the Emerald Isle and Irish Blessings

Dun Dealgan, Ireland

"There are only two kinds of people 

in the world -

the Irish

and those who wish they were!"

courtesy Dover publications

see right for website link

courtesy Dover publications

Adare Manor, county Limerick, Ireland

If you're lucky enough to be Irish,

then you're lucky enough!

www.vintageholidaycrafts.com

Cathair Dhuin Iascaigh Fortress of Dun Abounding in Fish, Ireland

12th century

Celtic knot maze

above Coumeenoole Bay, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland

photo cred: Gareth McCormack

"Age is honorable

and

Youth is noble."

- Irish proverb

                                          

www.sweetlyscrapped.com

www.bakerswife.etsy.com

Dysert O'Dea Castle, County Clare, Ireland

"We have always found the Irish

a bit odd.

They refuse to be English!"

- Winston Churchill

vintage song sheet cover graphics

courtesy Indiana Music Libraries, website link to the right

c. 1869

Ireland

www.countryheritagetours.com

Celtic knot, courtesy Dover books

www.vintageholidaycrafts.com

"May you have warm words -

on a cold evening,

a full moon -

on a dark night,

and  a road downhill -

all the way to your door."

- Irish blessing

Ireland

www.pictify.com

beaded amulet purse pattern

source unknown

Colleen Moore, USA movie actress

Motion Picture magazine cover art

store.mapsofworld.com

"If one could only teach 

the English how to talk,

and 

the Irish how to listen,

society here would be quite civilized."

- Oscar Wilde

Ireland

travel.nationalgeographic.com

vintage song sheet cover graphics

courtesy Indiana music libraries, website link to the right

courtesy Dover publications, web link to the right

"Let me glance at dear old Ireland again"

Collage Paper Painting by inkspired

using all recycled junk mail

www.collagepaperpainting.etsy.com

c.1911

courtesy Indiana music libraries, website link to the right

The flag of Ireland

use this pattern for a safety pin flag pin

or

a bead pattern!

Ireland, July 13, 2010

www.therevandadog.blogspot.com

A world of wishes at your command,

God and His angels close at hand,

Friends and family, their love impart,

And Irish blessings in your heart!

- Irish blessing

vintage clip

www.antoniopacelli.com

'til next time -

inkspired

www.inkspired.etsy.com

www.collagepaperpainting.etsy.com

www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com

and on pinterest:  K.Kloberdans

vintage Valentine Song Sheets

publication date 1917

Happy Valentine's Day

vintage Song Sheet graphics

to make your own Valentines -

c.1922

c.1921

c.1899

c.1921

c.1921

c.1921

c.1920

c.1922

c.1905

c.1920

c.1917

c. 18--

c.1922

c.1921

c.1923

c.1923

Have fun!

inkspired

www.inkspired.etsy.com

www.collagepaperpainting.etsy.com

www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com

and on pinterest:  kkloberdans

Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves

peace to you

c. 1914

courtesy Indiana Music Libraries, site address to the right

I searched, but could not find a way to say

'peace'

in any Romany language.

So, we will have to do with English today!

gypsy caravan paper cutting by Helen Musselwhite

Who doesn't know Cher's famous rendition of

'Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves'?

Here is a recording of Cher, with some great footage of gypsies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_Dec9Tu3BU

vintage gypsy woman with guitar

I first started researching the Romany people for two reasons:

1. I love their gypsy wagons!

2. I could not believe it when in 2009 France deported 10,000 Roma

to Romania and Bulgaria as illegal immigrants.

By the summer of 2012 the mounting criticism of the French government

over their treatment of the Roma spurred an emergency meeting  for talks

on how to handle the estimated 15,000 Roma living in camps across France.

Roma relocation to Bucharest

www.affordablehousinginstitute.org

vintage gypsies caravan

commons.wikimedia.org

Gypsies have a long history of culture and traditions.

New studies in 2012 revealed that the most likely origins of the Romany peoples 

occurred out of India in the early 12th century.

vintage photo gypsy woman

It had long been believed that the gypsies came out of Egypt,

resulting in the name 'gypsy' and due to their darker skin tones.

However, the new studies disprove that.

forever friends at the Horse Fair in Stowe, England

www.dapagroup.com

Truthfully, I even get mixed up on the proper terms to use!

So please, if I use a word wrong, drop me a comment so I can be more accurate.

c.1915

You can find Roma, or Travellers, all over the world.

I didn't know that!

There are of course the Travellers in Britain and the U.S.A. and Canada.

There are distinct Roma families in Eastern Europe,

including Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, etc.

'Feast with Gipsy Musicians'

by Theodor Aman, 1884

Also sizable Romany populations are in Western Europe, such as

Germany, France, Sweden, Finland, Norway and more.

'Young Gypsies"

by William Adolphe Bouguereau, 1879

There are even populations in South America!

Spanish Gypsy

c.1850

Gypsy dancers on the village Green, United Kingdom, 2007

Dausa people, India, 2008

www.pbase.com

Today many Roma peoples reject the term 'gypsy' because of all the historically 

negative images and innuendos connected with the word.

sign in a South London business window

This prejudice is traditionally found in Eastern European countries with large Romany populations, but recent tensions have spread with Romany families seeking a new life in Western Europe.

http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/08/scientists-romany-were-european-500-years-earlier-than-previously-thought/

Western Europe gypsies, 

www.vintage.es

In 1992 Bert Karlsson, leader of the Ny Demokrati in Sweden said:

'Gypsies are responsible for 90% of crime against senior citizens in Sweden.'

courtesy annalevi.blogspot.com

In Central and Eastern Europe the Romas often live in squatter communities.
Very high unemployment plagues them.

gypsy boy sitting in ruins of home outside Madrid, destroyed by the Spanish government

www.photoblog.nbcnews.com

Thousands of Romany were deported and their encampments were razed
during the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy, France.

Roma forced displacement, waiting in Paris, France for plane to Romania, 2012

Romany women displaced from France, 11/2012

www.chronicle.com

This is part I of a series on Gypsies.
I'll post for now, but I will have more next time!

Have a wonderful day,
inkspired
www.inkspired.etsy.com
www.collagepaperpainting.etsy.com
www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com
and on pinterest:  kkloberdans