An American in Ireland
by The YankRSS 
Recent Posts
- Ireland as Britain's wind farm - weighing up the pros and cons of ugly and heavily subsized Irish windfarms
- Justin Bieber's perfectly judged comment on Anne Frank - "Hopefully she would have been a belieber"
- The Irish property tax problem - everyone wants to own some and no one wants to be taxed on it
- American fans right to ignore the World Baseball Classic
- Will Ireland's emigrants catch a break on property tax?
Archives
I was in England the past few days, which means I saw and heard a little bit (actually tons) about the impending nuptials between Prince William and Catherine Middleton (aka Will & Kate). Every store is selling Will & Kate stuff and patriotic paraphernalia, such as flag bunting, etc. Every news bulletin is dominated by Will & Kate.
I can't say I got caught up in the excitement, but nor can I say that it annoyed me in any way. What I can tell you is that it didn't come up in any exchange I had with any English people. I didn't raise the topic and nobody I spoke to raised it with me.
So all I can say is that my sense is that English people are pleased by tomorrow's big event, but not generally insanely wild about it no matter what you might see of people camping out near Westminster Abbey or read in USA Today or whatever. I think 
for a lot of people in England it's a day off {photo: tee shirt that can be seen in England) and the start of a four day weekend, which is always welcome.
Yesterday I experienced something that is all too common for visitors to Ireland: I drove around aimlessly trying to find someplace. I knew I was close to where I wanted to go, but I couldn't actually find the right spot.
I had to go to County Kildare yesterday and when I was done doing what I had to do I decided I'd drive to a few places I was keen to see. One of those places was Bodenstown Churchyard, where Irish nationalist hero
The American Civil War is in the news lately thanks to the fact it is 150 years since the war started April 12, 1861. Between now and April 15, 2015 we will reaching milestone anniversaries for all the major battles right up to the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's assassination.
From what Americans have been able to enjoy many television documentaries and newspaper articles marking events 150 years ago. People want to learn more about the Civil War just as the bi-centennial celebrations in the 70s sparked a renewed interest in the Revolutionary period.
I hope that some of that will find its way 'across the pond' and that Irish people will find a new interest in the American Civil War, especially the huge Irish involvement. My own sense is that most people here have a vague idea that many Irish men fought in the war, but have little idea as to how many, what motivated them, etc.
There are times when I wonder if Irish people have a distorted sense of how big Ireland is. I was reminded of this today by a text from a listener read out on a radio program.
Despite last night's bust of a final, this year's NCAA was great, entertaining even for a casual sports fan. Loads of close games, upsets and a fantastic "Cinderella" story. This year's tournament had it all, except a good final game. {Maybe we'll get that tonight in the women's final along with a Fighting Irish victory, but it's not on live here.}
It's hard to imagine the NCAA tournament without all the small colleges, without those David vs Goliath battles we expect every spring. Yet, it almost happened.
