Happy St. Patrick's Day 2009

Keep the Cease-Fire... Preserve the Peace

Mark Knopfler's Irish Boy. Theme music from the movie Cal




FOIS ANAMA

O 's tus a Chriosd a cheannaich an t-anam--
Ri linn dioladh na beatha,
Ri linn bruchdadh na falluis,
Ri linn iobar na creadha,
Ri linn dortadh na fala,
Ri linn cothrom na meidhe,
Ri linn sgathadh na h-anal,
Ri linn tabhar na breithe,
Biodh a shith air do theannal fein;
Iosa Criosda Mhic Moire mine,
Biodh a shith air do theannal fein,
O Ios! air do theannal fein.

Is bitheadh Micheal geal caomh,
Ard righ nan aingeal naomh,
An cinnseal an anama ghaoil,
Ga dhion dh'an Triu barra-chaon,
O! dh'an Triu barra-chaon.

SOUL PEACE

Since Thou Christ it was who didst buy the soul--
At the time of yielding the life,
At the time of pouring the sweat,
At the time of offering the clay,
At the time of shedding the blood,
At the time of balancing the beam,
At the time of severing the breath,
At the time of delivering the judgment,
Be its peace upon Thine own ingathering;
Jesus Christ Son of gentle Mary,
Be its peace upon Thine own ingathering,
O Jesus! upon Thine own ingathering.

And may Michael white kindly,
High king of the holy angels,
Take possession of the beloved soul,
And shield it home to the Three of surpassing love,
Oh! to the Three of surpassing love.


...and not to be sacriligious, but speaking of shedding blood, pouring sweat, severing breath, taking possession and ingathering (in a good way)...

As of today, it appears as if the Irish Rugby Team (made up of players from both the North and South), leading the standings with a 4-0 record, are poised to win the Six Nations Championship this year, and their first Grand Slam in 61 years.

All they have to do is get past defending Six Nations champion (and current Grand Slam title-holders) Wales this Saturday.

Ireland eked out a 14-13 victory over England at Croke Park on February 28th. Ronan O'Gara had an off-day from his usually stellar kicking, but England off-set that with a breakdown in team discipline.

Here's BBC Sport highlights with commentary.

Irish Coach Declan Kidney speaks of the upcoming showdown with Wales in Say it: the Grand Slam is on the table, downplaying expectations:

“There’s handier ones than having to go to Cardiff and beat Wales,” he said with deliberate understatement. “I’ll be accused of mind games, but they are Grand Slam champions, they’re playing at home, they’re playing for the championship, they’re playing for the Triple Crown and they rested most of their players this week. Anything else?”