Finding the Emerald Isle in America....

Out of Ireland have we come, great hatred, little room, maimed us at the start. I carry from my mother's womb a fanatic heart.

William Butler Yeats

If you're Irish, it doesn't matter where you go - you'll find family.

Victoria Smurfit

Yesterday morning I was sitting in the sauna of this fancy American hotel enjoying the hot-tub when I discover that the man sharing the relaxation of the spa with me was from Dublin. Matt's been in Chicago for 21 years and still has his Dublin accent. After five minutes of two Irishmen talking together for the first time, a very nice man from the hotel came in and asked us if we could be a little quieter! 

We shared our stories and discovered we had both left school at 15 and after some "city living" (London & Munich) we ended up in America. By the end of the conversation Matt had offered to treat us to a dinner at one of his restaurants and offered to hang out if we ever came back to Chicago.  

Yeats had a way with the words and his insights into the Irish have always found a receptive home in this Irishman's head. The passion of our race has too often been consumed in the maelstrom of generational mayhem, but when it is freed from the shackles of violence and poverty it can be harnessed to a passion that produces something out of nothing and then takes that something and generously shares it. 

The fanatic's heart in the Irish that causes us to fight so bloodily is also a source for our great generosity once we are freed to stop fighting.

I love my cultural heritage....  We have a fanatical heart for hospitality....