My parents were not musical people, and neither were my friends.  In all my life, I never remember my mother listening to anything except for talk radio, and my father was almost exactly the same way.  My friends would listen to whatever everyone else was listening to.  Sometimes it was top 40. Other times, it could be  rap, pop, alternative, or some other generic junk that was on the radio.  None of them were musicians, although they occasionally played in bands to try to get girls.

So when I first heard traditional Irish folk music, I was quite literally blown away.  I discovered folk music Irish quite by accident.  I was walking into a bar on a Sunday night, looking for some French fries.  It was my local, and had some of the best fries in town.  What I didn’t know is that Sunday was Irish folk music night.  The scene was picturesque.  It was almost too lovely to believe.  There were people sitting all over the bar stools and benches, swaying back and forth holding a beer in one hand and singing.  And in the center of the room was an Irish folk music band made up of whoever wanted to join in.  I had never heard anything quite like it.

Needless to say, I got into Irish folk music immediately.  I found some Irish folk music download sites on the Internet, and got a few songs from every band that I could find.  Soon I was buying Irish music CDs, going to Irish folk music concerts, and of course going to the traditional music night at the bar.  I even started learning the fiddle after a little while.

If you have never heard Irish folk music before, you are missing out.  The great thing about Irish folk music, and about old music in general, is that it is so listenable and so easy to join along in.  You see, Irish folk music was made by ordinary people, and sings about ordinary lives.  It is not there to make money, or to be glamorous, but only to tell the truth in a way that is easy to hear.  The songs are made so that it is easy to play along with, easy to improvise on, and most importantly, easy to sing along to.  Discovering Irish folk music has given me a passion for listening that I never had before.  It has to be heard to be believed.

St. Patrick’s Day is a really big thing for us. Every year, we hang out our Irish and Erin Go Bragh flags out in front of our house, cook some Irish stew and corned beef and cabbage, and party like, well … the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day! We always ask people to wear their favorite St. Patrick’s Day costumes, and we find that more often than not, everyone puts their best foot forward.

Of course the absolute favorite of the St. Patrick’s Day costumes is the leprechaun dog costume. I would venture to say that we have 30 people at our St. Patrick’s Day party each year, and at least six or seven of them are wearing leprechaun costumes. Don’t get me wrong, I never mind a good leprechaun costume and our guests always take them to a new level. We have male leprechauns, we have female leprechauns, we have dogs dressed up like leprechauns and have even had a baby leprechaun. All are wearing their buckled hat and green suit, with some variations here and there, because they know if there are going to come dressed as a leprechaun, they better do it up right.

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