Some years ago in answer to a deep inner calling I began studying all things Irish; the history, mythology, culture and language. I went on my own pilgrimage to the West of Ireland where my grandfather came from. On approach to the Shannon Airport the plane passed low over the end of the runway where I saw a lone sheep in a small stone paddock grazing on bright green grass. The word home echoed in my mind as tears trickled down my cheeks catching me by surprise. I told an Irish woman I know of this experience and she responded, “well now that would be the ancestors welcoming you home.” In the Irish language (Gaelic) there is no word for emigrant, the closest they come is the word for exile. Now whenever I am in Ireland and people learn that I am of Irish ancestry they say, welcome home.” Whether you are of Irish ancestry or not, the Irish people are incredibly warm and welcoming and ready to talk with you. In the ancient Celtic tradition generosity was a heroic act and the Irish embody that tendency still.

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