First of all, I want to applaud the maturity with which some of the things that were written were handled. This is a very sore subject, on both sides of the pond, and I am glad that it was calmed down before it got ugly.

I am half Irish from my mother's side. Her family came over during the Potato Famine. I was never very interested in my heritage until I started digging into the legends and myths which led to the music and eventually the history. Especially in the music did you find the soul of the Irish.

The Irish are deeply religious, be it orange or green (for all of you that don't know what that means, that's Protestant or Catholic). There is a deep sense of history which should be evident from the above conversation. Instead of elephants, maybe the saying should go "The Irish never forget" because they don't. History premeates everything in Ireland. Then there is a deep feeling of national and cultural pride, a feeling, coupled with outrage over past English treatment, that has led to the current troubles. The Irish were under British control (some would say oppression) for 773 years from 1175 to 1948. That's a long time, made even more unbearable by the things that the British did over the centuries. The Irish never forgot that. So many people died to free Ireland and although it officially gained its independence in 1948, many still feel that Ireland isn't totally free because Northern Ireland is still under British control. As well, the English tried to destroy Irish culture which is probably why the Irish cling to it so tightly, even today. Above all, I think that it's having the soul of Ireland. Many foreigners, including the Vikings and the Normans settled in Ireland and became "more Irish than the Irish," especially in the case of the Normans who blended into the Irish populace and became part of it. As well, many families who are originally of English or Scottish decent are loyal to Ireland as well as the crown. And then there are people of Irish descent who now live outside of Ireland who are Irish to their soul despite the distance between them and Ireland or a mixed heritage. Being Irish is about soul more than anything else.

There was a story that I was once told that I think illustrates this point.

A priest was attending to a young Irishman who was dying of wounds. "Do you find it hard to die?" the priest asked. "Yes," the young soldier replied. "But not as hard as leaving Ireland."

That is the soul of it.

Am I proud of my heritage and my homeland? Yes. Do I support the efforts of the IRA and other terrorist organizations that hurt innocent people? A resounding NO. I hope and pray for peace. But even as I do that, I know the reasons why these groups are fighting. But that doesn't make it right. And so I can say with a clear concenious ERIN GO BRAGH!! IRELAND FOREVER!!