The leprechauns are busy in Omena this time of year. Just Friday night, I went down to the bar for a Guinness (but just a wee bit), and when I left, my car had disappeared – I guess the leprechauns took it. I went to walk home, but, sure, and the road was gone, too. Sure and begorrah.

Wednesday, March 17th is St. Patrick’s Day. One thing associated with Ireland is the limerick. It is assumed that the verses were named after the Irish town of Limerick, although the history on this is unclear.

* * *

I wrote a limerick I could take credit for,
And sent it in to Alan Campbell, Editor.
But the Scot was too mean,
He called it obscene,
So, I won’t send in poetry anymore.

* * *

It’s not easy to find limericks that are suitable for this column. George Bernard Shaw held that the true limerick as a folk form is always obscene, describing the clean limerick as a periodic fad and object of magazine contests, rarely rising above mediocrity. The following limerick, by an unknown author, says it well.

* * *

The limerick packs laughs anatomical
In space that is quite economical,
But the good ones I’ve seen
So seldom are clean,
And the clean ones are so seldom comical.

* * *

But in Omena, we always rise above mediocrity – or we give it a try.

* * *

There was a young man named Van Dusen,
Whom the leprechauns caught while a-snoozin’.
They dyed his hair green,
Which made him quite mean,
And now Trish won’t go with him cruisin’.

* * *

Where pets run for mayor, Omena’s the source.
There were Schatzi and Mika, and Monty, the horse.
And there was Callie, the cat,
Who threw in her hat,
And a dog lead the field – but, of course!

* * *

Dick Kennedy is Irish through and through.
Seamus is a dog, who must be Irish, too.
Seamus can tell with a sniff,
Dick can sell in a jiff –
They can find an Irish home just for you.

* * *

Omena is home to many of Irish heritage. Not surprising, as Bruce Balas elucidates us, since there are 34 million Americans of Irish descent – almost nine times the current population of Ireland, which is 4 million. Bruce himself is part Irish, as his mother was a MacNamara. Dick Kennedy proudly shares one of the 25 most common Irish surnames. The Smith clan, including Rat Renz and her children, Cynnie and Bill, and Preston, Tim and Marjie Smith, as well as Debby and her siblings, are of Irish descent. Perhaps the most noteworthy in terms of Irish ancestry is Robert James “Bob” Joyce, who is a direct descendent of James Joyce, the renowned Irish author. That must be why his dog, Tucker, ran such an eloquent campaign for mayor.

Gil and Annette Deibel were researchers extraordinaire as they uncovered some history of St. Patrick. He was born in the early fifth century, so would have been in Ireland in about the mid-400s A.D. It is amazing to think how long ago that was, and how different the world was at that time. He had many misadventures as a young man. He was captured and enslaved for a time. He ended up in Tours, France, and wandered around Europe. He returned to Ireland as a bishop of the north and west. He is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland.

Ron and Mary O’Tonneberger recently returned from a road trip south, where they saw many friends and relatives, and interesting places, but not as much warm weather as they expected. They stopped in Dayton and saw their sister-in-law, Dorie Gaffney, and their two nephews and their families. They then drove to Winston-Salem to see friends from Grand Rapids. They stayed at an historic Moravian village B&B and saw the famous David Tannenberg organ that was installed in the church in 1800. From there, they went to Southern Pines, N.C., where they saw more friends, but also had 40-degree, windy weather, so golfing was canceled. They visited Fred and Ann Schwarze in Bluffton, S.C., and finally played some golf.

They spent two days in Savannah touring historic sites. They left Georgia with snow falling and hit heavy snow in West Virginia. They had a great visit with grandson, Alex, at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, where they finally saw sun, again, too. They ended the trip in Ann Arbor, where they visited Ron’s sister and brother-in-law, and their niece and her husband. A great trip, and great to be home.

Harold and Kanda McKee celebrated their 30th anniversary at the Doe Run Inn in Brandenberg, Ky. The Doe Run Inn is one of the oldest restaurant/inns in Kentucky, built in 1805.

Happy birthday to Dave Colling, Nathan Kalchik, Elizabeth Biederman, Sarah Van Pelt Murphy, John Smart, Dennis Colling, Joanne Dalzell, Derek Huffman and Charlie Phillips.

* * *

Next week, all we folk in Omena
Will be donning an Irish patina.
On St. Patrick’s Day,
We go out of our way
To make sure we’re wearing the green-a.
Have corned beef and spuds, and a bit of green beer.
Invite a leprechaun for good cheer.
Have a wonderful Irish day.
Omena Go Bragh!

By Leslie Disch
Phone/fax: 386-5686;
email: phen.omena.2@gmail.com