The Irish culture is founded all over the world through music and song .

Like a musical jigsaw the Irish have sung pictures of a puzzle that span together centuries of suffering and hardship .

I would like to talk about the hungry years and tyhe famine as well as the virtues that have embedded themselves into the foundation stone of the Irish nation .

The Irish have strived under oppression and it is tribute to their faith and ability to accept the things they could not change .



Many Irish had to leave behind their loved ones with no hope of a return ticket .

Many innocent Irish where sent away as convicts .

As they left the land how hard it must have been for them and yet how easy it was for them to accept the cruel and harsh treatment ast the hands of their oppressors .

All those innocent Irish who had been condemmed to a life of slavery and struggle continued to remain strong in their faith even though their hardships were almost too hard to endure .

When during those black days in Irish history the coffin ships where leaving Ireland and hunger pains turned the young into weak and old in a matter of weeks .

The Irish were stronger than their oppressors knew .



When Irish convicts were transported to Australia and punished for a crime they never committed , the Irish were in fact the consience of something so strong that even their enemioes could not hide from .

The day had to arrive when truth had to win out .

Throught generations of emigration Irish exiles have put their troubled hands to good use . Laying down the foundations for their adopted homes like flagstones without cracks the Irish had been blessed with an inner strength and insight because of the suffering they had endured .

In their new lands they took up the challenge with a strong Celtic heart and never once did it miss a beat .

The Irish inpact across the world was stronger than anyone ever knew .

They instituted Sundays as a day for mass and a day for songs and stories that everyone could relate to .

I remember as a child listening after mass on a Sunday to the older folk sharing some of the legends with those gathered ina home or just at a meeting place .

Sharing a story or a song is something that Irish have done in every place they have made their home .

Memories are often like an image that they pass on to another generation . Its in their image we continue a culture .

I think culture and heritage is like a timeless song performed with the delicate precision of a heart surgeon . The Irish work with the heart and so many times they are kissed by God .

The Irish cast out their gifts in a vast sea of emotion stirring poetry , songs and stories a plenty .

It is the essence of the Irish that connects their grief and loss to the things near and dear to us .Without that connection we would walk silently with it all unnoticed .

Irish tears must be seen otherwise they are hidden behind the smile in a brave disguise .

The tracks of Irish tears are like the beautiful vocal arrangements etched into the deepest emotions of the songs they sing and the music they play .

The Irish have a rich history and if you listen to their songs you'll find connected to powerful and personal parts of this history . It connects you with them in song .

It is almost there with you like the Irish Rain .

It will make you want to dance and play a role with this culture .

It makes you feel welcome .

It welcomes you back home like a lost son or daughter who has been away for so many years .

As you discover Irish tears you'll find that essence of being in Exile .

It an extraordinary thing .

There are two kinds of people who live on the earth , thise whi are Irish and those who wanrt to be Irish .

There are songs sung around the world that call out tto be heard and for those serious musicians theres no feeling like the Irish feeling in the guts of the lyric and melody .

Irish music has been suffered for and thats why it has lasted for so long . Irish

Ireland has an open invitation for songwritersto become inspired .

Ireland has reminded the world to recharge its glass with the essesence of life and pours us a drop of friendship .

Ireland will toast your health of all those who love music and songs or to thiosm who write or play music and hardly ever become rich in the process .

Watching in wonder is the emptiness of an Irish stare gazing into your heart or beyond your wilderness wherever you may be either in exile or imprisoned .

Their is an Irish song that will speak to you in your hard part of life .

There is a genuine statement very revelant in a moment of truth .

What better hero is truth ?

Truth loves us better than we do ourselves .
I think the Irish out there have found that presence of truth in everything that they have done and with this comes suffering and that poses the question ,
who are they that try to keep us in our chains when we are born to roam this earth ?

Shame on those tyrants who have made a hell for the innocent Irish .

Talent doesn't just doesn't happen , it's worked for very hard .Its suffered for .

Long may the Irish continue to bring us their original material into the world .



THE END

By Paul McCann