From Carnivale to An Irish Easter (#808)

In this week’s episode we look a little closer at how our Irish ancestors lived and worked through the 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday each year. This was a time known as “Lent”. It was treated very seriously by the Roman Catholic church – who were very specific in their directions to the flock as to how they should live their lives over this time of penance, fasting and piety.

We start with a letter that looks at something called “The Skellig List” and then focus on a Lenten letter that was read out from the pulpits across County Wicklow in the late 1800s.

The music starts with a tune of celebration – “Chasing the Fox” (celebration/carnivale) – then moves onto a suitable religious song, the “Our Father” sung in Irish, before celebrating Easter (and the end of Lent) with “Easter Snow”.

We hope you enjoy!

You can listen to the show on your computer/smartphone by clicking on the play button above (the triangle with the circle around it). You can also download the show onto your computer by clicking on the download symbol. Enjoy!

Letters Featured in this Episode:

Music Featured in This Episode:

“Chasing the Fox” performed by The Chieftains.
“Ar nAthair” performed by Michael Nash.
“Easter Snow” performed by Matt Molloy and Martin Carthy.

The Letter from Ireland Show is a weekly podcast that goes out each Thursday from our cottage in County Cork. Tune in to this episode – and dive straight in to a bit of Irish caint, ceóil agus craic (conversation, music and craic!).

Not a member of The Green Room yet? You can see more about The Green Room here.

“A Letter from Ireland: Volume 3” – is available from Amazon.com here OR Amazon.ca here OR Amazon.co.uk here OR Amazon.com.au here.

See All Current Available Episodes of the Letter from Ireland Show.

This Episode is Brought to You by:

The Green Room! The Green Room is run by Irish people, out of Ireland – and focused on people of Irish ancestry all over the world. We know Irish culture, history, the language – and many of the issues people have with understanding complex Irish Heritage and Ancestry. While genealogy record sites bring you part of the way – we’ll bring you all the way home! So, break down those Irish Ancestry Brick Walls when you join today – see all about the Green Room here.

Thank You For Listening

We really appreciate you choosing to listen to us and for supporting the podcast. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

We would also be eternally grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show in iTunes. They’re extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and we read each and every one personally!

Finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes to make sure that you never miss an episode. Do feel free to leave a comment or question in the section below. We’d love to hear from you!

Slán for now, Mike and Carina.