Back to School in Old Florida

  

 

The first documented school in America existed at St. Augustine, Florida before 1606 (according to an article entitled “The First School in the United States”, published in the Fortnightly Review at St. Louis in January, 1931).  Schools in Florida during the Spanish colonial periods were operated under the supervision of the local priests, were paid for by the Spanish Crown and were open to students of all races.  The first school in St. Augustine would have been supervised by Padre Ricardo Artur (a native of Ireland named Richard Arthur), who was the parish priest for St. Augustine from 1598 until his death in 1606.  

 

Beginning in the mid 1500’s, the Spanish established an extensive network of missions across northern Florida, from St. Augustine to Pensacola.  By 1700, this extensive mission network consisted of seventeen major settlements and dozens of smaller villages, providing spiritual, educational and economic support to the thousands of native "Indians" inhabiting northern Florida.  In 1702, James Moore, the British Governor of South Carolina, considered this network of Spanish Catholic missions to be a "threat to American interests"; so he assembled and dispatched a large militia to invade Florida.  During Moore’s 50-day siege of St. Augustine in 1702, he sacked the town but was unable to breach the walls of the Castillo, or to harm the townspeople and garrison sequestered inside.  Moore then systematically attacked and destroyed Spain’s vulnerable Florida mission settlements.  Between 1702 and 1706 nearly all of the Florida missions were burned to the ground, and most of the remaining native population of Spanish Florida was slaughtered, enslaved, or driven into exile.

 

Several states claim to have the "first" or "oldest" school in America.  Maryland claims that the King William’s School, opened in 1696, was the first school in America.  Massachusetts claims that the Boston Latin School, founded in Boston in 1635, was the first public school in America, and that the Mather School, founded in Dorchester in 1639, was the first public elementary school in America.  Virginia claims that Syms-Eaton Academy, founded in Hampton in 1634, was the first public school in America.  New York claims that Collegiate School, founded on Manhattan in 1628, is the oldest school in America.  Officially, Florida makes no such claims, but it certainly could…and should.  The City of St. Augustine "officially" claims to have the oldest surviving wooden school house in America, built some 100 years after the first school in St. Augustine.  Located near the old city gates in St. Augustine, the “Oldest Wood School House” was built approximately three hundred years ago.  No one knows for certain if the “Oldest Wood School House” is actually the oldest surviving wooden school house in the United States, but it is widely recognized as being so. 

 

 

 

At first glance, this ramshackle building looks like a prop from a movie set.   One might think that no authentic building could be that weather-beaten and still stand, but records indicate that this tiny school house has been there for three hundred years.  The house was listed on St. Augustine’s tax rolls in 1716, and was probably constructed well before then.  By 1788, the aging building was listed as being only "in fair condition," according to a Spanish map of the time.  The building has seen very few changes during the past three hundred years.  Originally, the “Oldest Wood School House” was a small one-story homestead belonging to Juan Genoply.  Juan Genoply later married, the house became a school, and so he added an extra room upstairs.  The schoolmaster lived upstairs with his family, and used the first floor as the classroom.  Boys and girls shared the same classroom, making the St. Augustine school the first known "co-ed" school in America.  

 

 

The school house was constructed of pest-resistant red cedar and cypress timbers secured with wooden pegs.  To protect the house from heat and fire dangers, the kitchen was located in separate structure, detached from the main building.  Several of the cooking utensils used in those days are still displayed there.  In the schoolhouse itself, artifacts and copies of the books that the pupils studied from are exhibited.  Drinking water was drawn from a well and a privy was located away from the main building.  A garden with hibiscus, bird-of-paradise, and other tropical plants offer fragrant aromas and soothing shade.  An enormous anchor is secured to the house with a long chain. These are not a part of the original construction.  Worried that a hurricane might blow the little school house away, townspeople added the anchor in 1937.

 

Today, the school house somewhat resembles a theme park attraction.  Mechanized figures dressed in 18th century attire greet visitors and describe a typical school day.  Children can receive make-believe diplomas.  But America’s oldest wooden school house was not all "fun and games" back in the 1700’s.   Students and teachers may complain about all of the rules and regulations in Florida schools today, but the rules and regulations in the 1700’s were far more strict. 

 

 

Here are the actual rules and regulations for the operation of schools in St. Augustine, issued in 1786 by Don Tomas Hassett (a/k/a Father Thomas Hassett, a native of Longford, Ireland), the Parish Priest, Vicar, and Ecclesiastical Judge of St. Augustine.  These rules and regulations remained in effect until Florida became part of the United States of America in 1821:

 

1. In accordance with the devout intentions of His Majesty, no one shall be qualified to teach except upon examination and upon the approval of the ecclesiastical and civil superiors of the Province and every teacher shall be bound to observe these rules and such other orders and resolutions, or any part of them, as the said superiors may see fit to communicate from time to time in the interest of the fullest advancement of the pupils.

 

2. The schools shall be designated as first (primera) and second (segunda).  Children who are beginners and others who are more advanced but are not ready to begin Writing shall alone be admitted to the first school. When they are ready to begin Writing they shall pass from the first to the second school where they shall be taught Writing and Arithmetic, while being perfected in Reading, etc. Only children of this higher grade shall be admitted to the second school unless the superior authority determines otherwise.

 

3. His Majesty having assigned to the teachers an income sufficient for their decent maintenance, no one of them shall demand of the parents any recompense whatever for the instruction of their children.

 

4. Every year at Easter the teachers shall prepare a list of the children based on the Parish Register, and, informed of the place of residence, ages, etc., shall request the parents to send their children to school. If this request does not have the desired effect, whether by reason of the culpable negligence of the parents or the indolence and indifference of the children themselves, the teachers shall report to the Parish Priest, who will determine the just and proper procedure in the matter. The teachers shall make like reports in the case of pupils kept away from school as a result of idle complaints made to their parents.

 

5. Throughout the year the schools shall be opened at seven o’clock in the morning and at two in the afternoon. At no time shall the pupils be dismissed in the morning before twelve o’clock, nor in the afternoon, in winter, before sunset. In the rest of the year the dismissal in the afternoon may be a half hour before sunset.

 

6. As each pupil enters school in the morning and in the afternoon he shall greet with proper courtesy first his teacher and then his fellow pupils. He shall then hang up his hat in its place and seat himself in all modesty. After crossing himself in the name of the Holy Trinity, he shall take up the book or paper with which his study is to begin.

 

7. Each teacher shall keep in the school a list of the pupils under his instruction from which, every day at eight o’clock in the morning and a quarter past two in the afternoon, he shall call the roll, designating each pupil by both his Christian and his family name. In case anyone fails to answer, the teacher shall immediately send one or two of the boys to the home of the parents to learn the cause of his absence and if necessary bring him to school. If the information obtained warrants it, the teacher shall apply appropriate punishment to the delinquent.

 

8. In reproving and punishing the pupils, the teachers shall endeavor to be moderate; and, as for some moral suasion is better than corporal punishment, the teacher shall take special care to learn the character and disposition of each child. In the case of such children, the teacher should not break out in imprecations or epithets, much less throw in their faces the faults of their parents or relatives, nor permit them under any circumstances to talk to one another in this manner in the school or out of it. Each and all should be treated impartially as faithful Christians worthy of love and charity.

 

9. The children shall present themselves in their respective schools morning and afternoons with all possible cleanliness, with their hair combed and with their faces, hands, and feet (if they come barefoot), clean. The teachers shall not permit in the schools children with contagious diseases, such as itch and other diseases of like nature, the parents being first informed in order that they may not be offended at having their children kept out of school while they are being cured.

 

10. The schoolrooms shall be swept at least once a week by the pupils themselves, and the teachers shall appoint a sufficient number of pupils for this purpose, treating all alike and beginning with the highest class and continuing to the lowest so that each class in turn shall fulfill this obligation.

 

11. No pupil shall leave the schoolroom, even when necessity demands, without the express permission of the teacher; and in order that not more than one shall go out at a time, the teacher shall deliver a ruler which he shall have on his desk for the purpose, to the one being excused, and a second permission shall not be given until the said ruler is returned. The length of the pupil’s absence shall be measured by the movement of a pendulum hung from the ceiling of the schoolroom, which pendulum the pupil himself will put in motion at the time of his going out, the teacher taking note whether the pendulum is still in motion when the ruler is returned.

 

12. The schools shall be divided, according to the capacity and advancement of the pupils, by numbers and separate seats into distinct classes, and to the first or most capable of each class shall be given some title, reserving for the first of the highest class the title of Emperor of the whole school, and these titles shall prevail until others more striking can be found.

 

13. At the beginning of every month there shall be a general examination before the Parish Priest and the teachers to determine the advancement the pupils may have made during the previous month in Writing, Reading, Arithmetic, Christian Doctrine, etc., and, as a reward of merit for the advancement shown in this examination, each pupil shall be assigned to a seat or place of preference corresponding to his progress. He shall occupy this place until the next examination when he shall be awarded it again provided no one excels him in merit. In this latter case he shall descend to occupy the place corresponding to his merit.

 

14. From pupils studying the alphabet, the syllabary, and Reading, the teacher shall hear four lessons a day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. The teacher shall instruct these pupils at the same time, morning and afternoon, in Christian Doctrine and in prayers and litanies. He shall endeavor (by his own efforts and not those of some other person) with consummate care and attention to inculcate a clear and distinct pronunciation and understanding in their reading, requiring the commas, semicolons, etc., to be observed. The teacher of the second school shall proceed by this same method in the teaching of Writing with the sole difference that the pupils in this school shall write only two exercises a day. The teacher shall instruct the pupil in the correct position of the hand and how to hold the pen; and, after the exercises are finished, he shall point out the faults and reprove the pupils for making them.

 

15. Pupils in Arithmetic, or Counting, shall solve two problems a day, write one or two exercises, read two lessons and receive instruction in Christian Doctrine once, in the afternoon; and the teacher shall never allow his pupils to pass on to new matter until the old is thoroughly learned. It shall be the duty of the teacher to correct and reprove, as provided in the rule immediately preceding.

 

16. The teacher of the second school shall require his pupils, as they advance, to memorize the tables of Arithmetic; in order that this may not interfere with other tasks in the school, the pupils may take the tables home and learn them at night, reciting them to the teacher the next morning; and, provided the pupils of Reading are not occupied with matters of this sort, the teachers may assign in the afternoon to each one according to his capacity, a portion of the Historical Catechism of Father Flaure, or of some other author, to be memorized at night, thus preventing the pupils from being idle at home.

 

17. The teachers shall instruct their pupils how to assist at Mass, and every Saturday and on the eve of all the other feast days of the year when there is to be a congregation in the Parish Church, they shall name by turns two of their pupils to assist the Sacristan in the conduct of divine services.

 

18. On nights when the Procession of the Rosary leaves the Parish Church and passes through the streets, the teachers shall attend with their pupils, no exception being allowed and no excuse being valid. The teachers shall take great care that their pupils comport themselves with the proper modesty and devotion.

 

19. The teachers shall attend with their pupils the salve on Saturdays, the vespers of Sundays and other principal days, and at all services of the Church when there is preaching of the Gospel.

 

20. Whenever God may be pleased to call to judgment any one of the boys, the teachers shall go with their pupils in procession to the funeral, and if necessary the remains shall be borne by four of the boys to the burial place.

 

21. On each of the four Ember Days of the year, all pupils of seven years of age and above shall make confession in the presence of their teachers, to which end the teachers shall notify their, pupils a day or two beforehand in order that they may examine their consciences. The teacher shall instruct the pupils in a manner appropriate to their age how they should prepare themselves, the method they should observe to avoid by negligence or other culpable reason, omitting sins that ought to be confessed, and the teachers should inform the pupils also of the necessity of repentance to make this sacrament valid, etc. The teachers shall give these same instructions to the pupils who are of an age to receive the holy sacrament of the Eucharist; and, in order that everything may be done with system, the pupils shall be divided into three equal divisions, and each teacher shall assign one division of his school for each of the Ember Days, in order that by this means the pupils may be attended to with dispatch in the church and sent promptly back to school.

 

22. The teachers shall endeavor to obtain the most instructive books to be read by their pupils. They shall not permit any other language than Spanish to be spoken in the school.

 

23. The pupils should ask with profound humility that the blessings of their parents accompany them on their way to and from school, and whenever they meet any of their elders in the street they should salute them with proper courtesy.

 

24. On leaving school, the pupils shall go directly home without loitering, or shouting, or committing mischievous pranks in the streets.

 

25. If any Negroes or Mulattoes should attend the schools, they shall be placed near the door in seats apart; but in matter of instruction, spiritual and temporal, the teachers shall do to them the same justice as to all the rest.

 

26. The teachers shall have in their respective schools a copy of these regulations in order that everyone may be promptly informed of their provisions and in order that they may be invariably and duly observed as His Majesty desires.

 

Translated from the Spanish by Joseph B. Lockey.  The original document is in the East Florida Papers. Box, 41, B4, Library of Congress.  Another copy, which the translator has not seen, is in the Archivo General de Indias, Papeles de Cuba, Legajo 150.

 

US Senator Stephen Russell Mallory

Stephen Russell Mallory was a customs official, lawyer and judge in Key West, served two terms as US Senator from Florida (1851-1861), and then served throughout the Civil War as the Secretary of the Navy of the Confederacy.

 

 

Stephen Russell Mallory was born on the island of Trinidad in 1812.  His exact birthdate is not recorded.  He was the second son of Ellen Russell Mallory (born near Waterford, Ireland) and her Connecticut-born husband Charles Mallory, a construction engineer.  Stephen, his parents and elder brother John left Trinidad around 1820, after his father contracted consumption.  Looking for a healthy climate for the ailing Charles Mallory, the family eventually settled in Key West in 1823, but both Charles and John Mallory died shortly thereafter, leaving the young widow Ellen Mallory to support herself and young son Stephen alone.  At the time, Ellen Mallory was the only white woman in Key West.  She survived by opening her home as Key West’s first and only boarding house, which it remained for over 30 years.  Ellen struggled to provide her son Stephen with a good education, sending him to boarding school in Mobile and in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.  When Ellen could no longer afford to pay his tuition, Stephen returned home to Key West in 1829.  Her son Stephen later wrote that Ellen Mallory was a very stern and demanding mother, but  she nursed the sick and injured of Key West, during epidemics and hurricanes, and was renowned for her kindness, hospitality and Catholic piety.  She would live until 1855 to see Stephen make her a very proud mother and grandmother.

 

In 1833, 19-year-old Stephen Mallory was appointed as Customs Inspector for Key West by President Andrew Jackson.  He served in the US Army during the Seminole War from 1835 to 1837.  He studied the law in the office of Judge William Marvin, was admitted to the bar in 1840, and then practiced law in Key West.  He also served as an elected Monroe County judge from 1837 to 1845. 

 

With his career prospering, in 1838, Stephen Mallory courted and wed Angela Sylvania Moreno, a daughter of the leading Spanish family of Pensacola.  Her parents were the wealthy and prominent Don Francisco Moreno and Josepha Lopez Moreno.  Francisco Moreno, also known as the “Father of Pensacola”, was the official representative of the King of Spain in Florida for over fifty years.  Don Francisco died in 1883 at the age of 92, was the father of 27 children, and had 75 grandchildren (including 9 Mallory grandchildren) and 127 great-grandchildren.

 

In 1845, Stephen Mallory was appointed Collector of the Customs by President Polk.  In 1850, he was appointed US Senator by the Florida Legislature, was re-elected in 1857, and served as US Senator from March 4, 1851 until his resignation on January 21, 1861 (when Florida seceded from the Union).  Mallory was well-respected by his colleagues for being a thoughtful and hard-working Senator.  Senator and Mrs. Mallory were also very popular in Washington society, he for being a gregarious and humorous conversationalist, and she for being an elegant and sophisticated hostess.   While in the US Senate, Mallory served as Chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs.  

 

The Civil War was a turning point in the history of the United States, and for the Mallory family.  In 1861, Mallory was appointed Secretary of the Navy of the Confederate States by President Jefferson Davis.  He served in that post until the end of the Civil War in 1865, when he fled Richmond along with Jefferson Davis and the rest of the Confederate Cabinet.  They went first to Danville, Virginia, then to Greensboro, Charlotte and Abbeville, and finally to Washington, Georgia, where Mallory submitted his resignation.  He then went on to La Grange, Georgia, where he was temporarily reunited with his wife and children.

 

 

Most people in the northern states believed that the Confederate government had been involved in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, even though there was no evidence of their involvement.  Stephen Mallory was one of the Confederate leaders who was charged with treason.  On May 20, 1865, while he was still at La Grange, Georgia with his family, he was roused from his bed and taken into custody.  From there he was taken to Fort Lafayette in New York Harbor, where he was confined as a political prisoner.  His wife Angela travelled to Washington, DC to lobby President Andrew Johnson and other influential persons to pardon and release her husband from prison.  On March 10, 1866, President Johnson finally relented, and granted Mallory a “partial parole.” 

 

On July 16, 1866, Mallory returned to his home in Pensacola, Florida.  By then, Mallory had lost his once large fortune, and his house in Pensacola was in ruins.  His former slaves were homeless, unemployed and starving.  By the terms of his federal parole, Mallory was not permitted to hold public office, so he made a living by re-opening his old law practice.  He managed to repair his house, to care for his former slaves and find them employment, and then welcome his beloved wife Angela back to a suitably comfortable home.  He remained active, outspoken and controversial in local and state affairs for the next few years.  In the winter of 1872, he began to complain of his heart, and his health began to deteriorate; but still, he remained active.  His end came rather quickly.  He is said to have been “listless” on November 8, 1873, began to fail that night, and on the morning of November 9, 1873, died.  He was buried in St. Michael’s Cemetery in Pensacola.

 

 

Stephen and Angela Mallory had nine children: Margaret Mallory, Ellen Josephine Mallory, Francis Moreno Mallory, Francis Moreno Mallory (II), Stephen Russell Mallory, Jr., Charles Albert Mallory, Atilla Fitzpatrick Mallory, Ruby Angela Mallory and Nellie Mallory, five of whom died young.  Only daughters Margaret (“Maggie”) and Ruby and sons Stephen Jr. (“Buddy”) and Attila (“Attie”) survived into adulthood.   Their son, Stephen Russell Mallory, Jr. (“Buddy”), followed in his father’s political footsteps and became a US Congressman (1891-1895) and US Senator (1897-1907).

If you would like to read more about the fascinating life of Stephen Russell Mallory, there is a biography titled “Stephen R. Mallory” by Prof. Rev. Joseph T. Durkin, S.J. of Georgetown University, published in 1952.

The year 2012 will mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Stephen Russell Mallory, after whom iconic Mallory Square in Key West is named.  The Mallory’s were a remarkable Florida Irish family, and deserve to be remembered and honored for their contibutions to Key West, Pensacola and Florida.

John Lennon in Florida

John Lennon died in New York City in 1980, but his spirit lives on through the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, a non-profit 501(c)(3) mobile audio and HD video recording and production facility. Since 1998, the Bus has provided free hands-on programs to hundreds of high schools, colleges, Boys and Girls Clubs, music festivals, concerts, conventions and community organizations.

Working together with some of the biggest names in music, the Lennon Bus encourages students to play music, write songs, engineer recording sessions and produce video projects using the latest audio, video, and live sound equipment.The interior is divided into three separate studio environments that can be opened to create one large studio. The front studio is a cutting-edge audio and video production room. The rear studio offers pro-level recording and mixing at the highest possible resolution, as well as an “iso” booth for acoustic recordings, and a chromate (green screen) booth. Powered by Apple computers, the studios feature traditional musical instruments and the latest Sony HD products and solutions. Also on-board is a Mackie P.A. system enabling performances on the side of the Bus.

The Lennon Bus is committed to providing students with increased access to music, audio, video, and broadcast technologies. The program works together with local partners to create free events for middle, high school, and college age students to tour the bus, and participate in the production of music, video and digital photography projects reflective of their ideas and concerns, regardless of their levels of expertise.

John Lennon Educational Tour Bus website: http://www.lennonbus.org

John Lennon had some interesting connections to Florida.

The Beatles formally ended in Orlando, Florida in 1974

(As told by May Pang)

“At the end of 1974, after three years of court battles and acrimony, the final dissolution of The Beatles was about to happen. The meeting was scheduled for December 19 at New York’s Plaza Hotel – ironically, this was the first place the group stayed in America in 1964. George Harrison was in New York on his Dark Horse tour. Paul and Linda McCartney came in, and of course John and I were already in the city. Only Ringo was missing, but he had signed the documents in England. Julian was with us for the Christmas holiday and all was calm, all was bright. John was even planning to join George on stage during his concert at Madison Square Garden. Gathered around a huge table were: George, his lawyer and business manager; the McCartney’s, with Paul’s in-laws and lawyers; Ringo’s lawyer and business manager; Neil Aspinall, of Apple, with two sets of company lawyers (one for America and one for Britain); and John’s lawyer Harold Seider and his team. Harold told me that after a while, George said out loud what everyone was thinking: “Where’s John?” “Good question,” replied Harold. Harold left the room to call John, who wouldn’t come to the phone. I was with John and it was up to me to tell Harold he had decided not to attend the meeting.

Although John was concerned with shouldering a major tax burden because he lived in the United States, I could sense there was a bit more on his mind. His official reason for not showing was ‘the stars aren’t right’. George, already in a dour mood because his tour was getting poor reviews, went ballistic. He started yelling at Harold, as did all the other lawyers in the room. Then George picked up the phone and called John. I answered and asked if he wanted John, but he barked, “No! Just tell him whatever his problem is, I started this tour on my own and I’ll end it on my own!” before slamming down the receiver. John was listening over my shoulder. George’s rage didn’t last long. Julian went to George’s concert the next day and returned home with a message saying: “All’s forgiven, George loves you and he wants you to come to his party tonight.” We did go to the party at the Hippopotamus Club, where George, John, and Paul all hugged.

John, Julian and I left New York the following day to spend Christmas in Florida. On December 29, 1974, the voluminous documents were brought down to John in Florida by one of Apple’s lawyers. “Take out your camera,” he joked to me. Then he called Harold to go over some final points. When John hung up the phone, he looked wistfully out the window. I could almost see him replaying the entire Beatles experience in his mind. He finally picked up his pen and, in the unlikely backdrop of the Polynesian Village Hotel at Disney World, ended the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in history by simply scrawling John Lennon at the bottom of the page.”

John Lennon in Palm Beach, Florida

During the last few years of his life, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and their son Sean spent winter vacation time in Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, Florida. While there, Lennon consulted with the well-known metaphysicist and spiritual advisor Tamas Burger. Lennon and Burger were making plans to open a spiritual learning center together. In 1980, Lennon purchased the sprawling “El Solano” mansion (the former home of Harold Vanderbilt shown above), located on Ocean Blvd. in Palm Beach. Lennon was murdered outside his New York City apartment on December 8, 1980, ending plans for life in Palm Beach.

John Lennon’s Memorial, at His Palm Beach Home

By Ken Davidoff

“The day that I found out that John Lennon was shot, I decided to go to his home in Palm Beach, and leave some flowers at the gate. Not to my suprise there were hundreds of people gathered at the property, the groundskeeper realized that the crowd was getting out of hand. The street was packed, and the local police were giving out parking tickets left and right. We were all allowed to come onto the property, and were led to the pool area. People just stood around and cried, pretty soon the groundskeeper lead everyone in a prayer. He let everyone stay a little longer to gather their thoughts, and say their own prayer. Everyone left in a slow sad silent march out the front gate. I went back to leave flowers every year thereafter, untill Yoko sold the house. A light that shone brightly had left the planet.”

So what’s “Irish” about this article ?

In case you didn’t already know, John Lennon considered himself to be Irish, and had two Irish grandparents. He first discovered his Irish roots in a manuscript that his estranged father, Freddie Lennon, had written regarding the Lennon family’s Irish history. It was sent to John after Freddie died. John had been raised by his mother’s Welsh family, the Stanley’s, so he knew nothing about his Irish Lennon family until that time. In the manuscript, which was also published in a book, called “Daddy Come Home,” by Freddie Lennon’s second wife, Pauline, John discovered that his Irish Lennon ancestors had been very accomplished musicians.

In their day, they were popular Irish crooners, fiddlers and toe-tappers. He then enthusiastically embraced his Irish heritage, and from then on considered himself to be more “Irish” than English. He even bought an Irish island and named his son by Yoko Ono, “Sean”, the Irish spelling for “John”.

In 1974, John looked up the name “Lennon” in the book “Irish Families, Their Names, Arms and Origins” by E. MacLysaght, and found the name “(O)Lennon” and some uncomplimentary passages. He quoted one of those passages on his “Walls & Bridges” album cover: “No person of the name Lennon has distinguished himself in the political, military or cultural life of Ireland (or England for that matter),” which was followed with John’s handwritten response: “Oh Yeh?”  Since that faux pas, the book has been updated as follows: “John Lennon, an outstanding member of the Beatles group, assassinated in 1980, has become well known outside Ireland not only as a talented musician but also for his connection with the Peace Movement.”

If you would like to meet someone who knew John Lennon, spiritual advisor Tamas Burger still operates the “Rainbow Bridge” metaphysical book store, library and museum located at 7593 S. Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Planning a trip to Ireland ?

If you are planning a trip to Ireland, we recommend a wonderful place for you to stay for a few days or a week, to relax and recover from jet-lag and your long flight(s) from Florida to Dublin.  If you think that staying in a historic Irish castle is affordable only for the rich and famous, you are pleasantly mistaken. 

Smarmore Castle, located near Ardee, County Louth, is one of Ireland’s oldest surviving buildings, dating from 1320.  Smarmore Castle also has the distinction of being one of the longest continuously inhabited castles in Ireland.  For over 650 years, Smarmore Castle was the ancestral home of the aristocratic Taaffe family.  Records show that William Taaffe had his family seat at the Castle as early as 1320.  The Taaffe’s were one of the most famous families in Ireland.  They held a variety of different titles, and one of them, Eduard Franz Josef Taaffe, even served as the Prime Minister of Austria between 1881 and 1895.  Successive generations of Taaffe’s made Smarmore Castle their main residence in Ireland until the mid 1980s, when the property was sold.  The current owners and proprietors are the very hospitable Mullen Family, who operate the Castle as a boutique B&B-style hotel.

Smarmore Castle is a very striking building. It is divided into three distinct sections, comprised of an early 14th century castle keep, with extensions on either side, built around 1720 and 1760 respectively.  The Castle is built of local stone, and its walls are eight feet thick.  The 18th century courtyard behind the Castle served as the main stables for the estate in bygone days.   The Castle has just five guest rooms, so you won’t feel crowded.  The guest rooms are spacious and distinctive.  Each room is different, and presents a different aspect of the Castle’s history.  The names on the doors, such as the "Knight’s Room", the "Count’s Room" and the "Viscount’s Room," reflect the Castle’s illustrious former residents. 

The Viscount’s Room, (shown above) is located in the Castle’s tower and has a four poster bed, while some of the other rooms are ideally arranged for families with children.  All rooms have tea and coffee making facilities, an en-suite shower bathroom, and are centrally heated.  The Castle maintains its sense of history while offering the comfort and conveniences of the most contemporary boutique hotel. Smarmore Castle offers stylish accommodations at a value price. Their modest rates, starting at only 55€ per adult and 15€ per child (per night), include accommodation, full Irish breakfast, and free use of their well-equipped leisure club, with its 22-meter indoor pool with toddler’s pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room and fully-equiped fitness center.

The Smarmore Sports Injury Clinic, operated by Brian Keenan (BSc. & BASRaT.), is located in the courtyard behind the castle, and offers relaxing aromatherapy massage, sports massage, hydrotherapy and injury prevention treatments.  

There is no bar inside the castle itself, so you are welcome to bring your own beverages.  There is an excellent Italian restaurant, called La Cucina, located with a separate entrance in the castle courtyard, and it is licensed to serve wine, beer and other beverages with meals.  The restaurant offers a wide range of delicious meals based upon authentic Italian recipes.

Smarmore Castle is an easy one-hour drive north from Dublin Airport, and provides the perfect base from which to explore the world famous heritage sites at Newgrange (Brú na Bóinne), Knowth, Hill of Tara, Monasterboice, Mellifont Abbey, Battle of the Boyne, Trim Castle, Carlingford and the Cooley Peninsula.  If you are still feeling energetic after all that sightseeing, you can also enjoy nearby recreational activities, including golf, horseback riding, walking tours, clay pigeon shooting and even ice-skating.

Smarmore Castle Website: http://www.smarmorecastle.com

Smarmore Castle Blog: http://www.smarmorecastle.blogspot.com

"This is not a paid advertisement.  It is an enthusiastic personal testimonial, based upon my own family’s wonderful stay at historic Smarmore Castle.  I can’t think of enough nice things to say about the Castle, it’s facilities, or our hosts, the Mullen Family."  Tim Lunney, Executive Director – Florida Irish Heritage Center

4th of July Fireworks

The 4th of July and fireworks are often synonymous here in Florida.  High powered fireworks are sold at hundreds of retail outlets and tent sales across the state.  In many Florida communities, the night of July 4th often looks and sounds as if we were living in a war zone.  In truth, fireworks are responsible for deaths and serious injuries on the scale of a real war. 

In 2009 alone, there were at least two fireworks-related deaths and 8,800 fireworks-related emergency room visits in the USA, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.  The vast majority of these injuries were related to consumer fireworks, not professional displays.   The best way to safely enjoy fireworks is to attend a public fireworks display, where your safety is protected by professionals.

If you hold your own amateur fireworks display, follow some common-sense safety tips:  One way to protect yourself during fireworks displays is to view them from a spot where a structure or fence stands between you and the launch site.  Supervise kids closely—children under 15 account for 40 percent of the injuries.  And go easy on the beer.  “Alcohol and fireworks do not mix.”  Be especially careful where you set off fireworks, and clean up the debris afterwards.   

Last year, Florida environmental activist Shirley Reynolds complained to the City of Daytona Beach and the State of Florida, alleging that fireworks were harming shore birds and other wildlife.  “You had sea turtles ingesting fireworks debris,” Reynolds said.  Many fireworks contain a salt called perchlorate.  In theory, it should be fully consumed during the chemical reaction, but scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency recently found that perchlorate from fireworks can make its way into the environment.  From 2004 to 2006, EPA researchers collected samples from an Oklahoma lake after fireworks shows.  Each time, the water’s perchlorate concentration spiked to up to 1,000 times above normal, and didn’t return to normal levels until as many as 80 days later.  David Parker, an environmental chemistry professor at the University of California, Riverside, says that raises concerns that perchlorate, which may impair cognitive and physical development in fetuses and infants, could contaminate drinking water.

Personal and environmental injuries aren’t the only hazard.  A few years ago, in Palm Beach County, a prominent Irish-American attorney lost her home when a roman candle from a neighbor’s yard landed on her roof and burned the very expensive home to the ground.  Imagine the financial consequences of the lawsuit that resulted from that one careless backyard blunder.

If you set off your own 4th of July fireworks here in Florida, protect yourself, your loved ones, your neighbors and our beautiful and fragile Florida environment.  See the full article “10 Things the Fireworks Industry Won’t Say” by clicking HERE.

 

Did the Irish “discover” Florida 1480 years ago?

 

Some serious scholars believe that an Irish cleric, St. Brendan the Navigator, and a small group of Irish monks, travelled to North America sometime between 512 and 530 AD. 

 

 

Some believe that the flat, verdant and warm land that Brendan described was Florida.  Scholars, who claim that St. Brendan may have “discovered” America, base this claim upon many written accounts of Brendan’s voyages, contained in ancient documents from Ireland, England, Spain, France, Germany, and even from the Norsemen, who found a region south of Vinland and  Chesapeake Bay that they named "Hvitramamaland" (Land of the White Men) or "Irland it mikla" (Greater Ireland), and upon the oral tradition of Native Americans that Florida was once inhabited by a white tribe that used iron implements.  According to this Native American tradition, “there dwelt white men, who clothed themselves in long, white garments, carried before them poles, to which cloths were attached, and they called-out with a loud voice.”  This ancient account was interpreted by the Norsemen to indicate religious processions, in which banners were borne, accompanied by singing.   With regard to Brendan himself, the point is made that he could only have gained knowledge of the exotic foreign animals and plants, which are described in detail in the legend, by having visited North America.

 

 

But is any of this true?  To those who believed in the legend of St Brendan’s Voyage, skeptics said that, even if one could explain all of the bizarre, mythical creatures mentioned in the legend, there is still the question of a small Irish curragh (a canoe-like, leather-clad boat) being able to make it across the fierce North Atlantic.  Several passages in the legend seem utterly unbelievable: “they were raised up on the back of sea monsters”; “they passed by crystals that rose up to the sky”; and “they were pelted with flaming, foul-smelling rocks by the inhabitants of a large island on their route”.  Skeptics also could not believe that such a small, fragile vessel possibly sailed across the open Atlantic.  Adventurer Tim Severin said that it could be done.  Few believed him; so he set out to prove it.

 

Severin is an interesting person. He regularly risks his life retracing legendary voyages.  He had previously retraced Marco Polo’s trip, and later went on to retrace the voyage in the “Odyssey”, Sinbad’s voyage, and even searched for Moby Dick. He could not pass up St. Brendan’s voyage.  Severin went on to demonstrate that it is possible for a leather-clad boat, such as the one described in the Navigatio, to reach North America from Ireland. 

 

 

 

In 1976, he and a few buddies built an Irish curragh, using the construction details described by St. Brendan, and using the same methods that St. Brendan and his monks would have used.  Severin and his team tanned ox-hides with oak bark, stretched them across wood frames, sewed them with leather thread, and smeared the hides with animal fat to impart water resistance.  Upon finishing the leather and wood boat, he christened it “Brendan.”

 

Examination of nautical charts led Severin to believe that Brendan’s route would be governed by the prevailing winds that could take him across the northernmost part of the Atlantic.  This would take him close to Iceland and Greenland with a probable landfall at Newfoundland.  In 1976, they set sail from Brendon Creek on Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula, to determine if the voyage of Brendan and his fellow monks was possible.

 

Severin and his crew were surprised at how friendly the whales were that they encountered.  The whales swam around and even under their boat.  The whales could have been even friendlier in Brendan’s time, before motorized ships would make them leery of man, so friendly, that perhaps they may have lifted the monk’s boat in a playful gesture!

 

After stopping at the Hebrides islands, Severin proceeded to the Danish Faroe Islands.  At the island of Mykines, they encountered thousands of seabirds.  Brendan called this island “The Paradise of Birds.”  He referred to the larger island as the “Island of Sheep.”  The word Faroe itself means Island of Sheep.  There is also a Brendon Creek on the main island of the Faroes, which the local people believe was an embarkation point for Brendan and his crew.

 

Severin’s route then carried them to Iceland, where they wintered, as did Brendan.  The volcanoes on the island have been active for many centuries and might well have been erupting when the monks stayed there.  This could have accounted for the “pelting with flaming, foul smelling rocks”, referred to in the ninth century text.

 

The monks had never seen icebergs before, so their description of them as “towering crystals” would make sense.  Severin’s boat was punctured by floating ice off the coast of Canada.  They were able to make a repair with a piece of leather sewn over the hole.  They landed on the island of Newfoundland on June 26, 1977, proving that such a voyage was possible, and moving St. Brendan’s Voyage out of the realm of impossible myth and back into the realm of possible reality.

 

Severin’s journey did not prove that St. Brendan and his monks landed on North America.  However, it did prove that a leather curragh, as described in the Navigatio, could have made such a voyage, as mapped out in the text.  There is also no doubt that the Irish were frequent seafarers on the North Atlantic currents 900 years before the voyage of Columbus.

 

The following video about St. Brendan and his voyages was animated and narrated by young students from Craigbrack Primary School in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.  This video is delightful for both young and old:

 

    

 

 

This blog article is only a small summary of the full, 25-page story of St. Brendan and his voyages. To read the entire story, click HERE.

 

Modern St. Brendan Sites in Florida

 

You may think that the story of St. Brendan and his voyage to Florida is only legend or myth, but consider the number of places in Florida named after him:

 

St. Brendan High School

2950 S.W. 87 Avenue

Miami, Florida 33165   

www.stbrendanhigh.org

 

St. Brendan Elementary School

8755 Southwest 32nd Street

Miami, FL 33165-3291

www.stbrendanmiami.org

 

St. Brendan the Navigator Roman Catholic Church

1000 Ocean Shore Boulevard

Ormond Beach, FL 32176

www.stbrendanbythesea.com

 

St. Brendan Catholic School

1000 Ocean Shore Boulevard

Ormond Beach, FL 32176

www.stbrendanormond.org

 

St. Brendan Church

245 Dory Passage

Clearwater Beach, FL 33767

www.stbrendancatholic.org

 

St. Brendan’s Isle, Inc. (A mail service for RV residents)

411 Walnut Street

Green Cove Springs, FL 32043-3443

www.sbimailservice.com

 

Florida’s Oldest Surviving Plantation House

 

The oldest surviving plantation house in Florida was built on Fort George Island in 1797-8 by Irish-American expatriate Don Juan McQueen.  Fort George Island is a sea island, located at the mouth of the St. John’s River, northeast of Jacksonville.

 

 

John "Lightning" McQueen (1751–1807) was a daring hero of the American Revolution, was a  friend and confidante of George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette, and was one of the country’s largest land-owners.  After the Revolution, McQueen speculated heavily on timber land in Georgia and South Carolina, went bankrupt, and was facing arrest and debtors prison when, in 1793, he fled to Spanish East Florida, leaving his wife and children in Georgia. 

 

In St. Augustine, the charismatic Irish-American renounced his American citizenship, became a loyal Spanish subject, a devout Catholic and the trusted advisor and confidante of the Spanish Governor, and he was thereafter known as “Don Juan McQueen”.  In East Florida, McQueen’s fortunes improved quickly, and he became one of the largest landowners in East Florida, Captain of the East Florida Militia, Commander of the Banks of the St. John’s and St. Mary’s Rivers and a judge.  He enjoyed the social life of St. Augustine, and his Irish friends there, including Father Michael "Miguel" O’Reilly, the worldly parish priest, and Colonel Charles "Carlos" Howard, the commander of Spanish military forces in East Florida, but he rarely saw his family, who preferred to remain in America.

 

 

The main plantation house has a unique architectural style, with a large center room, surrounded by one-story pavilions, one at each of the four corners, and wide verandas, which allowed air to circulate throughout the house to keep it cooler in the summer.  Each corner pavilion was a  sleeping room, with complete cross-ventilation and access to a veranda.  The second story of the house has two large rooms. 

 

 

On the roof is an observation deck.  The house faces the Fort George Inlet.  A brick walkway joined the back porch to a wharf on the inlet.  A covered walkway connects to a separate building that later housed the kitchen and storerooms.  It was customary to separate the kitchen from the main house, in case of fire from the wood-burning stove, oven and fireplace.  The sequence of construction of the plantation’s buildings is not certain.  McQueen described his Fort George Island house as "small" and "comfortable", so it is likely that the "kitchen" building shown below was the house built by McQueen, and that the larger plantation house was built by the subsequent owners.

 

 

The house protected McQueen and neighbors during an attack by Creek Indians in 1802.  He wrote at the time that 26 people took refuge there.  By East Florida standards, McQueen was considered a very wealthy man, but he struggled to repay his debts in America, because it was difficult to generate cash income in sparsely populated East Florida; so in 1804, he was forced to sell the Fort George Island plantation to an American friend.  

 

During the same period, he built a grand mansion on his vast "Los Molinos de McQueen" estate on the south side of the St. John’s River, hoping to entice his family to join him in East Florida.  McQueen’s many business ventures eventually began to prosper, but he died before resolving his debts in America, or seeing his beloved wife Anne again.  Don Juan McQueen died of typhoid fever in 1807 and is buried in the Tolomato Cemetery at St. Augustine.  If you would like to read more about the fascinating life of Don Juan McQueen, there is a wonderful historical novel of the same title written by Eugenia Price.

 

Don Juan McQueen’s Fort George Island plantation became known as "Kingsley Plantation", the name which it still carries.  The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is operated as a historic site and museum by the National Parks Service.  Kingsley Plantation is open seven days a week, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Years Day.  Admission is free.  A visitor center and bookstore are located in a 1920’s building adjacent to the plantation buildings.  The plantation house is currently closed to the public while undergoing restoration.

 

National Parks Service – Kingsley Plantation Website

 

My Irish Family Folk-Tales

MY IRISH FAMILY FOLK-TALES

by Timothy Lunney – June 2010

Back in 2002, while performing some internet searches using the Irish spelling of my family name: “Luinigh”, I came across an obscure notice that a book was being sent to dead storage at a university library in Oklahoma.  The book is titled “SGÉALTA MHUINTIR LÚINIGH – Munterloney Folk-Tales”, was written by Professor Éamonn Ó Tuathail of Trinity College Dublin and was published in 1933.  I was intrigued… a book of folk-tales bearing my family’s ancient Irish clan name: “Mhuintir Lúinigh”. 

 

I arranged, through my local public library here in Florida, to obtain the book on inter-library loan.  [Your public library can obtain on loan for you almost any book held by a public or college library, even some private libraries.]  When it arrived, I was amazed to find that, not only does this book bear my family’s Irish name, it also contains many of our traditional folk-tales in the original, and now lost, Tyrone dialect of the Irish language.

 

The name “Mhuintir Lúinigh” literally means “land of the O’Lúinigh” and “the O’Lúinigh people”.  The O’Lúinigh were part, and sometimes chieftains, of the Cenél Moen tribe of the kingdom of Tír Eóghain.  The area referred to as the “Mhuintir Lúinigh” and “Munterloney” in Professor Ó Tuathail’s time corresponded generally to the parishes of Termonmaguirk and Upper and Lower Bodoney in County Tyrone. 

 

During the 15th and 16th centuries, the area then known as the “Mhuintir Lúinigh” included a much larger area of approximately 100 square miles, corresponding generally to the baronies of Strabane and Clogher.  The O’Lúinigh lived in this portion of western Tyrone from the early 1200’s until the mid 20th century.

 

 

No Lunney has lived there for many years, but you can stay on the site of the historic Lunney farm in the Munterloney.

 

During the 1920’s and 30’s, the government of Ireland became alarmed at the rapid decline in the number of people who could speak and write the Irish language. The government commissioned the Irish Folklore Institute to send Irish language scholars around Ireland to record, transcribe and preserve the Irish people’s rich heritage of language and oral literature. Between 1929 and 1933, Professor Éamonn Ó Tuathail of Trinity College Dublin travelled throughout the district of County Tyrone in Northern Ireland called the “Munterloney”, to record the oral literature of the few Irish-speaking people still living there. 

 

The Munterloney District of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland

 

By the time Professor Ó Tuathail arrived in the Munterloney district in 1929 to record the folk-tales of the area, Irish had ceased to be spoken except by only a small number of elderly people. The dialect being spoken in the Munterloney district was unique, and differed significantly from the dialects spoken in other parts of Ireland.

 

Even the 1802 “Statistical Survey of County Tyrone”, at a time when over one-half of the 250,000 inhabitants of County Tyrone still spoke Irish, noted that “the people of this county in themselves differ as much perhaps as those of separate kingdoms…the inhabitants of [the town of] Strabane and its vicinity seem quite a different race of people from those of Munterloney…”

 

This separation and uniqueness was probably attributable to the fact that the Munterloney district was, and remains, a rather isolated part of Ireland, surrounded by the Munterloney (now called “Sperrin”) Mountains. Its isolation is probably also the reason that this was the last part of Northern Ireland where Irish was still spoken as a first language. 

 

 

Professor Ó Tuathail spent four years interviewing Irish-speakers and recording and transcribing the folk-tales of the Mhuintir Lúinigh.  He transcribed these folk-tales only in the unique Irish dialect of the Munterloney district, along with extensive notes in English on grammar and spelling. His work was published by the Irish Folklore Institute in 1933 as “SGÉALTA MHUINTIR LÚINIGH – Munterloney Folk-Tales”.

 

Unfortunately for modern scholars and for the modern descendants of the Mhuintir Lúinigh, Professor Ó Tuathail’s book was never fully translated into English. Today, Irish language scholars confirm that it is a unique record of a now lost dialect of Irish. In fact, this book is now used a text for the advanced study of Irish dialects. 

 

Back in 2003, I wrote to the Strabane District Council, the local governing body for this part of County Tyrone, and brought the matter of the “SGÉALTA MHUINTIR LÚINIGH – Munterloney Folk-Tales” to the attention of the Council.  I requested that a project be undertaken to translate and republish this book.  The District Council kindly approved my request, and then formally petitioned the Northern Ireland Assembly to undertake and fund the project.  The project was subsequently funded by the Assembly and is nearing completion.

 

In August 2004, I organized a family trip to Ireland, to visit places where our Irish ancestors once lived.  Accompanying me on this trip were my then 78-year-old father, Boyd Lunney from Cape Elizabeth, Maine, my then 89-year-old aunt, Alice Lunney Gregory from Westfield, Maine, and my cousins, Dennis Lunney from Winthrop, Maine and his sister Judith Lunney Merriam from Russellville, Kentucky, and John Holmes and his wife Teresa from Chepachet, Rhode Island. 

 

One of the places that we stayed in Ireland was the Glenelly Valley of County Tyrone, at the very heart of the Munterloney District.  The Glenelly Valley is a spectacular treasure-trove of Irish scenic riches, and is protected by the government of Northern Ireland as an area of outstanding natural beauty.  The area abounds in ancient stone monuments, “fairy forts” and sacred wells. 

 

The beautiful Glenelly Valley of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland

 

We stayed there for one week in rented cottages, next door to the Sperrin Heritage Centre.  These well-appointed cottages are a traditional Irish “clachan”, or family compound of houses. The four cottages have a total of nine bedrooms, and are ideal for accommodating a large family group. 

 

Sperrin Clachan Cottages

 

During our stay in the Glenelly Valley, the Strabane District Council’s tourism office offered us their assistance, and the free use of the Heritage Centre facilities, to allow me to host a lecture about, and reading of, the “SGÉALTA MHUINTIR LÚINIGH – Munterloney Folk-Tales”.  Professor Donal O’Baoill of Queens University Belfast, a leading Irish language scholar, kindly agreed to prepare and deliver the lecture and reading.  Prior to the lecture, Professor O’Baoill shared a “home-cooked” dinner with me and my family at our rental cottage next to the Heritage Centre.  The dinner was prepared from locally-grown produce and chicken by my remarkable Aunt Alice.  Professor O’Baoill chuckled often during the dinner, remarking that my large (and very noisy) Irish-American family reminded him of his own family in rural County Donegal. 

 

Professor Donal O’Baoill

 

Professor O’Baoill’s lecture and reading at the Heritage Centre was a great success, and was well-attended, even by several Irish-speaking local residents and scholars, in spite of a terrible thunderstorm that evening.  One amazing part of the presentation was when Professor O’Baoill played some of the original tape recordings, made by Professor Éamonn Ó Tuathail in the 1930’s, of the folk-tales being recited by the elderly residents of the Munterloney.  To hear these folk-tales, being spoken in the musical language of my ancestors, was a very moving experience for me and my family.  After the lecture, we all gathered in the tea room of the Heritage Centre for refreshments, where my family and I were very pleased to meet and speak with several residents of the surrounding area.

 

Relatively few Irish-American families know exactly where in Ireland their ancestors once lived.  Fewer still are fortunate enough to visit the beautiful land of their ancestors.  Perhaps only a handful have ever heard any of their family folk-tales.  Thanks to the incomparable hospitality of the people of the Glenelly Valley of County Tyrone, of its District Council, and of Professor O’Baoill, my family and I shared an undoubtedly unique experience.

 

“SGÉALTA MHUINTIR LÚINIGH – Munterloney Folk-Tales” has been translated and republished with additional traditional folktales and sayings from the area in both the English and Irish languages. Copies may be ordered on-line from Four Courts Press.

Your Florida Irish Wedding

 

 

June is the traditional month for weddings in America, so you might think that we’re a little late with this article; but here in tropical Florida, weddings are beautiful in every month.  We found some expert advice to help you plan your own Florida Irish wedding.

 

How to get married in Florida:  watch video

 

How to plan an Irish Wedding:  watch video

 

Irish Women

 

Irish women are the bedrock upon which successful Irish and Irish-American families are built.  For thousands of years, Irish women have been equal partners with their men in managing their families, clans, churches and governments.  In ancient Ireland, women fought in battle beside their husbands, brothers and sons. They were also druids, clerics and rulers.   Ancient Brehon law guaranteed Irish women the right to independence, to self-determination, to own property, and to choose whom to marry or divorce.

 

 

 

Saint Brigid was born around the year 453 AD at Faughart, Ireland.   A woman of renowned wisdom and common sense, Brigid’s genius for leadership and organization was widely recognized. She established schools and organized the episcopal government of Kildare.  After years in charge at Kildare, she became one of Ireland’s most powerful religious leaders.  Bishops, priests, chieftains and kings frequently sought her counsel.  St. Brigid was also renowned for her hospitality.  The poor and the infirm came to her in their multitudes.  She made provision for them all, and cared for the sick, healing them with her extensive knowledge of contemporary medicine.

 

 

Ironically, it was not until the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, that “enlightened” Tudor England outlawed the "barbarous" Irish Brehon laws, and put Irish women back into their "proper place”, as the “property” of men, with no property rights of their own.  For 400 years, Irish women suffered the indignity of this British-imposed servitude.  At the turn of the 20th century, Irish women again took up arms with their husbands, brothers and sons, against the British rule of Ireland, and won freedom and independence for themselves and the Republic of Ireland:

 

 

          

 

 

Irish women were among the early settlers and pioneers in Florida.  Today, in Florida, Irish-American women are noted educators, physicians, lawyers, business owners and executives, politicians and elected officials,  and the managers of successful Florida Irish families.  Always formidable, sometimes fierce, they are a force of nature: 

  

Part of a 1974 interview with long-time Palm Beach resident

and matriarch of America’s most famous Irish-American family

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, speaking about fashion, faith and fortitude.