So I just wanted to say thank you to those who visited Irish KC yesterday, and indeed through the 2010 St Patrick’s Day season.

If being Irish in the Kansas City area is your thing, and you actually care about whatever that means, then there are some major events ocurring in the next 3 months you’ll be interested in and we’ll talk about them very soon.

I just need to get an exhibition of my Irish paintings, taking place in the west of Ireland, out of the way first. There are also many regular Irish events smaller in nature that continue week in week out.

If you don’t care about whatever being Irish means why not go ahead and colonize Belgian traditions and Star Trek conventions, and call them Irish. So long as you enjoy it, what else matters?

It looks like the 1st half were taken in the start area as mostly bands got ready to parade, and gradually the slideshow moves into Dublin’s Parnell Square and the parade proper.

With the parade photos not being on the grandeur of O’Connell Street or Dame Street, there’s a real intimacy in them. Indeed it makes the parade seem like a neighborhood one at times - which perhaps you can relate to - notwithstanding the 650,000 spectators mostly out of shot.

Family
1 Mike O’Connor
2 Reardon, Burke, Lillis, Soden, McGee
3 O’Rourke Sweeney

Business
1 Bob Hamilton Plumbing
2 Renaissance Festival
3 Sheehan’s Irish Imports

Organization
1 International House of Prayer
2 Mid Continent Public Library Book Cart Drill Team
3 Harp and Shamrock (The Bob Reeder Fan Club)

Schools
1 St. Therese Marching Leprechauns
2 Lee A Tolbert School
3 Redemptorist Parish

Bands
1 ACE Mighty Marching Pharaoh Band
2 F L Schlagle Marching Stallions
3 Central High School Band

Drill Teams
1 Kansas City Marching Falcons
2 Gateway Highsteppers Drill Team
3 Kansas City Marching Sizzler Foundation

Media
1 KFKF and the American Heart Association
2 KPRS Hot 103 JAMZ
3 KBEQ

Trades
1 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
2 District Council #3 Painters and Allied Trades Training Fund
3 Teamsters Joint Council #56

Chairman’s Choice
James B. Nutter and Company Balloon

Showmanship Award
O’Shaughnessy Family

Lifetime Achievement Awards
O’Riada Academy of Irish Dance
Willie Arthur Smith’s Marching Cobras
Kansas City St. Andrews Pipes and Drums

As announced by KCIrishParade.com

See some other 2010 St Patrick’s Day links

• A reminder that KU’s Spencer Research Library boasts one the largest collections of Irish literature outside of Ireland

• KCTV5 interviews parade co-chair Kevin Bundy in Browne’s

• The parade committee announced the 2010 KC St Patrick’s Day Parade Prize Winners

• Brookside & Snake Saturday Parades feature the Star’s Photo Gallery

• The Voice of Pete McCluskey features on the KC Star’s Video report of the parade (1:45mins)

• The 1st Irish triplets in the KC Area had their 6th own little neighborhood parade

• Why can’t a girl have 2 favourite colours? Learning Leslie enthuses about the colour green

• Downtown Lee’s Summit announced its 5th Emerald Isle Parade results

• The Kansas City Gaelic Athletic Club went to the parade

• Irish Oatmeal and Irish humidity gets an appreciation by The Star

• In a 2 minute video on Fox4, Ireland’s Ian Byrne lives the American Dream

• Jules gets understandably irritated at the Brookside parade, and gives us a whole bunch of facts about St Patrick (that to be honest some of us don’t accept)

• Original Kansas Citian Julie makes for the 1st time Irish soda bread in Nebraska

• How Did You Spend St Patrick’s Day? The Bonner Springs Chieftain tells a few very short stories

• Kansas Bob remembers singing “When Irish Eyes Were Smiling” in Elementary school

• Types of Irish beverages are described in a drinks rundown by Blake Hannon

• Not for the 1st time, the luck of the Irish is called into question as the sort of luck you might want

• Drunk-Monkey found it hard to get into party mode midweek

Usually on Amazon Drunken Lullabies retails for $9.99 while claiming it’s reduced from $15.98 so this $2.99 is a real bargain however you look at it.

Like the rest of my paintings in my current sale (March 2010) the painting of Howth is being launched at half-price and with free shipping worldwide.

It’s a case of first come first served. At this time 11 of the previous 15 paintings in this sale have sold.

There will be more paintings of Ireland in this sale but I can’t say when or how many as currently I’m very busy finishing other paintings for an exhibition in Galway at the end of the month.

7:00-11:00 Irish Breakfast, large heated tent - music by the now St Patrick’s Day’s tradition of “DogTree

11:00 The St. Patrick’s Day Parade starts just 1 block from Browne’s

11:30-4:00 Back at Brownes: Lunch specials, Irish Pints, Irish music by Kelly

Children
Plus, something for the little ones in Wee Irish Village: Moonwalks, face painting, balloons, vendors and Mr Stinky Feet.

Green Clothing
And if you want to wear something green for the big day? Browne’s have rather a lot for you to choose from in every style and every price range.

Location
Brownes’ Irish Market & Deli is located at 33rd & Pennsylvania in Kansas City, Missouri

Other Irish Events
See also Other St Patrick’s Day events in Kansas City

It’s worth stressing that while the day was re-branded in 1995 as the multi-day St Patrick’s Festival, the day as a celebration didn’t start then - St Patrick’s Day was a major deal long long before the 1990s. Neither now nor before 1995 did it ape American celebrations.

Yes the very first ever St Patrick’s Day parade was in America, but it was by people from Ireland, it being entirely natural for Irish people abroad to display their nationality when abroad. It’s what we do.

The St Patrick’s Days I grew up with were - and still are - a national holiday, and possibly the main sporting day of the year; its parades were bigger and far more interesting than those I witnessed in KC (America’s 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th biggest Paddy’s Day parade). That compares more than favourably to green clothing and alcohol.

Anyway St Patrick’s Day in Ireland is a big deal now, and it was a big deal before.

Patrick Was Late

Not downtown.

UPDATE: List of Parade Winners

Parking & Bus Info
The Parade committee website has information on parking & bus routes for the parade.

Times
It begins at 11am and as it’s shorter these days than it was a few years ago it should be over around 1pm-ish. I hope people stay to the end; I used to hate seeing people stream away from the parade while hundreds more paraders were still coming down the street.

Grand Marshall
Ireland’s Ian Byrne is the Grand Marshall. He performs in some band called The Elders

Special Guests
The FDNY are special guests with the New York firefighters being joined in the parade by members of KCFD.

Television
Live television coverage is on Fox 4 from Noon - 1pm.
There is also online streaming coverage from 11am - 1pm on Fox4KC.com

St Patrick’s Day Events
Other Irish Events in Kansas City

True, whether Ireland’s patron saint was from Wales, England or whatever you’re having yourself, he certainly wasn’t from Ireland.

But then Andrew was not from Scotland, George was not from England, Francis Xavier was not from Australia, James The Greater was not from Guatemala, Vincent de Paul was not from Madagascar, Thomas the apostle was not from Pakistan, and Clare was not from television.

And anyway, Patrick couldn’t be more qualified for an Irish passport if he worked for Mossad.

Because, despite all the changes, food in Ireland is different to food in America. Meals are different. Eating is different.

I know it didn’t have to be that way, but in general I found food in America poisonous.

Breakfasts were what other countries call desserts, portions were double the sizes you found in other countries, processed food dominated the grocery store shelves and home-cooking, and sugar was added to everything. I think it was even added to sugar.

And I ate it all.

Rather than buy fruit and vegetables, or food generally, I opted for chemicals. And frequently in all-you-can-eat restaurants.

And because in Ireland I was brought up to always clear my plate, all-you-can-eat restaurants provided a real moral problem. As did people’s houses where everyone always cooked enough for small countries.

The sedentary lifestyle didn’t help and within 6 months of living in the Land of Sugar and Salt I had increased my weight by almost 50%. I was literally a man and a half.

Eventually I reversed that trend. By taking control of my life and buying food that wasn’t junk. It sounds simple but ignoring all processed foods and conjuring up regular meals from what was left did not come naturally.

My favourite food website in Ireland is called Not Junk Food. Because it’s all about the simple cooking of fresh ingredients.

Today Not Junk Food shows you how to cook the best bacon & cabbage, the nearest meal we have in Ireland to a national dish - even if America still insists on the non-typical Irish dish of Corned Beef & Cabbage for its supposed traditional Irish food.

You’re looking at actual meals prepared and cooked in Ireland so if you want to see what people in Ireland are eating, don’t ask me - have a look at Not Junk Food.

More on Irish Food:
   • Turkeyed Out In Ireland
   • A Vegan Irish Recipe
   • Sausages in Ireland are NOT called Bangers
   • Chicken Sandwich Imperialism

Location/Parking
The IMCC is located in the lower level, west wing of Union Station, where you get 3 hours free parking.

Admission
Entrance to the Museum for St Patrick’s Day is free with some activities carrying a small fee or suggested donation.

St. Patrick’s Day, Wednesday March 17, 2010 at the Irish Center

Family Fair
The Family Fair runs all day, from 10am - 4pm, which means you can go before or after the parade - as well as during of course. There are refreshments available.

11 am - 1 pm - Shamrocker Irish Guitar game
1:30 pm - Reddest Hair contest
1:45 pm - Wee Little Parade through Union Station, led by piper Jody Watson

All-Day Activities for All:
   • Face painting
   • Irish balloon figures
   • Celtic art “stained glass”
   • Storytelling
   • Song leading
   • Plant a shamrock to take home
   • Green hair and nail painting
   • Scavenger hunt
   • Your name as Gaeilge (in Irish)
   • Genealogy lookups
   • Irish tourism and classic movies

Nelly Don “A Stitch in Time” program, by Terence O’Malley is on at 1:30 pm, in Union Station’s Town Hall. $2 is the suggested donation, with tea and scones (that I presume you receive rather than give for entry)

See the IMCC’s website for more information.

Other St Patrick’s Day & Irish Events in KC
I’ll post these events on the Kansas City Irish events calendar.

Specially recorded for The Irish Times with St. Patrick’s Day almost upon us, is “Ireland, Ireland!” by The Duckworth Lewis Method - who you may know as Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh.

So yes, it’s not a million miles away from the “My Lovely Horse” of Father Ted fame.

Called “Ireland, Ireland!”, I believe in the tradition of Filthy, Rich, & Catflap (successor series to The Young Ones) playing Trivial Pursuit and “Iceland comma Rejkjavik full-stop” that this new anthem should be called “Ireland Comma Ireland Exclamation Mark”.

Here are the lyrics - you can listen or download the song from The Irish Times

Ireland, Ireland!
By The Duckworth Lewis Method

Ireland, Ireland, damp sod of earth
lost on the surf of the North Atlantic.
Ireland, Ireland, mountains and mist,
Vodka and chips, it’s so romantic.

Joyce and Heaney, Beckett and Wilde,
Bill O’Herlihy, Dunphy and Giles,
Evans, Hewson, Mullen and Clayton,
Westlife and Jedward the pride of our nation!

Ireland, Ireland, once we were poor,
Then we were wealthy; now we are poor again.
Cows and horses, donkeys and sheep,
Munster and Leinster, Connacht and ******.

Chinese, Polish, Africans too,
Doing the jobs we don’t want to do.
An Irish stew, a nation of nations,
Working for peanuts in petrol stations.

Ireland, Ireland, you are the best
Place to the west of Wales and Scotland.
Sometimes it’s heaven, sometimes it’s hell,
But I’d rather be Irish than anything else.

Written by ‘Duckworth & Lewis’ c.2010

And from the article in the Irish Times by Elaine Edwards, here’s Thomas Walsh’s thoughts on how “Ireland, Ireland!” might fare:

We’re completely at the whim of The Irish Times and the nation. We’re not getting ahead of ourselves, but we’d like them to sing it before the Scottish game this weekend.

Sign up to become connected with Westport and enter to win 2 free passes to the Kansas City St. Paddy’s Day Parade VIP viewing area. Enjoy food, comfortable seating, and private port-a-potties.

Winners are chosen tomorrow morning, Tuesday March 16, 2010 and are asked to pick up their VIP Passes tomorrow afternoon.

Check Out the growing list of 2010 St Patrick’s Day Events in Kansas City