Luck of the Irish

So, it's St. Patrick's Day, once a somber religious feast honoring one of the most venerated of Catholic saints, now an excuse for the pipe fitter's union to march through downtown Chicago and for frat boys to vomit on their shoes. In honor of the event, let's take two angled glances at the St. Patty's day conundrum.

First, consider this now-classic "SNL" bit, featuring John Belushi's enlightened musings on the "Luck of the Irish"

http://www.whysanity.net/monos/snl_belushi.html

Then, we return to William Butler Yeats, this time to his recounting of the events of Easter Rising of 1916

http://www.online-literature.com/yeats/779/

Much of the romanticism attached to Ireland stems from the almost endless supply of cruelty and misfortune the Irish have suffered, both at the hands of oppressors and through the disastrous choices that so many Irish have made in response to their circumstances. Like many Americans, my ancestors, bearing the surnames of Donovan and Murphy (among others), emerged from the coffin ships and found nurture in this new land, where their descendants have found better opportunities and better lives. They chose not to stand like MacDonagh and MacBride, Connolly and Pearse, but instead fled the darkness of the Emerald Isle. The irony is that they had to leave places like Wexford, Sligo, and Cork in order to experience the Luck of the Irish, understanding that Branch Rickey was right -- luck is the residue of design. On this St. Patrick's Day, I remain grateful for their sacrifices and the risks they took during their passage, so that I, their great-great-grandson, could enjoy a better life.