throughout eastern Europe and Russia. Other migrants were Slavs from present-day Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland. Even Turkish and Syrian migrants were heading west.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/who-was-the-first-person-to-immigrate-through-ellis-island/ar-AAVPNAq

Although many of the people of Irish descent now live in the majority of the states of the United States, most are on the East Coast. Although most people would assume that Boston is the most popular place for folks of Irish descent, the “most Irish city” is Ocean City, New Jersey. The state that has the highest percentage of Irish descendants is New Hampshire, not Massachusetts, but  Massachusetts IS  a close second, with 20% of the population being of Irish descent.

https://www.zippia.com/advice/most-irish-states-cities/

In 1971, my parents celebrated their 25^th wedding anniversary by traveling to County Sligo, the birthplace of Martin Stenson. Although Sharon and I did not make if to Ireland in 1997, the year of our 25^th anniversary, my sister and I and our kids made it there in 1999 after we inherited some money from my mother’s estate.

We stayed in a variety of bad and breakfast homes, and even managed to spend one amazing night in an Irish castle. We all had pints at the Guinness brewery, and we all kissed the Blarney stone. The girls all had a chance to ride some Irish horses, which was likely their favorite part of the trip.

Having spent a year in China, and living with a population in Tucson that is largely Hispanic, I’ve grown to truly appreciate people of different backgrounds, but my favorite ethnic group is the one where I have the strongest roots.

God bless the Irish.